The Kindle vs iPad Now

I was adamant the Kindle was for me, even after the fancy new iPad came out. But, hubby the techno lover, was all for iPad. So, our house has both (although I rarely get to touch the iPad).

So, how do I feel about Kindle now that we have the shiny Mac version?

• Kindle still has the best screen to read off. The iPad is lit like an iPod, so I find the glare distracting, even if you tone it down.
• There's a lot of books I can't download for Kindle if I'm from Australia, even though they are available. 
• The books available just for the iPad are very limited - but I expect that will change, we have some publishing rights issues down under.
• I find the way Kindle stores my books a bit messy. Just long continuous lists.
• The iPad has a way better interface. I love that it shows little pictures of the book covers. My Kindle only lists the titles - I don't want to give up covers, weirdly they are part of my reading experience.
• The iPad is colour. That's a big plus for any picture books.
• Kindle does not allow me to share books. If I bought a paperback I could pass it on when I'm done, I could also photocopy a page if I wanted to use it in the classroom, I was surprised to learn I couldn't print a page from Kindle for Mac. To be fair, I don't think you can do this with the iPad yet either?
• I can get pretty skins for my Kindle (looks matter to me - that's why I like book covers).
• Kindle is lighter and easier to hold.
• iPad has a bigger screen.

In summary? I still prefer to read fiction off my Kindle. The screen is as easy on my eyes as reading out of a paperback novel. But. I like looking at the books on the iPad because of the colour and I wish, wish, wish Kindle would use book cover pictures in a bookshelf style like iBooks does. If it did, I would upgrade to the Kindle DX