iPad vs. Kindle

Quite a few blogs back, I railed against electronic books, asserting that I would rather have the full “book experience”, the tactile sensations of touching a book, turning pages and feeling the cover in your hands as you navigate the text.

I received a great deal of feedback on that blog---mostly from people who have purchased the Kindle and extol its virtues, not the least of which being the positive environmental byproduct of being able to accomplish the goal (delivering text) without killing trees.

So taken by these responses and the portability of literally carrying around a thousand books in one device, I entertained the notion of buying a Kindle myself. An avid reader, I thought that perhaps my initial judgments had been too harsh.

All of this was before the release of the Apple iPad---and now I have a decision to make.
Which to buy?

Wanting anything I shell out significant dollars for to have the ability to multi-task, it would appear that the iPad has a distinct advantage over the Amazon.com product. After all, it’s color versus black & white—and the Apple wins that battle.

From surfing the web to storing music and videos, it seems that outwardly, they are devices with different missions. That said, Amazon is still quaking in its boots, fearful that Apple will turn the Kindle into the next Betamax---irrelevant.

Here’s a quick comparative video in case you too are curious about which is better to buy:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoMo4BcvPbA

Sandra Harris, 94.9 WHOM’s midday DJ allowed me to test drive her husband’s brand new iPad. I must admit that it was wildly fun—and perhaps this is the future of the PC—a portable device that’s bigger than a smartphone—and versatile enough to handle the demands of business or pleasure without lugging a laptop around.

I am loathe to buy the first version of anything, thinking that the techno geeks that must have all the new devices FIRST will be the human guinea pigs who take it through its paces and expose its flaws. Only after this extensive real-life workout will the Apple engineers have the feedback they need to improve the next model.

I’m the guy who buys the second or third version. The engineers in charge of Kindle may also realize that complete reinvention may be called for in order to compete with the iPad. The battle against the Sony Reader is largely OVER. Market share as a measuring stick says that Amazon has already vanquished the Sony product.

Apple’s vast array of applications or “apps” appear to be the real battle ground. There is even a “Kindle App” to use the Kindle technology on the Apple device.

If you have either---or both????, I would be much obliged if you were to weigh in on your experience with these amazing gadgets!

If you’d like my blog in your weekday box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com