It’s all about the E Ink, baby.
Like all lawyers and law students, I spend an inordinate amount of time staring at the written word. As far as I’m concerned, it would be stupid not to make the process as painless as possible. For me, that means reducing eye strain and maximizing hand and arm comfort while reading.
Obviously a 19 oz Kindle DX is more comfortable to hold than a traditional book weighing several pounds—that’s a given.1 But compared to the 20 oz iPad, the weight and dimensions are basically a wash.
Normally, like Alton Brown, I’m anti-unitasking. In this case, though, I think a unitasking reading device makes sense for people in our profession. If Alton Brown spent 95% of his time peeling apples, I suspect he’d find a device specifically made for apple-peeling to be a reasonable investment.
Regular LG readers know that I love my iPad: I take it everywhere, it organizes my life, and in a pinch it substitutes for a real computer. None of those qualities describe my relationship with my Kindle, and that’s okay. Why? Because the Kindle is fantastic at doing the one thing I want it to do: displaying text. Anyone who has seen an E Ink display will tell you that compared to backlit pixels, E Ink is a vast improvement for purposes of reading text. The Kindle is made for one thing and one thing only: staring at text on a screen without straining your eyes, and does that one thing extremely well.
From a financial standpoint, there’s no reason to make a purchase from iBooks: in my experience, ebooks from iBooks are generally more expensive than their Kindle counterparts and the catalogue on Amazon.com is significantly more extensive. Moreover, once you buy an eBook from Amazon, you can read it on your Kindle device, on the Kindle app on your iPhone or iPad, on your Android, you can download the software to your PC, and soon you’ll be able to open it up in a browser. The same versatility can’t be said for books purchased from Apple.
If you’re considering using your Kindle to read cases, you should consider going with the larger Kindle DX. In my experience, the DX can display cases nearly at full-size. It’s not completely ideal as you either need to have extremely good vision to see the small text when it’s scaled down, or you have to magnify the text which will make it such that it’s not a 1:1 display, meaning that you’ll have to scroll through the page to see the entire case text.
There are some downsides to the Kindle: It’s not terribly easy to get documents onto the Kindle. Okay, there is an easy (read: wireless) way, but it costs money. The second is that compared to an iPad, the Kindle is extremely slow. The speed is limited by the mechanical action of having an ink-like substance realign when polarized a certain way. The speed can be improved with firmware, and the current generation of eReaders is significantly faster than the original iterations. Eventually the speed will catch up to pixel displays, but not for a while.
Even with the constraints, I’m happy that I own both a Kindle and an iPad. Plus, as a side benefit, the Kindle came in really handy during my Post Bar Exam Mexico Vacation, where I had no internet save the free Kindle 3G connection, and had no chance of seeing my iPad with the glare from that glowing yellow ball in the sky. Obviously, most of us never get to see the sun, so it’s a minor benefit, but a benefit nonetheless.
Do you use an E Ink eReader? Are you with me on the obvious benefits?
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting. I use the Kindle app on the iPad and like it (although it’s taxing on the eyes). I wonder if long term iPad use is harmful. I considered getting a Kindle since I read a lot, but I’m just not ready for yet another device.
[On a loosely related note, when it comes to close (work) reading, I'm wired to read stuff on paper. I'm not sure why, but my comprehension is much better when I mark up and tab (esp. bigger docs).]
@Venkat, there are plenty of studies showing that prolonged use of computer monitors can be harmful. iPad is based on the same technology, so my assumption is that the findings are directly translatable.
I think a lot of people agree with you about preferring to read on oldschool paper. It’s a certainty though that as the technology improves, you won’t be able to tell the difference anymore; presumably, when that happens, the cognitive bias will be purged.
I haven’t got an iPad (not overly fussed with what I’ve seen and I don’t need the portability) but I have got a kindle (not DX) and I absolutely love it. It is a treat on your eyes, has a light built in which perfectly displays the device in the dark, has an incredible battery life and can store what used to take up half my room in shelving. It is my new lover.
Hi great article thanks for sharing. Can something bought on the kindle app (on my ipad) be transferred to my kindle?
I’m really tempted by the iPad, but I’m holding off. I had a Kindle, an iPod Touch, and a MacBook (as well as a PC at work and my partner’s PC at home). The iPad is very cool but my existing devices cover most of the functions I need. I imagine I’d travel more with an iPad than I do with my MacBook.
Do you ever blog from your iPad?
I read A LOT on my Kindle. It’s easy to put PDF docs on it using the USB cable, and they’re reasonably easy to read, even on the smaller size Kindle — but would be much better on the DX.
@Mary, I’ve blogged a few times from my iPad. Especially from airports. The iPad WordPress app is reasonably stable nowadays.
The Kindle DX is still a little too small to comfortably read full-sized cases, sadly. I’m looking forward to the day (probably soon) where we will see a full 8.5″x11″, flexible display.