Which one in your opinion is:
1. The easiest to use overseas and why?
2. Able to download books and magazines easily overseas?
3. OR you should skip these and buy something in the country you end up in?
If so, what?
Thoughts?
Thanks.
Ipad, Kindle or Nook?
Opinion
Depends what you want to do with it besides using it as an eReader. I prefer the iPad, but reading is only a small part of what i use it for. That said the iTunes store can be hit or miss depending on where you are. News/magazine apps, and books once downloaded work fine (though thats true of the nook and Kindle as well). I find the Kindle/Nook to be slower then the iPad, and their online stores are pretty small. I subscribe to 3 digital editions (2 magazines, and one newspaper). it really depends what you want to use it for.
The choice really should be "iPad or Kindle", since the Nook does not work for downloading in many parts of the world.
I bought the 2nd cheapest Kindle right before moving to Brazil, and I have been surprised how much I like it. I read a lot, and it has been wonderful to be able to download books to read.
I don't see much of a need for a tablet computer for other activities, but that's just me.
I bought the 2nd cheapest Kindle right before moving to Brazil, and I have been surprised how much I like it. I read a lot, and it has been wonderful to be able to download books to read.
I don't see much of a need for a tablet computer for other activities, but that's just me.
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defygravity
- Posts: 13
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2012 1:36 am
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antitravolta
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:35 am
- Location: United States
I have an iPad and Kindle and like them both for different reasons. The Kindle is definitely the best for reading, but I have found some exceptions. I buy travel ebooks before I go somewhere and the color maps and pictures on the iPad are nice. If you're reading a novel, the Kindle is the best. If you need it to do a lot of different things, definitely the iPad. My recommendation if you can afford it is both.
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antitravolta
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:35 am
- Location: United States
[quote="defygravity"]Ok, so if I want a versatile piece of technology that I can skype on, download lots of books, magazines, apps, and use for internet? Or would I be better off getting a laptop and a kindle?
Thanks, dg[/quote]
You can do all of that on an iPad. If it's magazines you're reading, the iPad's definitely better. I like to travel light so if you're going with that in mind, the iPad's the way to go.
Thanks, dg[/quote]
You can do all of that on an iPad. If it's magazines you're reading, the iPad's definitely better. I like to travel light so if you're going with that in mind, the iPad's the way to go.
My iPad has been a fantastic piece of equipment for an ex-pat lifestyle and traveling. While it's not as gratifying as actually holding a real book and flipping the pages, I don't have to tote around a 50 lb. box of books anymore; I can even download books for free from my hometown public library. And being able to read in a tent or a hotel with lousy lighting--priceless. Not to mention being able to use for Internet, taking notes, storing favorite recipes, writing blog entries on the road, and other innumerable tasks.
ipad for us
We find the Ipad invaluable for its GPS. We make sure a map is loaded onto Google Earth before we leave home with its internet, then even though it's not connected via Wifi anymore, the blue dot on the map tells us exactly where we are. It's saved us from being lost as we navigate new places many times.
Comment
So you dont have a laptop already???
The big selling point of the nook was that you could go into a B&N and read their online books just as if you could walk up to the shelves and pick a book up sit down and read it. You could only do this in store and for $100 it was a nice selling point.
Like heyteach mentioned i dont actually buy a lot of books for my iPad, I borrow eBooks from my public library back in the states. You get the book for 30 days and its very convenient.
What you need to realize is that your talking about two different types of devices the iPad is a tablet (and its not the only tablet, Samsung, Sony and a couple of other make some nice tablets as well) that can be used as an eReader, and eReaders that can do some things that a tablet does.
If you want to read a lot of books (as in black text on white background) the eReaders (Kindle/Nook) have a far better experience in my opinion, the ePaper technology is almost like reading real paper. A tablet is basically the same as looking at a small computer screen, your eyes can get strained, and the screen is typically pretty bright. The eReaders (Kindle)can also get on the web and there are some apps that you can access to let you do other things.
There are nook and kindle apps that you can use with the iPad (and other tablets) so you can access their libraries as well.
If you wanted as you wrote a general device that would let you do a lot of different things including read books/magazines, etc id go with the iPad, but in your last post you asked about getting a laptop, so my question is do you otherwise have a computer youd bring with you? If you dont get the laptop first.
1) A tablet (like the iPad) are great "consumption" devices, you can listen to music, watch video, access the internet, and youtube, read books, play games, and they are pretty good at that, but tablets are NOT very good "creation" devices. Yes there are apps like pages and keynote and you can access google docs and microsoft online apps, but its a pain to actually do any real work on a iPad, because they do have limitations. First, the creation apps are usually far more limited then the full computer use ones. They dont have the same templates and clip art, and again you cant really save anything, so you cant get a photo from the web onto the device to copy and paste into a document. Second, the interface is slow, your constantly changing screens for the keypad, and the touch controls arent that sensitive. Tablets are in this regard more like "big smart phones" then they are ultra small laptops..
2) Without a laptop space will be very limited for you. Even the largest iPad at 64GB will fill up fast. A single magazine issue to something like Cosmo, can be between 1/2 to 1 GB. A movie/video usually starts at 1GB and goes up. Once you start adding the games, and your music collection, you will constantly be having to make the painful decision of what to delete.
3) Its really hard to get material off of a tablet, especially without a computer to sync it too. You can only print to a couple of select airprint printers, and there is no removable storage, no SD cards and you cant plug in a USB drive and copy your files. In fact there isnt really a way to save anything on an iPad. So the only way to really get anything off of it, is by syncing it with a computer. If you dont have one then the only way to get music, movies, books, etc onto an iPad is by buying it through iTunes.
Really, a portable computer should be your first purchase.
The big selling point of the nook was that you could go into a B&N and read their online books just as if you could walk up to the shelves and pick a book up sit down and read it. You could only do this in store and for $100 it was a nice selling point.
Like heyteach mentioned i dont actually buy a lot of books for my iPad, I borrow eBooks from my public library back in the states. You get the book for 30 days and its very convenient.
What you need to realize is that your talking about two different types of devices the iPad is a tablet (and its not the only tablet, Samsung, Sony and a couple of other make some nice tablets as well) that can be used as an eReader, and eReaders that can do some things that a tablet does.
If you want to read a lot of books (as in black text on white background) the eReaders (Kindle/Nook) have a far better experience in my opinion, the ePaper technology is almost like reading real paper. A tablet is basically the same as looking at a small computer screen, your eyes can get strained, and the screen is typically pretty bright. The eReaders (Kindle)can also get on the web and there are some apps that you can access to let you do other things.
There are nook and kindle apps that you can use with the iPad (and other tablets) so you can access their libraries as well.
If you wanted as you wrote a general device that would let you do a lot of different things including read books/magazines, etc id go with the iPad, but in your last post you asked about getting a laptop, so my question is do you otherwise have a computer youd bring with you? If you dont get the laptop first.
1) A tablet (like the iPad) are great "consumption" devices, you can listen to music, watch video, access the internet, and youtube, read books, play games, and they are pretty good at that, but tablets are NOT very good "creation" devices. Yes there are apps like pages and keynote and you can access google docs and microsoft online apps, but its a pain to actually do any real work on a iPad, because they do have limitations. First, the creation apps are usually far more limited then the full computer use ones. They dont have the same templates and clip art, and again you cant really save anything, so you cant get a photo from the web onto the device to copy and paste into a document. Second, the interface is slow, your constantly changing screens for the keypad, and the touch controls arent that sensitive. Tablets are in this regard more like "big smart phones" then they are ultra small laptops..
2) Without a laptop space will be very limited for you. Even the largest iPad at 64GB will fill up fast. A single magazine issue to something like Cosmo, can be between 1/2 to 1 GB. A movie/video usually starts at 1GB and goes up. Once you start adding the games, and your music collection, you will constantly be having to make the painful decision of what to delete.
3) Its really hard to get material off of a tablet, especially without a computer to sync it too. You can only print to a couple of select airprint printers, and there is no removable storage, no SD cards and you cant plug in a USB drive and copy your files. In fact there isnt really a way to save anything on an iPad. So the only way to really get anything off of it, is by syncing it with a computer. If you dont have one then the only way to get music, movies, books, etc onto an iPad is by buying it through iTunes.
Really, a portable computer should be your first purchase.