iPad versus Kindle as an electronic book

by philg

At dinner this evening we compared a recent generation Amazon Kindle with the iPad for use as an electronic book. The text on the Kindle is definitely sharper and far more readable in bright light. The text on the iPad has the fuzzy edges that you’d expect from a color screen, but under typical home lighting is easier to read than the Kindle.

The Kindle users around the table, ranging in age from 14 to 46, all found that the iPad was unpleasantly heavy. For handheld use, e.g., on a treadmill, the Kindle is much better. For travel, the Kindle is also the big winner due to its two-week battery life and therefore ability to travel without a charger.

People generally liked the iPad, but not as a substitute for the Kindle.

10 thoughts on “iPad versus Kindle as an electronic book”

  1. For travel, I would take the more versatile iPad rather than the Kindle plus a laptop.
    I’d rather carry one device with a charger than two. Except for bright light, I found the reading experience on the iPad superior.
    The iPad’s weight makes it less comfortable to hold for longer periods. Like a hard cover book, a support is necessary.

    Apple has a winning product here. Sales will certainly dwarf the Kindle.

  3. I just got to play with an iPad for a few minutes, and, yeah, for paperback text heavy books it’d suck as an ebook reader. But for coffee table books… The Elements is amazing on that platform.

  4. Of course kindle users prefer the type and weight. The iPad used mac os x sub pixel rendering which makes the fonts prettier, closer to the print version and also a bit fuzzier. The first thing you will notice is the fuzz if you compare it side to side and are used to the kindle. However, most people prefer sub pixel rendering and many of the people might start liking the iPad font if they adjust to the differences. Also, if you just finished holding a kindle the iPad is heavy but it not much heavier really. Regardless most people will be leaning either device against something for extended reading.

  5. I have a Kindle and an iPad. The iPad is definitely a bit heavy to hold comfortably while reading. The kindle is very comfortable to read one handed. The ipad is not. However, with one of the overpriced iPad cases, you can stand it in your lap, couch, desk, or bed and read quite comfortably with no hands at all.

    I picked up my Kindle for the first time yesterday and read a bit. My feeling? Delightfully simple.

  6. Another way to look at it: the Kindle is arguably better for unillustrated books.

    For everything else, magazines, text books, newspapers, web pages, catalogs, childrens’ books, the iPad is vastly superior.

  7. Most things I read have photos, diagrams, etc. I mean, is there a science, math, econ, or art text book out there today that has few enough illustrations so as to be kindle-able? Probably 5% of what I read would Kindle well.

    I’d take the versatility of iPad over the 2 week charge time any day. I already take the cable for my iPhone. Its no big deal, and should I forget it, every big box store and truck stop has one.

    I weigh 250lbs…I can handle an ipad’s heft. It weighs less than Joe McNally’s latest book, which I mostly read while laying on the couch. I do wish it had better bright sun performance. I’ll be needing an umbrella if I take it to the beach. I wonder how quickly the display will become annoyingly oily and gross during extended reading sessions. The software model is not my favorite. (No plugins!? WTF).

  8. If you want to read books (and I don’t mean Winnie the Pooh or comic books, but rather adult books, fiction, history, business, etc.), the Kindle is the winner. If you’re going on vacation and only want to take one device, the Kindle is the winner, unless you want to read e-mail and surf the Web and play computer games on vacation, in which case, stay at home.

    The iPad will out sell the Kindle because the markets are different. The Kindle appeals to the very small market of literate adults who read a lot of books. The iPad appeals to the wider consumer market of Web surfers, game players, TV show watchers, and the like.

  9. I actually prefer the iPhone as a reading device. It has a Kindle app and good open-source book-reading software, plus you get the Web & all that with a much better browser interface than the Kindle’s. It’s in color and has images and sound. There are all kinds of great books available for it (not only the books on the Web or books.google.com but lots of PDF published books, lots of iPhone magazines now and so on). It’s great. I don’t know why anyone would buy a single-use device like a Kindle (locked into Amazon too and with no real ownership of files or books). I also don’t know why anyone would buy an iPad (it’s too big and bulky like an Etch a Sketch or something, and an iPhone can do just about everything it can anyway plus PHONE).

    Really what they need is a docking station for the iPhone so you can use it with keyboard and monitor, and maybe detachable hard drive too. Then I’d have no use for my desktop.

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