Do I get an ipad or a kindle?

[bigbadbarry]

I know they are quite different but I am going to buy myself...something...and can't quite decide. DH has a kindle so there is one in the house already - plus I have a big pile of paper books waiting to be read. But I keep thinking how it would revolutionise packing to go away if I didn't have to fill my case with books! So I giess what I am really wondering is, what is it like to read on an ipad? Is it manageable? Will it give me a headache?
Any other thoughts?

If anyone is going to buy a kindle, there is a £20 off code on the moneysavingexpert website here.

- or do so with a pseudonym and a free Google Mail account, so they cannot put you on a 'ban from being a UK customer' list - or talk to your MEP and local trading standards to see what they think.

I don't think Italy has trading standards, other than "buyer beware and tough luck if you get ripped off"

But I'm pretty sure i have an MEP lurking around somewhere (hopefully not a mad lega Nord one) so I can contact them. Can def. whinge at Amazon behind an unknown email address.

Maybe we need to set up a eurotrash expats pressure group.

[hauls dusty placards from the 80s out from under the stairs]

Re Kindle " £20 off code " - I noticed in the MSE site it says "The offer's only available over the phone until 11.59pm Thursday 23 June and you'll need to collect it at your nearest Tesco. See full details of the Kindle at Tesco Direct"

Just felt it worth pointing out to people if interested, then act sooner rather than later !

worth also pointing out the MSE page that sis linked to also has links to various sources of free books (tens of thousands in total by the time Project Gutenberg is included!)

Thanks for the tip re the e-cloth Rusty. I have one of those so will give it a go (if I can get near enough to it to try!).

wi-fi only or 3gs?
really like the look of the Ipad to help my ds with homework etc and just found out youngest ds starts school in September and they have just bought them for the classroom!!

I got my ipad several weeks ago and love it. But having seen my mum's kindle I do think it is easier to read novels on a kindle because the lighting is not so harsh. However, the kindle doesn't compare when looking at the rest of the ipad's functionality.

I bought a new one just for the ipad & used to hide it so it didn't get used for anything else before I cut it to size & put it in the case. It has to be pristine to go anywhere near my precious screen...

I've got a kindle which I love. Very light, you can read it outside in the sunlight and my eyes don't hurt which they often do when reading on other electronic devices. I use the kindle app on my i-phone and it keeps my place even when I swap back to the kindle. I wanted something specifically for reading and this does the job brilliantly. Battery (with wi fi turned off) is well over a month. Also I don't need another Sim card to pay to use the wireless connection

Hubby has i-pad and you can get the kindle app for this but it is bulkier and the battery doesn't last as long and it is considerably more expensive. Also you need a pay as you go contract to access the internet. Of course you can do more with this ie watch films, go on t'internet, down load apps etc.

There's definitely a case for both and I suppose I'm spoiled in that I don't really have to choose between them as I can use hubby's i-pad. If I was buying only for myself and had to choose then I would go Kindle purely because I wouldn't use the additional faciilties of the i-pad to justify paying 4x the price of the kindle. But that's just me :-)

I thought that the kindle was 'unique' in that the screen is matt and therefore much more like a book and easier to read, so how does Kindle app work on ipad? We have both at home by the way. I much prefer kindle - smaller, lighter, easier to handle.

What do you mean "how does Kindle app work on ipad" ?

As far as I can tell (as I have neither iPhone or Kindle) the main idea is that whatever 'progress' has been made is kept up to date with the Amazon site so if you read as far as page 50 on one, opening that book on the other will shift to page 50, and if you get to page 100, switching back to the other device will mean that it opens at page 100...

The kindle app on the ipad just means you can read kindle books on the iPad.

it doesn't make the screen turn matt :o

I sometimes buy an iBook and sometimes buy a kindle book from amazon. Much prefer the iBook app though, it is beautiful [shallow]

Yes, that's it, you can keep your place in the book on either device, or indeed an Iphone, but you have to keep the Kindle connected to WiFi (or presumably 3G) for this to work.

I have unnatural feelings of love for my Kindle, the sexy little, long life batter, lovely reading screen minx.

And don't get me started on it's cover...

I'd go Kindle.

MmeLindor: I am not in the UK or even Europe but hanker after a kindle or e reader. I had thought of going the way of using my parents' UK address to acquire and an account, but had wondered if this would necessarily solve all problems. So I have a question for you:

Does the Kindle work with any old internet connection or does it have to be connected a mobile phone network?

Where I live there are no kindles, so having to connect it to a mobile network would be impossible.

Is there Internet there Cat cos that's all you need really if just getting a Wifi one I would of thought.

Wifi I can do. Not a problem. And if that's all I need, I think I shall be saving up to buy one on my next trip to the UK. Thanks LadyGok.

Also an email addy to, to set up the amazon account for the books and your set

I have an iPad and my kids have wifi kindles. They are 13 and 11 and both avid readers and we are all happily working off my amazon account for now. Both their kindles performed better than the ipad for reading on the plane and in Tenerife at Easter - the kindles were used heavily throughout holiday with no need for charging, whereas I was constantly charging the iPad.

DD1 came back from school trip today - 18 hr coach drive back from south of france, and she said the Kindle really helped to keep her sane.

I agree with others' comments that it's a question of what you use the piece of technology for and how you can share it. For our Easter flights I made sure we had a mixture of video and books loaded on the kindles and iPads so we could swap around as we got bored, and that worked very well.

I have both a Kindle and a 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab, no iPad. I think this smaller Tab is a great compromise, with the size and weight of the Kindle with the benefits of the apps and features of the iPad. Both my Kindle and Tab are 3G enabled.

Does the Tab really have the same apps as the Ipad? I thought some were apple only?

The Tab has android apps, rather than apple ones - some are versions of the same thing, some are different. There are still far more apple apps than android, though more android apps are being brought out all the time.

I have tried out lots of different tablets at various times (I'm IT manager at a school and looking into the possibility of using tablets of some type at school) None of them imo have the responsiveness and intuitiveness of the iPad, but, especially in the education market, the lower cost and the ability to run Flash (which is used by a lot of education websites) will probably turn the scales.

There will be some Apple-only or Android-only apps, but lots of apps are made with both platforms in mind. There are projections for Android to hit 45% of the mobile market in 4-5 years so it is unlikely that Android will be ignored by many (even though the BBC seemed to manage it, releasing some news app for Apple to the anger of many Android and Blackberry users).

What about the Blackberry Playbook - is that just for Blackberry apps?