Give me one good reason why I shouldn't sell my DX and buy an iPad ...

[JeremyZ]

So, Sheikspeare, did you decide yet?

I have a K2 and am thinking of upgrading to a K3, just for the smaller size and better contrast.

It sounds like you want it mostly for reading. Do you read a lot of PDFs? If so, it might be a good call to go with iPad. But I wouldn't give up my eInk screen or the battery life, or the small size & weight. iPads are not that heavy, but they do GET heavy after fewer minutes than one might think. If one gets tired of holding it up, one will be looking down at it all the time, and end up with neck strain in addition to the already higher eye strain.

If I were to get that type of device, I'd get an iPod Touch instead. Even better portability and the same capability. Just more scrolling. But I'd keep my Kindle for the serious reading. Why choose?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JeremyZ

iPads are not that heavy, but they do GET heavy after fewer minutes than one might think. If one gets tired of holding it up, one will be looking down at it all the time, and end up with neck strain in addition to the already higher eye strain.

It would be heavy to hold up, you're right. When I read on the iPad, I have the bottom edge resting on my lap, and hold it up at any angle, just like I'd do if I were reading a hardback book. There's no neck strain in doing that - it's an entirely natural position for reading.

[patrickt]

Sheikspeare: "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't sell my DX and buy an iPad ..."

If that's what you want to do, why in the world would I try to dissuade you? Enjoy your IPad.

[Digital Ink]

Originally Posted by HarryT

But it's not a case of "one or the other".

To each his own...

[Sheikspeare]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Sheikspeare: "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't sell my DX and buy an iPad ..."

If that's what you want to do, why in the world would I try to dissuade you? Enjoy your IPad.

It's not what I WANT to do. It's a question I was pondering. And after much thought (and given the exchanges here) I've personally decided against. I think the iPAD is a massive con. It's basically a laptop with the keyboard sawn off. A netbook can do the same and more. As it happens I went ahead and bought a second DX the (DXG). I'm selling my old DX and hoping Amazon come out with a TOC feature and better zooming. That would do me fine.

On another note, the iPad is scary. I can see it producing extremely high doses of UNhealthy addiction. In contrast, addiction to ebooks on the Kindle strikes me as being a healthy addiction.

[patrickt]

Sheikspeare: I don't usually need a reason to not buy something. I don't need a reason to not spend the money. Doing nothing, the null alternative, is reasonable. Inertia rules. I need a reason to get something or spend the money and not a reason not to. So, before I got an IPad I'd need a reason to get one.

I thoroughly enjoy my Lenovo laptop and my Kindle is even better. I have no need to buy something to establish that I'm cool, or not. So, no reason to think about why I shouldn't buy an IPad.

But, then, why should I buy an IPad. Let's see. I could suddenly join the club of really, really cool people. Two days ago my neighbor came over and I answered my door carrying my KindleDX. "Oh, oh, you got an IPad. Isn't it wonderful? Don't you just love it? Oh, oh, I really want one."

"It's a Kindle eBook reader."

"Oh. Never mind." I think I'll pass on joining the club. I realize Apple is the way and Jobs is the one true prophet, also known as the toymaker, but it's just my nature to reject that sort of thing.

But, I can watch movies or listen to music or surf the net or all sorts of really, really cool things with my IPad. Just like my Lenovo laptop. I could have put an app on my laptop, like I could with an IPad, and read books on my laptop.

I don't work now so I would normally carry my Kindle and not my laptop but occasionally I carry both. I'm 69-years old, never was a jock, walk almost every where I go on a daily basis, and carry both is not a problem for me.

Okay, thought about it and I have absolutely no reason to buy an IPad.

[JeremyZ]

My wife and I went to Macs a few months back. She bought a netbook, because she felt like she needed to, for work. (her hospital network is not Mac compatible)

Compared to an iPad or our Macbook Pros, the netbook is a slow piece of crap. Half as fast as a laptop, with half the capability. Just smaller & cuter. But not small enough to be really handy.

IMHO, a netbook would be the worst possible decision for reading. It has most of the clunkiness of a laptop without the power. It has the LCD too.

The iPad would not have been a bad call. But you would've come back to a Kindle (in addition to, not instead of the iPad) if you had gone that way.

To me, the best mix is a Kindle and a Macbook Pro. If you want an iPad with a lot more utility, consider it. My opinion is similar to Patrickt's I guess, he just prefers PC to Mac.

In the meantime, enjoy your new Kindle DX, and let us know how it works out!

[Sheikspeare]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Sheikspeare: I don't usually need a reason to not buy something. I don't need a reason to not spend the money. Doing nothing, the null alternative, is reasonable. Inertia rules. I need a reason to get something or spend the money and not a reason not to. So, before I got an IPad I'd need a reason to get one.

I thoroughly enjoy my Lenovo laptop and my Kindle is even better. I have no need to buy something to establish that I'm cool, or not. So, no reason to think about why I shouldn't buy an IPad.

But, then, why should I buy an IPad. Let's see. I could suddenly join the club of really, really cool people. Two days ago my neighbor came over and I answered my door carrying my KindleDX. "Oh, oh, you got an IPad. Isn't it wonderful? Don't you just love it? Oh, oh, I really want one."

"It's a Kindle eBook reader."

"Oh. Never mind." I think I'll pass on joining the club. I realize Apple is the way and Jobs is the one true prophet, also known as the toymaker, but it's just my nature to reject that sort of thing.

But, I can watch movies or listen to music or surf the net or all sorts of really, really cool things with my IPad. Just like my Lenovo laptop. I could have put an app on my laptop, like I could with an IPad, and read books on my laptop.

I don't work now so I would normally carry my Kindle and not my laptop but occasionally I carry both. I'm 69-years old, never was a jock, walk almost every where I go on a daily basis, and carry both is not a problem for me.

Okay, thought about it and I have absolutely no reason to buy an IPad.

I'm not sure I get your first point. In order to decide if you might need a new product, you have to decide if it has anything to offer. So the decision-making process with the iPad could go something along the following lines: can it perform the functions of a laptop/ebook reader in some better way? Does it open up better reading possibilities? I was not persuaded. Hence I saw no need to get one.

Onto your second point: I agree that coolness is a major factor in buying the iPad. But I'm detecting that there also exists a kind of inverted snobbery. In other words, "I'm too cool to have an iPad. I'm a Kindle guy ... you wouldn't understand .... you iPAD wielding Neanderthal, scumbag!"

[hugo9578]

itune

[patrickt]

Sheikspeare: "I'm not sure I get your first point. In order to decide if you might need a new product, you have to decide if it has anything to offer. So the decision-making process with the iPad could go something along the following lines: can it perform the functions of a laptop/ebook reader in some better way? Does it open up better reading possibilities? I was not persuaded. Hence I saw no need to get one."

Bingo. Before you buy an IPad, you decide whether or not the IPad has something to offer you that's worth the money. I don't see what's hard with that concept. You said, "I was not persuaded. Hence, I saw no need to get one." Right. That's why people read reviews. If your goal is to spend money whether you need something or not, go for it.

Onto your second point: I agree that coolness is a major factor in buying the iPad. But I'm detecting that there also exists a kind of inverted snobbery. In other words, "I'm too cool to have an iPad. I'm a Kindle guy ... you wouldn't understand .... you iPAD wielding Neanderthal, scumbag!"

I think that's called projecting, not detecting.

If you want an Ipad, I have no intention of trying to talk you out of it. It's your money. Hell, spend it however you want. If you also enjoy reading, you can keep an eBook reader stashed somewhere.

[Sheikspeare]

Patrickt, I'm glad we agree that we both like reading, which is why if you "read" what I wrote, I don't WANT to buy an iPAD because I see no need. :-)

Also, I'm glad we agree that my money is my money, and I can spend it how I want. :-)

[avinatbezeq]

I have both. I find the iPad's screen terrible for reading - even worth than a computer's.

I do find the KDG inferior to the Sony PRS-505 EXCEPT for large documents (code samples, images, tables, PDFs etc).

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Sheikspeare

Yes, indeed, 2+2=5!

Hmm. Is that Russell's Pope Proof?

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by HarryT

To put it into perspective, it's about the same weight as the typical hardback book.

That's true, but a hardback which had the same physical configuration as the iPad would weigh less.

So from a psychological angle, an iPad seems heavier than a hardback.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by JeremyZ

... To me, the best mix is a Kindle and a Macbook Pro....

I absolutely agree.

Even though I have always been almost exclusively a Mac type (only my HTPC is Windows 7), I decided against the iPad and to wait for an Android tablet.

But I've spent some time with the iPad over the last few months, and now I don't think I'd buy a tablet at all.

After the initial excitement, I realized that the iPad does tire my eyes a little -- even though my laptop or iMac, or Apple monitors do not. While I stare at these screens all day, maybe it's because of the way I use them (I usually do not read for an hour on them without looking away).

In any case, I realized that when I am at home or at the office, I'd rather browse the internet or watch a move either on my iMac or Mac Book Pro, or on my TV -- bigger screens, I get the full web, including Flash and Java stuff, real keyboard for typing longer emails, etc..

When I travel, I always have with me either a 13" or a 15" Mac Book Pro, on which i prefer to browse the web (for much the same reasons as above), and on which I can actually work.

So, since I really decided that for reading I prefer e-ink, I am thinking of adding a Kindle DX Graphite to replace my Kindle 2.

I just wish someone made a larger (closer to 11") screen e-ink, with good PDF support and the same battery life. But since there is nothing like this available or even appearing on the horizon, Kindle DXG it probably is it for me.