Is the iPad for you? What about the Kindle?
Watching the promos on the Apple website, the iPad looks pretty amazing. Of course, Apple has a way of making everything on their site look amazing. The iPad looks like it will be great for surfing, very good for email, great for photos and videos, and for just about everything you already do on your iPhone or smart phone.
Here’s a link to some of the iPad apps that people will be talking about when the iPad is available on April 3 or thereabouts. Also, look at the “Sneak Peak” slideshow for the “Key Capabilites” slideshow.
- (EDITED ON APRIL 6, 2010 TO ADD: More iPad reviews here.)
But would you be better off with a Kindle? Amazon’s e-reader is lighter, less expensive, and has a more book titles to choose from.
Here are some of Kindle’s benefits:
- Lightweight: only 10.2 ounces
- Add books in as little as a minute
- No monthly wireless bills: When you need to download something, Amazon pays for the 3G or EDGE/GPRS connections.
- Of course, it’s not meant to be a full-service internet device — for instance you can email to your Kindle, but not from it. That is…
- Email your documents to Kindle: Read and review documents at your leisure
- Huge storage: It can hold 1,500 or more books
- Automatic backup of your library: Amazon keeps your titles backed up, so you can delete a book now and retrieve it later
- Easy on the eyes: Kindle readers report that unlike regular computer screens, the Kindle doesn’t wear down and tire out your eyes.
- What’s more, the no-glare screen makes it easy to read in the sunlight
- Basic web browser: Kindle includes a browser that’s best suited for simple, text-oriented web pages
- Read-to-Me: Kindle will “read to you” with its text-to-speech feature
- Audio books: Amazon has 50,000 audio book titles you can upload from your PC to the Kindle
See Amazon’s promotional video here.
See cnet’s user reviews of Kindle here.
* * *
Finally: Are these e-readers going to be a serious business tool?
You bet they will. Imagine going on a quick business trip, and having reams of paper — entire books or technical documents — in your 10-ounce Kindle, or 24-ounce iPad, rather than your briefcase or suitcase. Imagine not having to lug your laptop everywhere. Imagine having the Internet in your hands in an easy-to digest format, anytime, anywhere.
The real question is, how will you plan to use the e-reader of your choice to give yourself a productivity and business advantage?
Return to The Washington Network >>
The iPad, while definitely flashy and cool, can’t hold a candle to the Kindle when it comes to reading full-length books. The Kindle was designed specifically for reading books, and it excels at it. The e-ink technology is essential when reading for long stretches. Also, the lack of buttons makes reading a book that much more involved. With the Kindle, you can hold it with one hand and just keep pressing the “Next Page” button. With the iPad, you have to physically turn the page. It’s a small thing, but it’s something I prefer quite a bit to trying to read a real book with one hand. Not all hardware buttons are bad.
Jen, a lot of people agree with you about the Kindle. The e-ink is pretty amazing. I wouldn’t be surprised to find some people owning both devices — Kindle as an e-reader, and iPad as a web-browsing, emailing, photo & movie device.
Well, here’s some good news for Apple: The early reviews of the iPad are in, and they include words like: ‘beautiful,’ ‘blazingly fast,’ has ‘a touch of genius’. Check it out: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc1407