iPhone 6+ versus Kindle Touch/PaperWhite

[Larla]

This comparison was interesting for me because I was thinking of ditching the Kindle Touch for the plus and was interested in the trade-offs. Here are some key metrics:

1) Weight -- iP6+ = 6.0 ounces; Kt = 7.5 ounces
2) Screen Area -- iP6+ = 13.0 sq in; Kt - 17.3 sq in
3) Resolution -- iP6+ = 1920x1080; Kt = 800x600

On weight and resolution, iP6+ is clearly the winner but on screen area, the iP6+ only has 75% the area that the Kt does. So do the first two outweigh (npi) the screen area disparity?

Has anyone else considered this?

[meeera]

Paperwhite is 758×1024, 212 ppi . New Voyage, closer in price to but still nowhere near as expensive as an iPhone, is going to be 300 ppi.

The price, screen area, screen type, and battery life are absolutely essential components of any comparison. There's a big difference between reading eink and reading on a tablet/phone screen. And an even bigger difference once your phone battery runs out.

[Jessica Lares]

I think having a more responsive screen, being able to take notes easier, and shooting those notes into different apps outweigh the trade-offs.

At least for me.

I love the PW, but I also love marking up my books.

Saying that, I don't think the reading experience itself will be any better.

[shanghaichica]

Originally Posted by meeera

Paperwhite is 758×1024, 212 ppi . New Voyage, closer in price to but still nowhere near as expensive as an iPhone, is going to be 300 ppi.

The price, screen area, screen type, and battery life are absolutely essential components of any comparison. There's a big difference between reading eink and reading on a tablet/phone screen. And an even bigger difference once your phone battery runs out.

Exactly. I wouldn't be able to sit there for hours on end reading on my phone because I'd be worried about my battery life. Also I just don't find it comfortable to read for long stretched on backlit displays.

The iPhone 6 Plus should last two days on battery. I can read for hours on my iPhone 5 and never worry about running out of battery. Reading really doesn't burn up the battery that fast, especially if you know how to manage the battery.

Having said that, I agree with others that the price on the iPhone 6 Plus is wickedly high. It also seems rather big to carry around, at least for a guy. But if carrying it around is not an issue, I suggest looking at the iPad mini Retina instead. The resolution is still higher than the new Kindle Voyager, and the text will be much crisper and darker, and as Jessica stated it will be so much easier to use than a clunky eInk which is super slow--eInk reaction time is like waiting for a snail to cross an eight lane highway. Plus it is a tablet and you can read magazines and do all the tablet things! Apple will most likely release new iPads in late October, so if you wait the price of the iPad mini Retina will probably drop, maybe down to below $300. I truly think the iPad mini Retina is the best over all reading solution available now. The only thing it cannot do well is be used in sunlight.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by jswinden

[...] and as Jessica stated it will be so much easier to use than a clunky eInk which is super slow--eInk reaction time is like waiting for a snail to cross an eight lane highway.

When was the last time you read a book on an eink device, and which device was it? For me page turns on epubs are well and truly as quick as they need to be. They might not be as instantaneous as my iPad, but they're both in the fraction-of-a-second range, and reading is not hindered in any way.

Web browsing is a different story, but it's not a browsing device it's a reader.

Originally Posted by meeera

When was the last time you read a book on an eink device, and which device was it? For me page turns on epubs are well and truly as quick as they need to be. They might not be as instantaneous as my iPad, but they're both in the fraction-of-a-second range, and reading is not hindered in any way.

Web browsing is a different story, but it's not a browsing device it's a reader.

I know you just like to argue with me, but I'll answer you question anyway. I am very much a scholarly type when it comes to reading. I don't read novels or fiction very often. I mostly read histories, biographies, and scientific articles. When I read fiction, then page turns are about the only thing that I do on the reader and therefore the slow response is not an issue. The eInk readers indeed do turn pages fast enough. But they don't work very well for highlighting or note taking or looking up other sources. In graduate school nearly three decades ago I learned the importance of highlighting and notation. I still do that when reading most of the nonfiction I read. It helps me to learn and to quickly locate information long after I've initially read it. So eInk lack of response can become an issue. It has improved over the years, but it is still far from the level of speedy response one gets with a decent tablet or smartphone.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I know you just like to argue with me, but I'll answer you question anyway. I am very much a scholarly type when it comes to reading. I don't read novels or fiction very often. I mostly read histories, biographies, and scientific articles. When I read fiction, then page turns are about the only thing that I do on the reader and therefore the slow response is not an issue. The eInk readers indeed do turn pages fast enough. But they don't work very well for highlighting or note taking or looking up other sources. In graduate school nearly three decades ago I learned the importance of highlighting and notation.

I've said a zillion times in these forums that a six inch e-ink device is not suitable for PDFs/scientific articles, so I'm not sure why you think I would engage in a recreational argument about that? I don't recall arguing with you before (which is not to say it hasn't happened - just to say that your username isn't ringing any bells for me), and certainly not for fun.

The OP is talking about their other reading option being a smartphone, not a tablet or large eink device, so I did not assume that their device would be used primarily for scientific papers and academic work. That's the context of my comments.

[Jessica Lares]

It is a valid point though. I mean, how many people come in here everyday asking about using eInk for note taking?

We aren't talking about PDFs, we are talking about the actual engagement with the text on the device. The Amazon pages talk about how great it is to use to pull up information, highlight, and all that stuff, but it isn't, and that's the point we're trying to drive across.

You can go on and on about screens, but that is only one talking point out of many.

[Josieb1]

I plan to get an iPhone 6 plus (eventually) I write book reviews while travelling so I originally bought the iPad mini to read and write on, and carried an iPhone as well. I missed my ereader. I have a kobo Aura that is small and light so my new plan was to read on that and write my reviews on the iPhone 6 plus.

Same plan except now I'm also replacing the Aura with a Kindle Voyage.

I'm reading mostly eBooks in mobi or KF8 format. Standard looking eBooks. I'm not reading PDFs. The term "treatise" probably would have been better to use than "article." And the 5.5" iPhone 6 Plus the Josieb1 was asking about is not much smaller than the iPad mini Retina. At any rate meeera, I wish you would stop attacking me whenever I post in any thread.

[lovewisdom]

This is a genius comparison. Apple wins not because of its defective features, but because of marketing and self-bragging advertisements. Apple is not a technical company, but a marketing business trader.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I'm reading mostly eBooks in mobi or KF8 format. Standard looking eBooks. I'm not reading PDFs. The term "treatise" probably would have been better to use than "article." And the 5.5" iPhone 6 Plus the Josieb1 was asking about is not much smaller than the iPad mini Retina. At any rate meeera, I wish you would stop attacking me whenever I post in any thread.

Let he who hath not attacked others complain about being attacked afterward.

Also, you weren't "attacked". It was merely pointed out to you that when you say note-taking and scientific articles in the same sentence, it is reasonable to assume your values are esoteric, and thus have place in this thread which is not about esoteric subsets of reading use.

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Let he who hath not attacked others complain about being attacked afterward.

I only attack when attacked first, and then with much force.

Originally Posted by lovewisdom

This is a genius comparison. Apple wins not because of its defective features, but because of marketing and self-bragging advertisements. Apple is not a technical company, but a marketing business trader.

If you don't like Apple that is certainly your prerogative, but you shouldn't troll in Apple threads.