31 March 2010

kindle vs. ipad - muhammad ali vs. haystacks calhoun


what? you never heard of haystacks calhoun?? the greatest wrestler ever??

well, after you edify yourself in the finer aspects of wrestling, my analogy will make more sense. for all the things boxing and wrestling have in common, they are quite different sports.

the same is true, in my opinion, about the amazon kindle and the apple ipad. please see exhibit a: an article on pc magazine's website published on january 28, 2010 entitled "will the ipad kill the kindle? of course not." the following is from the article: "E-readers are purpose-built devices, and will be relatively less expensive. Tablets like the iPad will do a lot more and will cost more as well, but may not be quite as good at providing a reading experience." (note init caps)

exhibit b: today, pc magazine's website provides this little gem: apple ipad won't be used for reading. survey says. i'm shocked, shocked i say.

i have long maintained that the amazon kindle is perfect for what it was invented and designed to do. make reading lots of books easier and more accessible. not to browse the web, not to play mp3s, etc., etc., etc.

and i'm not alone. stephen king in his april 2nd column for entertainment weekly is quoted as saying "I have no plans to get an iPad. I know it will do more things than my Kindle, but I don’t want more things. If I want other stuff — movies, TV shows, weather forecasts, the forthcoming Josh Ritter album — I have my Mac. When it comes to reading, the Kindle supplies everything I want, thanks."

so there you have it! if it's good enough for stephen king . . .

happy reading . . . no matter the format!

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