I get asked this a lot: “should I buy an iPad or should I buy a Kindle?” The TLDR; answer is: no, you should buy both.
When the iPad was announced, I immediately thought “LCD? Well that will be crap for reading.” Actually, it wasn’t half bad… for about ten minutes. The next ten minutes are an odious trudge towards complete ocular misery. By twenty minutes, I develop a throbbing headache, and focusing on the text becomes difficult. I begin reading the same sentence over and over and struggle to shake the idea that if I don’t hurry up and finish the page in a reasonable amount of time the photons it is shooting into my brain might give me cancer. You wouldn’t want to read a whole book on this, unless you could do it five minutes at a time. So what are you to do? Buy both already! You can get the pair for $640 US. If you’re even a “book a month” sort of reader, you’ll use them both enough to justify it.
Don’t fret. They have nearly zero functional overlap. Magazines and news sites on the Kindle? Nah, you want the full color graphics, speed, and interactivity of the iPad. Books on the iPad? Not unless you’re willing to self-trepanate every quarter hour. You’d quickly run out of skull to bore. Beyond that, they have completely different usage attitudes.
With the Kindle, you’re becoming absorbed in a story for an hour or more at a time. You can read in bed, right before you go to sleep, without worrying that it will rile you up. To the contrary, the Kindle relaxes you. You might even take it outside to the pool or to the hammock. Flight attendants will chastise the iPhone-using passenger next to you as the plane descends for landing; but you, the gentle Kindle user, she’ll merely touch on the shoulder and tell you with a smile to make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened.
The iPad wakes you up. BAM! Here’s the news, with pictures and video. TWEET! Here’s the torrential banality of Twitter to distract you from something (or everything) important. TWEET! Here’s the same exclamation used again because you’re paying the insanely addictive Angry Birds game. ZAP! Here’s you firing off an e-mail over your morning coffee.
I’ve never found myself struggling which to pick, much in the same way that nobody is ever torn between having tea and going sky diving. They are different devices, for different purposes. And that’s a good thing in the case of the Kindle. There is something almost drug-like about having a device that can do anything. It’s hard to turn off that ability. With the Kindle, you won’t be thinking about increasing your Fruit Ninja high score, or frantically checking and re-checking your e-mail. You’ll be in the only state that is appropriate when reading a book: completely lost in it.
And the iPad? It lets you live your soul crushing, hyper connected, vanity searching, e-mail enslaved life in any room of the house, instead of being planted in a desk chair in a darkened basement. And it has two other things going for it: it’s easy to set it down and rejoin the world, and sometimes you’ll lose it in a stack of mail for a day and be forced to do something edifying instead.
Update: Jeff Bezos agrees, and says the data bears this out
We’re seeing that many of the people who are buying Kindles also own an LCD tablet. Customers report using their LCD tablets for games, movies, and web browsing and their Kindles for reading sessions. They report preferring Kindle for reading because it weighs less, eliminates battery anxiety with its month-long battery life, and has the advanced paper-like Pearl e-ink display that reduces eye-strain, doesn’t interfere with sleep patterns at bedtime, and works outside in direct sunlight, an important consideration especially for vacation reading. Kindle’s $139 price point is a key factor — it’s low enough that people don’t have to choose.
I totally agree. I keep hearing people trying to compare the two, and it’s not even apples to oranges its, apples to, well, Kindles. IMO the iPad does everything great, except reading. On the other hand, the Kindle does pretty much nothing well except for reading (ever try the browser on the Kindle? kinda like using the browser on a 2001 cell phone).
I take my Kindle to the pool, beach, throw it in my backpack when I travel and don’t think too much of it. I don’t own an iPad (yet), but when I do I don’t see myself taking it to these places ($139 vs $499 is enough of difference for me to treat the devices differently).
After a while (for me anyway) the Kindle started to feel just like a book. It’s light, behaves just like paper and almost never needs to be charged. On the other hand, every time I’ve handled an iPad I always think, “Wow this is a really cool, innovative computer.”
What’s kind of sad is that I was a Kindle early-adopter. But the first version and loved it. Still have it, but I never use it. Why?
Because I use the app on my phone instead. I loved that I could have my books with me on the phone all the time and got used to reading a page or two here or there while I was standing in line at the grocery store or waiting to pick up my girl at school. And then at home, when I’d normally read the Kindle, I started just grabbing my phone again.
I might use my Kindle more if it synced (I’m out of the area for whispersync on the first version) but since it doesn’t…I just use my phone all the time. And I don’t mind it at all. I’ve read 36 books on it so far.
I was an early adopter as well – and loved when the iPhone app came out, but I’m surprised to hear that you have no issues with reading full books on your iphone – it kills me at times.
I love the app for when I forget the kindle, but the screen on the kindle wins, especially for small text reading.
I haven’t tried reading a book on my new iPhone 4 display – maybe that’ll help, but don’t you have major issues after reading for a while?
Current version of the Kindle will allow you to sync bookmarks, annotations and last page read in books across all platforms for which your Amazon account is registered.
Excellent points! Will definitely be citing this to friends and family who inevitably ask the same question. I actually own neither at the moment, but have been wondering what real-world iBooks experience is like.
You might want to even keep it like you are, Brian, Make sure you read Erica’s great comment below!
“Part of staying rich is not getting caught up in the technological churn.”
We also own neither, despite living a total mobile, total digital lifestyle as we have been traveling the world non-stop as a family for the last 5 years. Four continents, 32 countries later, with no plans to stop ( adding 10 more this year) and all on 23 dollars a day per person.
I am a huge mac fan ( we travel with a macbook, macpro and a sony laptop), but I see no reason for the ipad…yet. Lovely bells & whistles, but why?
“It lets you live your soul crushing, hyper connected, vanity searching, e-mail enslaved life in any room of the house”
That is exactly what I want to avoid! We’ve avoided smart phones etc to put some distance to the always on lifestyle, even though we are world traveling digital nomads & influencers on Twitter.
We homeschool or actually roadschool/world school our child who is a voracious reader & are minimalists who travel the world with just a small daypack, carry-on each, so we have been considering an e-reader of late. ( We use kindle app on our laptops & we leaning towards Nook, until the latest price war).
Money wise, being the first to buy tech is often as foolish as being the first to buy a new car…they lose value as soon as you drive them off the lot.
If you want freedom, think of long term value. We’re still using the same laptops that we started with and have bought a TON of freedom from the money saved by not being an early adopter to the latest tech toys.
Man, I do love Fruit Ninja 😀
They definitely made me put away and “turn off” my Kindle until we reached cruising altitude — just like any other electronic device. It’s happened to me 3 times now — out of 3 flights when I used it. It should be treated exactly the same as a book, but they treat it more like a laptop/MP3 player unfortunately.
I love my Kindle. It’s amazing for reading — incredibly easy on the eyes. I have a laptop for when I want to view websites/look at newspapers. I don’t need a $500-600 “laptop replacement” (what a joke) just because Apple says so. The iPad is a gimmick and a toy.
I agree that having to turn off a Kindle on an airplane for landing and takeoff is silly. i hope you were polite with the staff when they asked you to though.
I’ve once seen an electronic reader (Sony, not a Kindle, but same tech) user specifically told to turn off their device. I’ve probably seen about a dozen situations where flight attendants just breeze by. It may be that they don’t notice it. Or don’t regard it as an electronic device. Or maybe they just don’t care. If you’re a bit clever about it, you can probably just flip it over as they’re about to walk by. It’s not like headphones where it’s obvious from afar that you’re using electronics.
I saw a woman in front of me on a flight reading her Kindle. There wasn’t much room so she held the device almost above her head, the whole 40 minutes or so the flight took.
Before landing she was asked to switch off too, so it’s just like any other app in the eyes of the airlines.
I don’t have a Kindle yet, but I do have the Kindle app on my Android phone (4inch screen) and iPad. Both are very readable, but there is that sneaking temptation to browse the net or fire up a game when using both devices! 🙂
I love the tone of your post! 🙂 Although, I might suggest getting your eyes checked — if 10 minutes of staring at an iBook on the iPad is doing that much of a number on you, you might need glasses. Or bionic eyes.
The funny thing about it, is when you say you can’t read more than 5 minutes on an LCD screen ON A BLOG. How long do you spend reading and writing your blog? What’s the difference with reading a book?
Distance, duration, variety.
I realize that this is all par for the course for “affluent white geek” blogs, and it’s not your fault this one was the last straw. But I’m starting to find it tiresome how we make so many assumptions about our readers: Like that they can go outside to the pool, or that knowing what makes airplane rides better helps them make meaningful buying decisions, or that they actually have a choice of either the iPad or the Kindle.
Heck, why not buy both? The iPad’s only about the cost of a midrange desktop PC as it is. Only senior citizens buy budget PCs, and they can’t be expected to make good decisions. Anyone else should be able to save up for a few months or years to buy electronics. If they don’t, and they don’t get a Mac, it’s their own fault, and we sigh and shake our heads at them.
And naturally, we acknowledge that in the end, these electronics we spend months’ worth of food money on have few (if any) redeeming qualities. The ability to go on the Internet isn’t a livesaver, or a life-changer; it isn’t a lifeline for an autistic adult, or an education for a poor person, or a window onto the lives of people richer or more neurotypical than you. No, it’s just a noisy distraction from the things that matter most, like reading best-seller novels in the hammock by your pool.
BAM! TWEET! ZAP!
I have to agree. I have a whole lot of disposable income, but own neither, and am quite happy with my decision.
I had a 2nd gen Kindle, but when the iPad came out, I knew there was going to be a price drop, so I sold it for $200. It stung a little. But then a few days later Amazon dropped the price on new Kindles, and suddenly the loss didn’t hurt so much.
I pre-ordered a Kindle 3rd gen (latest), with the 3G service. Then I flipped it on craigslist for a nice profit. I used that profit to *gasp* buy BOOKS! Actual books! Which I can then resell, or donate, after I’ve read them, instead of having them languish in some DRM dungeon.
I think it’s a little flippant to assume most people would even want to own both, let alone that they’d have the disposable income to do so. I’d argue that most people (I’ll except road warriors; the Kindle is great if you fly every week) should own neither, until they’ve paid off 100% of their debt and saved a significant portion of their income for emergencies and retirement. These aren’t “investments”; it’s $700+ for products that will be out of date by this time next year.
Part of staying rich is not getting caught up in the technological churn.
-Erica
Couldn’t agree more. I can get most any book second hand for cents on the dollar and do with it what I want. While I am in the IT business, or maybe because I am, I own very little technology, don’t want more and, to paraphrase the Billy Holiday song which I own on both vinyl and CD, “I get along without them very well, of course I do, you know I do.”
Railing against this blog post because of the assumptions of the author makes as much a sense as complaining because a muscle car blog talks about Ford Mustangs. Seeing as the title is about the iPad and the Kindle, one can assume that the reader might be interested in one or both of these.
Aging adults, who most likely will only use a mid-range computer, or those on food stamps will probably not end up looking at this blog in the first place. Your comments kind of raise the question of why you even care?
Funny, Tarheel, I thought Erica’s points were excellent. I didn’t perceive her words as “railing against this blog” but valuable insight that adds to the conversation.
In an economy that Seth Godin just called the “forever recession” and over 75% of Americans are affected, it DOES make sense to think more about each purchase and what is really NEEDED.
I am a world traveling digital nomad that has been looking at both the ipad & kindle for a while, but really appreciated both Erica & Tachyon’s input.
I don’t agree 100% with either, but they are certainly good points.
I think her “until they’ve paid off 100% of their debt and saved a significant portion of their income for emergencies and retirement” is particularly valuable in a world where so many are so addicted to consumption and live way over their means ( when it is a time to live UNDER one’s means).
I think the title fairly well defines the intended audience for this particular post. I’m not comparing electronic readers to books (which have some definite advantages), or comparing the virtues of being well-read with those of other methods of consuming ideas. And I’m assuming that the interested reader of this post lives in a country where freedom of the press and of consumption of such literature is upheld. If not, an AK-47 might be a better purchase than a Kindle.
I can’t help my “race” (and I’m somewhat curious as to why you thought it germane to mention — are affluent non-white geeks somehow exempted from the ranks of potential Kindle/iPad purchasers?), and I both recognize and refuse to apologize for the fact that this consumerist dilemma is very much a first-world topic.
I’m thinking two things here.
1 – It is one’s own responsibility to manage distractions. If it takes additional devices to do so, and one can afford them and likes that approach, good deal. But, the issue is not the device, it’s the ability to manage distractions.
2 – Adjusting screen brightness is something I do all the time, regardless of device. If I’m reading for a long time, I turn the brightness way down. Kindle has a big advantage there because it deals with that very well, especially in bright light. However, other devices also work well too.
The short-er version is that we control our devices and our distractions. If we don’t, then we complain about things outside of our control — and we deal with the consequences.
*sigh* Sorry.
Sounds interesting.
Bingo.
I love both. I rarely use my laptop anymore.
Kindle app for the iPad rocks but I love reading on my kindle equally.
Nice post.
Great piece, good to know the ups and downs of both. But what about reading pdfs – like academic papers? I’d love to know which one to buy for that? Anyone got views on this?
Awesome; you’ve nailed it. Exactly the reason I have and love both… Wired and WSJ rock on the iPad, but reading 10 page articles from a journal or a book? Impossible for me…
And, the best of all: Kindle let you sync and decide where you want to read!
Yours, Lorenz
Good article, though if the writer is truly getting severe headaches from reading on the iPad, an eye exam is in order. I’ve read more books on my iPad than I can count. Interestingly, most of these books are in Kindle format. I have the Kindle software on both my iPad and iPhone, so whatever book I’m reading stays in sync — perfect for when I leave the iPad at home.
If you enjoy reading classics, by the way, do a search on “mobi” in Amazon’s Kindle store. They package up collections of novels and stories of public domain authors and sell them for a song.
I still may buy a Zkindle, when the price comes down a bit more. I admit, the fact that the IPad does so many things can make it hard to stick to the book reader. However, the fact that you can use Google or Wikipedia on whatever you’re reading can be a highly useful feature. A little self-discipline is in order, hmm? 😉
Stan
Alright, that’s it. I’m buying a Kindle. The author is 100% right, I am really misusing the iPad – and I bought it to be able to read books on it but I never did. The screen is great for watching movies on, and playing games. Surfing is a lot of fun and there are a bunch of productivity apps that are really useful as well – but the Kindle has it beaten in terms of reading, hands down.
I like both….. kindle is so smart and stylish, i would love to have it… i m more into reading thats why…
I have an iPod Touch, and I read tons of books on it. Before that, I used to read books on a Palm Pilot. Either a Kindle or an iPad or both would be cool, when I can afford them. I’m good for now.
Here’s the thing. Any of these devices is my childhood dream come true: a magic book, where when you reach the end of one story, you can start another. It still blows my mind. So maybe I’ll get a slightly nicer magic book sometime, but I’m thrilled to have one at all.
By the way, I’ve hardly ever purchased an ebook. As a fan of nineteenth-century literature, I have an advantage: my books are free.
Nicely put Jessi. I agree. I’m amazed at what I can do with any of these devices. It’s hard to hear people sneering back and forth at one or the other or both. Makes me sad. We are all very rich to own one or them or both of them or for that matter, to even talk about it.
I liked your tone and outlook. It’s very refreshing.
When my old Mac died and I couldn’t decide between a Macbook Pro and the big screen I *really* wanted, my partner persuaded me to get the big monitor…. and an iPad “for taking to client meetings.” Well, I haven’t used the iPad for any client meetings yet. But I read books on it every day (the wonderful free 19th century novels), play games, check email, keep up on Facebook, do research, take notes, watch movies, play and compose music, draw… it’s like having the best box of toys (tools) on the planet. I could never have imagined the productive potential and sheer creative fun of the iPad. As a friend says, it’s a game-changer. It IS a never-ending magic book, and a magic toy/tool box as well!
Thanks for this information. I have been putting off buying either an IPad or a Kindle. Your points are right, it’s not comparable.
I love Ipad features, but I love reading ebooks.
So I guess I have to buy both.. 🙂
Man, I can’t STAND applefans. They have no idea what they’re talking about most of the time (by most of the time, I mean all the time) and they rip on Kindle wayyyyy too much.
IMO, if it hurts when you read with the iPad, it’s worthless as a device that reads e-books. I’ve got to play around with it for a bit and it was cool-in the sense that it was a giant iTouch.
Hey, at least you can find 4 other iPads and play a two dollar board game on it.
Kindle + Instapaper = a great way to organize my online reading.
iPad + Angry Birds = a great way to ensure that I don’t have any time left to read.
Thanks for the article, which helps me understand the perspective of apparently quite a few people. Even though I disagree 100%.
I’ve spent 4-hour stretches reading books on my iPad (and 2-hour stretches on the iPhone before that). Aside from the fact that the iPad brightness doesn’t quite go low enough – a bit of room lighting solves that – I’ve found it the perfect reading device.
On the other hand, trying to read on a Kindle’s grey-on-light-grey display gives me an almost instant headache.
Give me an iPad with the iPhone 4’s “Retina Display” resolution, a bit less weight, and better control of screen brightness, and I’ll give up paper books for good.
I also don’t understand the argument that “the iPad does too much”, creating distractions. I’m surrounded by distractions all of the time. When I read a paperback novel I’m in the same room with my computer and stereo and TV and a hundred other books and a phone and a Nintendo DS and some snacks.
But if I enjoy the book I can focus on it for a couple of hours and ignore the distractions, whether they’re across the room or a couple of clicks away.
So… the iPad is perfect for me. But I can understand why a Kindle (or both devices) would be better for you.
Have you tried the latest Kindle? It has better contrast. I enjoy it a lot more than previous iterations.
+1, Kindle 3 contrast is superb.
My answer to this question (iPad, Kindle, both or neither?) is simply this: whatever fits you best, right now (because it’s okay to think for yourself and not be trapped into following others).
I’ve just bought my first Kindle (latest generation 3G) and I love it. It does the thing I wanted it to do brilliantly. I think the iPad is fantastic, but it’s not for me right now, mostly because I don’t have the cash for it, but also because it would give me little I don’t already have.
Whatever your reason for choosing whatever you choose, just be sure it’s right for you.
I agree in buying both, but not for the same reasons. Sometimes I enjoy reading on Kindle. Other times I enjoy reading books on iPad. The backlight doesn’t bother me at all in reading e-books. Heck, I even enjoy the Kindle app on my iPod Touch. Actually, that’s how I do most of my reading lately: completely in the dark at night with the an iPod Touch. I just dim the screen brightness all the way to low and set the contrast of the back of the screen from bright white to a cream, yellowy color.
Note: reading in print on bright white paper also will kill your eyes.
But, overall, though, the Kindle is a preferred reading device. And at the new low price there is no reason not to have one if you read a lot. Same goes with an iPad: no reason not to have one if you consume a lot of content from the net. Hardly ever use a netbook anymore. And the desktop PC is just for work – finally.
The day I bought my iPad, I put my Kindle away and haven’t looked at it since. For me, reading on the iPad is much better. I get a better sense of the book design and (for me this is very important) highlighting is MUCH easier. I still buy lots of books for the Kindle, I just read them on my iPad-and I read for hours at a time. I can only speak for myself, but the reading experience on the iPad is far superior. I’m actually quite surprised anyone would see it otherwise. I am fairly certain that Yahoo will eventually discontinue creating the device, in fact. Just my opinion. Email me if you’d like to buy my Kindle :).
Dude, you’re so right. iPad apps can distract your reading while the Kindle is a dedicated eBook reader. And for me, I agree with you that it is much better to buy both.
Agee! Great post. Love both. But especially the Kindle – it does put you in a completely different state of mind than the iPad, and far easier on the eyes.
I think it is fair to say that you aren’t looking to buy an iPad just to read books on, so I think this article is really more about ‘if I have an iPad (and I want read a lot of ebooks) would I really need a Kindle too’?
I too have wrestled with this dilemma. I am being forced to abandon the purchase of ‘proper’ books as we no longer have the storage space. It became all too much for my wife when I installed the second bookshelf in the bathroom (I wasn’t happy about it either – they risk getting damp!) so I was ‘ADVISED’ (aherm…) to move over to electronic books and here I am, at the crossroads, trembling with fear…
For me the factors to be considered –
The obvious:
Price of device – if you can afford an iPad you can afford the Kindle.
Price of ebooks – Kindle Victory (A great number of iBookstore titles are dearer than the physical version of the book!)
Battery life – Kindle Victory.
Visual Clarity – tricky. Non graphical books – Kindle Victory, Lifestyle mags etc – iPad Wins
Access to books on the go – Close call, but Kindle Victory (WiFi and 3G version)
Number of titles available – Clear Kindle Victory! (400,000+ titles versus a vague “tens of thousands” on iBooks)
Now the clincher(for me at least)The weight (of the device – before it is loaded up with ebooks ;o)
iPad 730grams
Kindle 247 grams
Why is this the clincher?
I read in bed, whilst lying on my back, so lighter is better, furthermore, when I drop the device into my face (and I will!) the Kindle will hurt a lot less than the iPad. It will also hurt a lot less when the device bounces off my face and onto the floor, breaks and needs replacing.
I have a Kindle and love it. I love old literature so I can get a lot of free books; it’s fine to read under almost any lighting conditions and it’s light. I think Barry Hurford’s comment outlines some of the reasons why a Kindle makes more sense. If I want to read things in color then I’ve got either a laptop or a PC, so I don’t need an iPad, though it is a thing of beauty.
I totally agree with your opinion. I appreciate the flow of context (contrast of opinion on ipad and kindle) between paragraphs.
I agree, I have both…
I completly disagree. I have never had any of those issues. I read for hours at a time both with the Kindle app and the Ibooks app. I dont know what this guy is talking about, maybe he needs new glasses, or perhaps he should adjust font size, it is way easier on my old eyes than reading a paper book. For me the IPad is all I need.
I bought the Kindle and I really like it. Then, I bought the iPad. The book reader program on the iPad is a piece of junk. The Kindle app on the iPad, though, is awesome!
Kindle brags about the lack of a backlight on the Kindle device. To me, that’s a detriment. Yes, I can see where it would be easier on the eyes but there are times when I would certainly like to turn it on if it were available. With the iPad, I simply turn down the brightness of the backlight and it doesn’t bother my eyes at all.
Hmmm. I’ve read a book on the ipad and had none of these problems. Maybe the author had the screen brightness up to high – or maybe I’m just in front of my computer too much and am used to reading on a screen. However I do agree that having both probably makes the most sense if you’re going to do a lot of reading. The iPad is a bit heavy for extended reading. And the kindle is surely easier on the eyes. The kindle is a one trick pony and the ipad is the future of mobile computing.
I agree, they both can co-exist. Further more, books and e-books can co-exist. Here is a letter I recently wrote to Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/266e2wg
very funny. that is the best article I have read on the subject of ipad and kindle. makes me want to get both! You didnt mention the insanely beneficial factor the kindle has over the ipad – if you are a parent of a child of any age, the kindle will remain yours whenever you need it. the ipad? forget it! you will never be able to use it with kids around, they will commandeer it every moment! mind you – ipad saves incredible amounts of money on babysitting and school…. just give the toddler an ipad and get back to them in 13 years – they will be geniuses!
For the most part your complaint of the iPad seems to be that “It lets you live your soul crushing, hyper connected, vanity searching, e-mail enslaved life”
People were living this way before the iPad, and all that video and email BAM and Twitter stuff you decry is the result of YOUR personal choices in how YOU choose to use the iPad – or any system.
So how about taking a little personal responsibility for once and quit blaming technology?
Now, if you’ll excuse me, as soon as I can get this Troll Shaman up to 65 tonight I have some REAL books to read, not those hyper actively fancy pants ebooks that are all the rage right now among you geeks and nerds…
/dnd
The comments that are posted on this blog, have really helped with silent questions that I had relative to my desire to own both a Kindle and an IPAD. In my role as an Information Specialist (Librarian) my first inclination is to not support the ebook market, but to continue reading paper books in an effort to create job security for my profession. However, comments about the lack of space, airline travels and time constraints are forcing me to adhere to the changes in the way that we read books.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the posts and gained an insurmountable amount of information, that will help me to choose between a Kindle or an IPAD. Kudos, to the author and the contributors to this blog.
A smart review that balances up where others don’t in terms of eye strain and readability over long periods. Aptly described.
However – having tried the (tiny) iPhone as a reader for a bit, have become spoilt with touch screen capabilities of looking up a word on the fly by tapping it, flipping pages, etc. – not sure I can bring myself to go backwards to what looks like the 1990’s feel of Kindle technology.
May just have to hold out until it catches up, as another bright flash devise is more than what’s needed between a Macbook and iPhone.
Thanks for the article Mark – it looks like I’ll have to buy both the iPad AND Kindle (or do I get an Android device in place of the iPad… mmm)
Great article Mark. I used to own a 2nd gen Kindle, but sold it when I got my iPad. I just found having both devices to be redundant at the time, and I don’t experience the eye strain or headaches that others complain about when reading on the iPad’s screen. Recently however, I’ve found that I miss my Kindle, and have found myself in situations in which I really wished that I still had the Kindle. While on vacation for example, my iPad is useless on a beach or by the pool, two of my favorite places to read. Therefore, based on this article, my reading habits, and the low price of the 3rd gen Kindle, I’ve decided to buy one. Thanks again.
FYI: One thing I’ve found to help with reading on the iPad’s Kindle app is changing the background color to Sepia. Like I said, I don’t really get eyestrain when reading on it, but the Sepia is definitely easier to read and more natural looking. It may seem a bit weird when you first switch over, but you get used to it after a couple of paragraphs. Also, a friend said he has less eyestrain when using the sepia background. Give it a try, you never know…..