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Comments:
me, Molly! - 2011-01-18 18:48:43
Ok, lemme ask you this: why does one need both a kindle and an ipad? I ask because I am contemplating the ipad for me birthday, but mostly for the kindle features. I read my kindle books now on my ipod touch, which is completely fine, just a bit wee. What does the actual kindle device add? Appreciatively yours, me.
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Melissa - 2011-01-18 20:14:03
Molly, it's all in the e-ink (the genius of which, see below), though there are also these reasons:
1) Battery life of up to 1 month (!) if you keep WiFi turned off except to download books (whichs takes seconds)
2) Size - about as big and as heavy as a medium-sized mass-produced paperback;
3) Glare-free screen that allows you to read even in direct sunlight.
About the e-ink, it's the most like real paper, and after you've read just a few pages, you totally forget that you're actually holding an electronic device in your hands.
Now, e-ink proponents claim that e-ink avoids the kind of eye strain associated with reading LCD-screen devices because there is no "backflash" as on a computer. I guess there's a bit of objective debate about whether reading on a computer, being exposed to the so-called backflash, etc. truly does cause significant eye strain. (See the article I linked below.) I know in my case, though, that it does. While reading the Kindle does just the opposite; after reading a book on my K3, in fact, I find it hard to go back to a regular book. It's not just that I can adjust the font. The e-ink print is just clearer and crisper looking to me. And I spend so much time working on computers - and the rest of it reading, basically - that I try to minimize eye strain in any way possible. I never have a headache after using the Kindle (sometimes for hours at a time), whereas I often have to turn off the computer because of headache.
http://kindleworld.blogspot.com/2010/11/cnet-lcd-vs-e-ink-eyestrain-debate.html
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Melissa - 2011-01-18 20:20:26
P.S. The most salient info in that link is in the golden-boxed comment once you scroll down the page. It's from the inventor of e-ink so I'm thinking the technical specs are just about right!
Re: the light-source/eye-strain debate: I am very sensitive to light sources. In fact, I have to avoid indoor malls because they always trigger migraines in me. And I love me Kindle.
Of course, you can watch movies on the iPad. That's why I can't wrest it away from the kids.
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Molly - 2011-01-18 23:26:23
Ah, that makes excellent sense. We have the same problem with the ipad--the kids always steal Jeff's because it's the easiest video player ever invented for baby fingers. Matilda had it figured out when she was 2. Thanks for the info--my eyes are getting worse lately, so this advice is probably important for the whole fam. XO
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