Sanet Working

Posts Tagged ‘kindle wireless device’

Ever since the announcement of the Apple iPad (which was long before its actual release), people have been comparing it with the Amazon Kindle, even though they didn’t even have the final full specifications of the device. This is because Apple themselves said that the iPad will directly compete with Kindle and any other ebook readers, having its own ebook store run by Apple.

Now that the device is finally here, we can make some pretty good comparisons between it and the Kindle (specifically the second release, as the first one is already obsolete).So, let’s start with the strain on the eyes thing, which is the number one argument for buying a Kindle. I don’t know about you, but my eyes have gotten used to various screens with their own light source. We’ve all been watching TV since we were little (well, most of us), and our eyes kind of got used to it.

Plus, there’s all the time spent typing text on a smart phone or sitting in front of a computer.The iPad’s screen is literally a world apart of most TV’s and desktop or laptop screens. Apple seems to have selected the best possible screen for reading, which is a good decision for a device intended to be used as an ebook reader. The 9.7 inch OLED screen is very beautiful, and the contrast is great. It’s not like reading paper – it’s more like reading that white letter size paper under a bright light or the sun (you can configure the brightness, of course).

Plus, there’s the obvious advantage of being able to read in the dark (and the iPad doesn’t light up the whole room, it’s very good at keeping the light inside the screen). I think there are very few people who would find reading books on the iPad more tiring or problematic than on the Kindle, so that’s a score for the iPad.

Now that we’re past that, let’s see what else sets the iPad apart from the Kindle. The most obvious features are, of course, the color screen and the ability to run various apps that are not limited to or even related to reading. You can view videos and pictures, edit documents, surf the web, check your email, manage your tasks, watch online TV (using apps like ABC Player or Netflix) and do a lot of other things that you usually do on your laptop or desktop computer.

To put it shortly, the iPad is a universal portable computer. This sort of puts it in a completely different league than the Kindle, but the latter’s sales will definitely lower because of the iPad.

But let’s say you really just want to read ebooks and are considering both the iPad and the Kindle (most probably, the Kindle DX, which has almost the same price as the iPad and a bigger 9.7 inch screen). For this purpose, the Kindle is better, but not by a big margin.

The iPad has a few unique advantages of its own:

1. The iPad doesn’t have any strict DRM on ebooks (at least for now), so you can read free books like those on Google Books.

2. You can easily read the books published online using the Safari browser and read PDF and DOC documents using a third party app that you can easily get from the Apps Marketplace. Reading PDF’s might be a big deal for some, who buy various ebooks from independent sites and publishers (and they’re in PDF 90% of the time).

But the Kindle is ultimately better for reading ebooks, and here’s why:

1. The Kindle is cheaper at $259 (unless you really need the Kindle DX, which retails for $489, which is $10 cheaper than the starter iPad; in it’s favor, the Kindle DX has a 3G modem, unlike the Wi-fi only adapter of the iPad);
2. It’s much lighter at only 10 ounces, compared to the iPad’s full 1.5 pounds;
3. The screen is much better for reading. It’s just like reading paper, and you can easily read it in direct sunlight. The drawback is that you can’t read it at night without an external light;
4. The battery life is much better on the Kindle, which can work for 2 weeks (with wireless off) before it needs recharging.

In the end, the choice is up to you. I can say that the iPad is a great universal computer that can be used for anything you’re using your laptop for right now (even photo editing!), with the added ability to read books in a pretty comfortable manner on a good screen. It’s the best choice if you read a book or two per month, and would like the ability to view videos and read web sites from it. The Kindle is the best choice if you are reading a lot of books and/or want a separate device specifically for this purpose.