I have just checked out the posts that cover the Kindle, iPad and such like – and I now have a question. Right now I have a touch, which I love and use a lot – I am aware of the obvious benefits of the pad because of size etc and capability – I was wondering however how you guys who have one are liking it now it has been out a while. Is it still worth the money? Are there any downsides? If you don’t travel too much would it still be useful etc? I am asking because I don’t want to buy a Kindle and then find I regret it and should have put the money into saving for an iPad. I would appreciate any insights you all have. Linda
I am interested to know too. Hubby is worried that it isn’t compatable with everything similar to the Apple computer delima. Everything we have is microsoft other than a large and small ipod. Is that an issue?
I bought my iPad in April. I absolutely love it! It has become my primary computer. I read my e-mail, visit Web sites, read e-books, check the weather, create documents, and occasionally play games with it. I really like that it is so portable. I have all my photos loaded on it so when we visit grandparents it is easy to show them pictures of the kids.
One of the biggest benefits has been its usefulness for school. I have downloaded many free books that we are using for school. We are able to bring our Latin pronunciation audios to the table or quickly look up things on the Internet if we have a question about something we are reading.
The only downside I have encountered is not having folders in iBooks for organizing my many e-books. 🙂
Thanks Karen, it sounds like it may be very useful – does anyone know if the apps for my Touch would transfer to my ipad if I get one? I would like it if they did – sorry about that final question. Linda
Thanks Doug, now I just have to decide if I want to pay that much or shall I just get the new Kindle??? Decisions – I have a laptop, and my Touch – do I really need an i pad, wouldn’t that be overkill and a new Kindle 6″ would work fine for reading and things – oh dear – they need to stop with the new technology!
@missingtheshire, Now that I have both I can offer some insight on the choice.
The kindle is a pretty nice book reader but it doesn’t excell at other things as much. It has the better screen for reading outdoors in bright sun, if that’s important to you. The screen is black and white only. The entry-level model is significantly less expensive than the iPad. However, the larger screen model price is close to that of the iPad.
The iPad is also a good book reader but can do many other things very well. It has a full color screen that is quite a bit larger than the low-end Kindle. The screen is amazingly clear in all but bright sunlight. It seems a bit easier on the eyes than most laptop screens. I find the touch screen intuitive to use and miss having it when I use the kindle. For example, it becomes habit to tap a word and view a definition.
@Gem, I’m amazed at how good the sound is on the iPad for it’s size. You can easily have a group of people around it able to hear it quite well.
Linda, I have a Kindle and both my husband and I love it. I do a lot of reading outside, though … so it suits me better than an iPad. I would like to be able to use some of the other functions of the iPad, though …
The Notion looks good, but pricey – I am glad to hear you like the Kindle – I cannot help thinking that maybe my laptop, i Touch are sufficient for online use, and that I just need a Kindle for reading – I rarely read outside because it is too hot for me in the summer – but at appointments and all the travelling to and fro would be good as I love to read and the touch screen is too small for me (older eyes and all that). Which Kindle do you have? I am trying to make up my mind. Thanks – Linda
I just got my Kindle a week ago and am loving it so far. (I admit that I’d love an iPad too, but this fit our budget better.)
I have 100 books already on it, all free. This includes a LOT for our schooling. I have my scriptures on it, and my hymnbook, and our Sunday School handbook – and it is fantastic for church that way – much lighter than carrying those! The PDF’s I’ve put on it have been very good (some I have put the Kindle in landscape mode – you can also zoom but haven’t really done that yet.)
I quickly tried out the SCM organizer on the experimental web browser, and it worked ok. Haven’t done a lot with that type of thing yet – been busy reading books.
Oh, I splurged and bought the cover for it with the built-in light. It is great! (but a bit expensive.) The light works off the Kindle battery, and makes it very easy to read in the dark. The Kindle clips into it and it has an elasticized closer to keep it closed when you want. You can fold it right back too, to make it easy to read one-handed.
The Kindle I was given is the Wi-fi with 3G. Not sure how much I’ll need the 3G, as we do have a wireless network at home, and I figure there are a LOT of free hot-spots around…. but then again for the slight difference in price, the ability to access the 3G network anywhere might be handy.
Thanks Suzukimom, I looked at the Kindle you have and the cover with built in light – it looks very good. I was going to ask about the experimental web browser – I guess it works ok then – but is it just a very basic browser to download books or can you actually surf? I know it does not have emai but that is not important – my touch does that -I like the idea of all the free books and always having them with me – a lot less to carry and the Bible as well as the hymnbook, excellent. I am really thinking that if money were no object I would splurge on an ipad – but I don’t think I need it – I am thinking a reader will work better for us. I have a desktop and laptop for on the road, and my touch – I am not sure I want to splurge on the pad – might wait until the next one comes out and the prices drop, or just not bother. My touch is an older one – but I don’t need cameras and all that stuff, I already have a camera, and those dollars could be used elsewhere – is your Kindle the 6″ or the new big one? I think I would go for the smaller screen – again less expensive. It really is good to hear how these things are working for people, so thanks all. Linda
I love to read and the touch screen is too small for me (older eyes and all that).
The Kindle, iPad, and iPods all let you adjust the text size in the book reader. The iPad and larger Kindle DX have bigger screens so you can see more text at one time, though.
I am not sure I want to splurge on the pad – might wait until the next one comes out and the prices drop, or just not bother.
It’s not likely that the prices will drop anytime soon. Apple tends to add features and keep the price about the same when they introduce new models of their products. They are selling iPads as fast as they can make them so they have little reason to reduce the price.
I was going to ask about the experimental web browser – I guess it works ok then – but is it just a very basic browser to download books or can you actually surf?
You can actually surf the Web with it and it works pretty well. But keep in mind that it’s black and white only, the screen is quite small, it’s very slow because the screen takes a while to refresh each time it updates, and using the buttons to move around the pointer to click links is a bit tedious. So I’d say it’s not bad for occasional Web use but I wouldn’t want to have to use it all the time.
I was thinking about making a video showing the features and comparing some of the book readers. Any interest?