Kindle, Kindle Fire, iPad, Nook or Sony Reader or even another type of ebook reader? There are so many to choose from! And even though I am doing my research, I’d like to hear from my friends and blog readers. I want your opinion! Tell me what you have or what you want and why.
Why do I want it?
With only two children left at home (and they are currently 14.5 and 16.5yrs) we are looking ahead to our future. We want to downsize. We have a rather large home library that served us well over the years but it has become tiresome to lug it all around from state to state. (Remember we’re a Defence Family).
Wants:
- To read any books from any source, pdf ebooks included.
- To be able to take notes, keep bookmarks, etc
- Wi-Fi
- Easy to read
So, don’t be shy. Tell me your thoughts. Sell me an e-reader,friends.
Ipads are awesome and I want one! But there is one thing you have to consider. An Ipad and other tablets, by the looks of it including kindle fire, have the same screen as a computer, with backlighting and a refresh rate. These can cause eye strain when you try to do something small for a long time such as read a book. A kindle and other ereaders flash the image on the screen once, no refresh. When you change the image it flashes the one new one up. No backlighting either. It is MUCH easier on the eyes, many people say comparable to if not better than reading a real book.
So while there are loads of other things tablets can be used for, if this is being used almost solely for reading, you might find you would prefer an ereader for your eyes.
When comparing ereaders, my husband and I ended up deciding on a kindle (as a gift for my grandparents). The factors that led us to that decision were convenience (you can now buy kindles in big w and kmart, whereas the other ones are harder to find, and may be a problem if there is a warranty issue), and popularity/support (if this had been for us we may have chosen something else, but for my grandparents, having a popular, recognised brand, one that most of their ebook downloading websites probably supports, and the one that is most likely to have added features and extras, plus access to the amazon store being simple, it just made it all easier for them. I don’t see the other readers having anything that the kindle dosen’t have, but the kindle does have the advantage of being a trusted brand that won’t go away. I mean I don’t know much about a nook, are they borders ereader? If so I wouldn’t get that, the company has shut down a heap of their stores, they’re suffering badly in the current ecconomy and there’s far too much risk of them going bankrupt and losing your support and warranty, as for sony I didn’t even know they DID an ereader!)
Since you’re more tech savvy than my grandparents the second point may not be of any use to you, you’ll have to do your own research there, but that’s what we chose for their gift this christmas.
I’ve looked into comparing the Kindle with the Kindle Fire and have come to the conclusion that they are for different purposes. The Kindle Fire (like the ipad) is a regular computer like screen – it is created for streaming video, and reading colour magazines. I have a Kindle and I love it. It is easy to hold, easy to read, I haven’t had any problems getting books (though I have heard there are some copyright/Australian issues but I haven’t come across those – but they would be the same for any e-reader).
I have a Kindle and I’d like an ipad. One won’t displace the other.
Hi Susan
As you know we recently got an ipad!
We love it. *I* dont find it a strain on my eyes when I read, but then again I don’t read for hours on end 🙂
I think if you’re going to do a lot of reading a kindle would be easier for the reasons your other commenters mentioned, easier on the eyes etc.
Also, with the ipad, you can buy books and get free books but I am not sure if you can buy kindle books for the ipad like you can for a pc. I haven’t looked into that, so if you can’t read kindle books on the ipad then you may be limited on what you can read from it as ibooks doesn’t have as big a range as kindle (I think though I could be wrong).
Also, I didn’t like having to be confined to black and white (on a kindle) as I think my 7 year old dd would have gotten bored reading from it with no colour:)
Your kids are older so this won’t be an issue I’m sure:)
hth
Rosemary
I have both a Kindle and an iPad, and the iPad wins hands down. In every regard. Love it.
I have to say I love my kindle 🙂 I like the size. I like that reading on it is just like reading a novel. I like that I can read pdf’s on it. I wanted it so I could read the old school house magazine digital on it. I did not like trying to read the magazine on pc or laptop.It was not very cozy. I do find that I miss the colour sometimes though. This is especially when trying to view twitter or FB on it. The 3g is slow and it is funny to not have a touch screen but I can get to where I want. I can see why I would want a kindle fire though a pity that it does not have the screen benefits of the original kindle . Let us know how you go 😉
Hi gals,
We’re still looking into it. Won’t be buying one until the tax man is nice to us. But I do really appreciate hearing your thoughts. It really does help- hearing WHY you like a particular choice.
I have a kindle with keyboard which I love love love for reading! I am typing this on my kindle fire which I also love butfor different reasons. I use the fire for going online, video, music, etc. Its very handy in our homeschool. But it doesn’t replace my regular kindle for reading…the eink is an important feature for my eyes….hth…and buying both a regular kindle and a fire is still cheaper than most ipads if cost is an issue. 🙂
Thanks Erin,
Wow, Keyboard and Kindle! You are blessed. I must be the last homeschooler on earth to be getting a Kindle. Or so it feels, lol.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’m pretty much sold on the Kindle – now which particular Kindle?
I got as a gift last year a Kindle, and been very glad with it took it in the parks and read ebooks and so on, but this year my hubby bought me an iPad and I have to tell you it’s such a huge difference. You can pretty much do everything you do on a PC and it’s easy to carry it around, totally worth it !