02-01-2011, 07:36 PM

My daughter wants a "e-reader" for her birthday. I use an iPad myself but I invite and will appreciate suggestions and pros/cons of the iPad vs. Kindle as well as other units. Thanks in advance.

02-01-2011, 09:08 PM

You can probably find at least some opinions by searching the forums. Several of our members own both. However, I can give you one advantage the Kindle has over the iPad and that's price. So, how much are you willing to spend Dad?

02-01-2011, 09:16 PM

Price isn't as much an issue as convenience and usability. I see the commercials with the guy using an iPad and the girl with a Kindle teases him about reading it in sunlight, but couldn't you just reverse the polarity on an iPad to get the same effect?

I'm also concerned about the weight factor. I haven't held a Kindle but from its pictures, it looks a lot lighter than the iPad and would not get heavy with long reading time. I think my iPad would become heavy if I tried to read a book with it for a long time.

And then there's battery life... so many features to compare. Thanks.

02-01-2011, 09:18 PM

My wife has a Kindle and loves it. Books are reasonably priced also.

02-01-2011, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by SleeperSS

My wife has a Kindle and loves it. Books are reasonably priced also.

Not if you're in the habit of buying used books. My wife is an avid reader and I've often thought about picking her up a Kindle or iPad as a gift. But what I noticed was, each time her book club selects a new title, she picks it up for a buck or two on Amazon in like-new condition. With shipping, it's usually less than $5. Far more economical than the typical $14-20 Amazon seems to charge for books I've looked into.

And it's even less of a value if you're in the habit of loaning or borrowing books. For the most part, that's just not possible with an eReader.

If your daughter travels frequently and likes to have a wide variety of books, it might make sense. But I think the Kindle, in particular, isn't the best value. At least the iPad can practically replace a laptop in terms of its versatility. So, you're not just getting a single-purpose device.

Just a few things to think about before you part with your hard-earned cash...

02-01-2011, 09:44 PM

the kindle has a special screen that looks "like" paper. ive used one before, and id much rather look at a kindle for three hours over an ipad. however... kindles have a very primitive web browser,no apps released for them, and dont really do anything the ipad doesnt. they can read out books like the Mac does through the "say" command in terminal... but it wont exactly replace a dedicated audiobook.

the ipad definitely has more potential.

but if you dont NEED an ipad, why not go for the kindle. if all you want to do is read books, why go for all the unnecessary frills that comes with the ipad. Do you need Angry Birds, iWork etc?

02-01-2011, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by cwa107

Not if you're in the habit of buying used books. My wife is an avid reader and I've often thought about picking her up a Kindle or iPad as a gift. But what I noticed was, each time her book club selects a new title, she picks it up for a buck or two on Amazon in like-new condition. With shipping, it's usually less than $5. Far more economical than the typical $14-20 Amazon seems to charge for books I've looked into.

And it's even less of a value if you're in the habit of loaning or borrowing books. For the most part, that's just not possible with an eReader.

If your daughter travels frequently and likes to have a wide variety of books, it might make sense. But I think the Kindle, in particular, isn't the best value. At least the iPad can practically replace a laptop in terms of its versatility. So, you're not just getting a single-purpose device.

Just a few things to think about before you part with your hard-earned cash...

Her last two books were under $4....total. Most of hers ran $9.99. We tend to travel...her more than me, and she is a big reader and packing books on a plane just doesn't cut it. Kindles can be had for $139...new. The difference between that and my iPad buys a lot of books.

02-01-2011, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by SleeperSS

Her last two books were under $4....total. Most of hers ran $9.99. We tend to travel...her more than me, and she is a big reader and packing books on a plane just doesn't cut it. Kindles can be had for $139...new. The difference between that and my iPad buys a lot of books.

Interesting. Haven't seen them that low-priced yet. I guess it depends on the title.

02-01-2011, 10:27 PM

I think it really depends on what and where you are going to be reading. I love my iPad, but I would agree in direct sunlight the Kindle is better. Everywhere else the iPad rocks IMHO.
As far as books go, price is essentially the same since iPad has Kindle APP. But, a very big advantage arise when you read books and magazines with heavy color and photo component. Kindle is not a serious competitor for comics, magazines and photo books.
If all you are ever going to be interested in is black text, save your money and go for the Kindle. Otherwise iPad all the way.

02-01-2011, 10:57 PM

How old is your daughter? The iPad is probably more fragile and will offer more distractions form reading, like games and video, not to mention web browsing. Yes you can also kinda do those things on the kindle, but it's rubbish.

I think the Kindle is a slightly better dedicated e-reader, but the iPad is one of my favorite gadgets ever... and if she's likely to want to read magazines and books with illustrations, iPad is the only way to go.

02-02-2011, 07:24 AM

If you are concerned about glare when using it in sunlight, you could get the anti-glare Invisible Shield. I have that on mine and have no problems using it outside.

02-02-2011, 08:10 AM

My last few Kindle book purchases were <£1 from the top ten kindle books list. Both excellent Stephen Leather thrillers. Prices are definately starting to shift.

If it's purely an eReader you want the Kindle wins hands down (screen, weight, battery life, free over the air download and sync).

But, and it's a big but . . . . if you want to do anything else (liston to music, video, apps, internet etc) then the iPad is the way to go without question.

Really comes down to it's end use. I went down the iPad route and now you'd have to prise it from my cold dead hands to get me to give it up

02-02-2011, 09:48 AM

I have both and would not give up my Kindle for reading. It's much lighter and much easier on the eyes. Both devices are fantastic, but both have their purposes.

02-02-2011, 02:13 PM

IPad 2 is rumored to use a redesigned screen that cab=n be read in sunlight

02-02-2011, 07:26 PM

And this is here because...