Need advice...

[dax123]

Kindle paperwhite 2 or iPad for e-reading?

I've mainly used kindles to read and own a kindle paperwhite. I pre-ordered the Kindle paperwhite 2, but now contemplating on canceling my order and switch to reading on the iPad. I have an iPad 3 and I have to say, I really like the bigger screen for reading. Haven't read much on the iPad yet..decided to give it a try recently, for none-kindle books I'm trying out Marvin and i have it both on my iPhone and iPad and love it.

How about eye strain? As I hear that's the most common argument against reading on a backlight screen.

I'm not a reader that reads hours on end..I have a short attention span so mostly I read maybe 30 minutes at the most in one sitting and that's long for me. Usually it's shorter sittings with breaks in between.

My main reason to order the paperwhite 2 is the better light and screen. I have a paperwhite 1 and no complaints there, just for the shadows on the bottom of the screen that get more pronounced when you make the light brighter.

so what would you advice? What do you like about reading on an iPad vs reading on a e-reader?

Thanks in advance.

[Faterson]

I gave away all my hardware Kindle devices after Marvin for iPad (now also for iPhone) came out last year. To reduce eye strain, the ability to fully customise your font type, font colour and background colour is crucial. Marvin gives you this customisability (the iBooks and Kindle apps do not).

There is no doubt: a traditional Kindle e-ink reader causes lower eye strain than an iPad in daytime. As soon as it gets dark (this could also be dusk/early evening), however, I'd say that the iPad wins: because you can switch to a "dark" theme, with light-coloured fonts on a dark background -- which is especially effective at night when you are in an otherwise completely dark room.

PS: The reason I switched to Marvin almost instantly was its superior annotation functionality -- Kindle/iBooks offer something like 5% of the related functionality compared to Marvin.

[dax123]

Thanks for your answer.

[HarryT]

For me it depends what I'm reading. I read novels on my PW, textbooks and PDFs on my iPad.

I mostly read on my iPad 3 and iPhone 5. My Kindle Touch collects a lot of dust. I think the high resolution screens of the iPad and iPhone negate the eyestrain many used to have with older, low resolution devices. The newer LCD screens with high resolution do not show pixels like the older screens did.

[HarryT]

I honestly don't think it's a case of EITHER an iPad OR a Paperwhite. Both are great reading devices, with their own strengths and weaknesses. Use each for the purpose that it's best suited. I wouldn't use an iPad to read outside on a sunny day (as I love to do in my lunch break at work); I wouldn't use a Paperwhite to read a technical PDF. Each has its strengths - use both.

[dax123]

Thanks guys..you're really helping me narrow it down. I might cancel the new paperwhite and keep my old one for now and see how reading on the iPad is for the long run. I just feel like I'm wasting money if I order the new paperwhite when my old one is still good and the shadows don't really bother me that much, fortunately I still have some time to decide since the PW 2 won't ship until end of October for me.

[Faterson]

I agree with what Harry says in his latest post above. Except that in my case, annotations are crucial; and Marvin's annotation capabilities are so much more advanced than the Kindle's crude annotation options, that there was just no holding me back on the Kindle platform any longer.

But do I feel nostalgia after the clarity of a Kindle e-ink screen outside on a sunny day? Absolutely. It was just no longer practical and efficient for me to remain on that platform.

[dax123]

Well as I said, I rarely read outside, so that doesn't really affect my choice.