iPad vs. Kindle vs. Nook -- which one's better for you?
Coffee lover, e-reader aficionado, and Instapaper developer Marco Arment put together what he describes as an informal survey of the current library landscape, including iPad and iBooks, Amazon's Kindle and Kindle app, the Nook color, and Kobo.
If you’re going to primarily read periodicals, get the iPad. If you’re going to read books, all of these platforms look like safe options.
Check out his comparison charts for books, magazines, and newspapers. It's not so much his results, which he cautions you take with a grain of salt, but the method he recommends for finding which device or app ecosystem is best for you that's compelling.
Source: Marco.org
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, Executive Producer at Mobile Nations, co-host of Iterate and ZEN and TECH, cook, grappler, photon wrangler.
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I have and enjoy an iPad, but I never, ever use it as an e-reader. The Kindle's (mine's last-gen) E Ink display is just so much more pleasurable to read on, especially if I'm settling down to read for more than half an hour or so.
To be fair, though, I never use it to read periodicals or comics, which I think are pretty obviously better served by the iPad.
I came here to say exactly that. I wouldn't want to have to make a choice between my iPad and my Kindle. They both have their uses. I can't imagine reading on an iPad for any length of time. If I couldn't have a Kindle I'd be carrying around a paperback with my iPad everywhere.
Have you ever used iBooks on the iPad before? If you haven't you should defiantly try it. It's an awesome experience, maybe not better than the Kindle, but not worse either.
I don't know about the iPad, but on the iPhone the kindle app is a much better experience than iBooks IMO.
I think the problem I have and hear most often is the weight. If you try to lay in bed and read the iPad, it's just too darn heavy and hard to hold onto in any way that lets you turn pages or interact with the screen. I still use my iPad (as I don't have a Kindle) but have considered getting one. My wife has a Kindle and loves it for reading (though it has a LOT of other shortcomings).
the first time i've lkooed at your blog site and i must say that this blog has given me a better outlook on my day after reading a little bit of my Bible!! thx la!!
I can read on my iphone. Retina display is awesome.
I pretty much sold my Kindle after reading a few books on the iphone 4.
Best for me would be my playbook with a kindle app... Kobo is ok on it but definitely doesn't get it done. Again, for me, it has the perfect form factor for reading on crowded NYC subways and outside of my apt.
One other thing to consider? iBooks is iPad only. Kindle, nook and kobo all also have iPad apps. Strange analogy, but it is like the Sears commercials that say "Only Sears sells ALL of America's top appliance brands" because they are the only one's who sell their Kenmore brand.
Not sure if you can get nook or kobo apps on a kindle, and vice versa. So if you are looking for a truly flexible (I know, sounds weird to me, too) experience, buying eBooks from where every you want, iPad is the way.
I have both an iPad and a color nook, and I use (and love) them both. The nook is vastly more comfortable to hold in bed or in a chair, so it's much better for books. But for The New Yorker? The iPad is fab.
belblaiiei on September 7, 2011 I sing the beginning of this song to my friend, who has a BA in English and is doing nothing with it. Then I have to laugh to keep from crying because I have a BA in Biology and am doing nothing with it.
Kobo Vox
I don't read and for looking at the pretty pictures, it's like hands down the iPad for me.
At least for me, I like the idea of having a separate eReader, other than my iPad because the iPad strains my eyes after an hour of reading or so. Additionally, I just find it a really distracting device with all the notifications and not to mention that it's an A.D.D. catalyst.
I am currently using the Ipad to read. I dislike reading on it. I don't like the weight of it for reading and I don't like the glare. My eyes tend to get sore from the display.
I have borrowed my brothers Kindle and it is much easier on my eyes. I have a Kindle Touch ordered that is to be released around 23Nov.
Coworker has a Nook, which I liked also.
Ink display is just so much more pleasurable to read on, especially if I'm settling down
I have an iPad 2 and a nook color...the nook is crap in comparison even with cyanogenmod7 on it. 7" screen sizes suck for everything except ereading and if I wanted only an e reader I would get a kindle with an e ink screen so the battery would last a month
What no Tab???
I just pre-ordered the Kindle Touch. The price was definitely right. (At $100, it's practically in the gift category.) I couldn't read with the iPad. It's way too heavy, and takes two hands - one to hold, and one to turn the page. With the Nook or Kindle, you have feather light, and can turn the page with the hand that's holding the device.
The iPad is a media/games device.
I have an iPad and my wife a Kindle. I'm actually considering getting a Kindle for the reading aspect, as the iPad is too heavy to read in bed (with a toddler, one of the few times I get to read is in bed before going to sleep). Otherwise, if I have to do more than read (like research from my reading, etc.) then iPad wins hands down. The Kindle is nearly impossible to take notes or highlight stuff (hopefully that is better on the new Touch models).
For just plain reading... Kindle. Anything else, iPad.
The biggest problem (on all of them, I think) is the dumb restrictions still in place around lending or being able to lend/sell books, etc. I don't typically read throw-away books; I intend to keep them and possibly read them again, or at least to reference for research (part of the reason I went to e-books is to eliminate like 6 big bookshelves full of books and to always have them all with me). We donated most of our paper book collection to a library. How will this kind of thing work in the future with e-books? How does one sell them or donate them to someone or organization? The lending policy is just dumb right now, only allowing the borrowing of a title ONCE. Those kind of things must become more like traditional books before I'll ever feel completely comfortable with my transition.
I prefer iPhone 4 over iPad for reading.
Oops, that wasn't meant to be a reply to you.
Too many times I read uintteresinng articles on subjects similar to this and lose interest in reading them. I'm delighted to see that you have changed my status on this subject by writing interesting material.
While I love iOS, when I e-read, it's on the Kindle. The e-ink display is amazing.
While I love iOS, when I e-read, it's on the Kindle. The e-ink display is amazing.
While I love iOS, when I e-read, it's on the Kindle. The e-ink display is amazing.
While I love iOS, when I e-read, it's on the Kindle. The e-ink display is amazing.
While I love iOS, when I e-read, it's on the Kindle. The e-ink display is amazing.
While I love iOS, when I e-read, it's on the Kindle. The e-ink display is amazing.
While I love iOS, when I e-read, it's on the Kindle. The e-ink display is amazing.
I love reading on e-ink devices. I had an original Nook, and just got the new basic Kindle (was waiting for them to ditch the keyboard). Reading on iPhone or iPad isn't relaxing to me. And the new Kindle is so small and especially LIGHT, it's very comfortable to use for long periods and carry in any bag.
I'm going to get some 'e-reader' for christmas, I have been asked to get some feedback on which device, be it the ipad, nook, or kindle, is better. I pose the question to you. Having never owned anything of the sort, I need your feedback.
nice comparison, but i love my ipad most.
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