The Kindle v. the iPad ☀
Reading on the iPad is a bit of a kludge. You can read on it, and it’s a lot better than reading on a computer, but it’s still too reflective, heavy, bright, and power-hungry compared to the Kindle.
People often assume that the iPad’s backlit LCD screen is an advantage over the Kindle because it doesn’t need a separate light to be read at night. But the Kindle’s e-ink screen is actually more versatile for different lighting: not only does it work in bright sunlight just as well as paper, but I find it easier to read a Kindle at night with a small lamp on than with an iPad in the dark, even using dark mode and low brightness. And I often can’t use those same nightstand or headboard-clip lamps with the iPad to light the area less harshly because the iPad’s screen is too reflective. The iPad is also too heavy to comfortably hold in most ways for long periods, and its wide range of software capabilities can be distracting. When you’re holding a Kindle, all you can do is read. When I read on an iPad, I always want to go check my email. And my feeds. And Tumblr. And Twitter. Just for a minute.
The iPad is a great casual computer, but the Kindle is the superior reading device.1 And there doesn’t need to be any “killing”. If you really like an iPad for its other uses, now that a Kindle’s entry price is $140, it’s perfectly reasonable to have both.
While I concede that iPad to be a far inferior outdoor (and would even extend to category of “mobile” ereaders) reading device, I definitely dispute these points here.
- Power-hungry? How is ~10 hours of battery life insufficient for the couch, bedroom and occasional jaunt to the coffeeshop or lunch spot? Might be an apropos criticism for iPhone reading, but not for this tablet device.
- Backlit LCD screen? Perhaps it’s due to my sensitive eyesight issues, but I find the drab Kindle background to be a disconcerting reading experience. And the colossal screen refresh rate drives me utterly batty. More essential, is the crippled nature of advancing and rewinding through the content on a Kindle. Perhaps it’s because I don’t read much fiction, but I like to skip around in a book and the Kindle just isn’t suited for that mode of reading.
- Too heavy to comfortably hold? I reckon all those thick history and science tomes conditioned me for the iPad experience. Though, propped up on my chest, while lying down, is not a strain at all. But, assuredly, Kindle wins on this merit.
- iPad in the dark? By far, a big advantage, as I enjoy reading without a lamp and disturbing my bedroom mate. Sliding the brightness down works just dandy for me.
- iPad wide range of software capabilities? A joyous feature, not a dreaded problem. I relish the notion that I can stop, click on a footnote reference and explore a tangent in great detail. Or scope out the bibliography on amazon.com. Or pop out to Google for exploring a term or concept that might be more cursory than the author envisaged. Or just to take a pause in serious reading and swap over to a more frivolous iPad pursuit. Finally, iPad allows you to interact with your book better — highlight text, make annotations, etc.… by just tapping instead of negotiating a miniature, inferior, less than tactile abomination of a keyboard.
Yes, Kindle enjoys a great price advantage, but I’d like to see the price go under $100. Then, when you can buy 5 Kindles for the price of an iPad — just treat them as disposable devices, contraptions you don’t have worry about being coveted by slobbering gawkers and opportunistic thieves, like you would with a shiny iPad.
