The Paperwhite is a fine device, but the only place it wins is in outdoor environments with very bright ambient lighting. Everywhere else, the iPad mini works just fine. Battery life is much better on the Paperwhite, but that's not really an issue. iPads last at least 10 hours, if not more, and I have never once had a solid 10-hr reading session. I always have time to recharge somewhere.
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iPad mini Anyone switch from reading on a Paperwhite to reading on the rMini?
- Thread starter Frankied22
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I have a Kindle Paperwhite, Air and rMini. I have a job where I basically sit until I get called for a breakdown so I read for about a third of my workday. I use the rMini instead of the Paperwhite at work now. I like the contrast and speed of the rMini over the Kindle. The only problem I have is surfing the internet too much vs reading books. This was never an issue with the Kindle. As far as comics and magazines it's the Air all day. I think the rMini is too small for those. The Paperwhite is still the best for outdoor use.
James
James
I don't think that's true actually. There definitely is glare, just slightly more muted since the screen is not reflective but matte. In really bright environments, you still have to position the screen so that the light source doesn't provide too much glare off of the screen.
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That's interesting - having those three would be overkill for me personally but I can see how the paperwhite is sort of being nudged out of your usage. Do you never use it at all anymore?
Maybe there is some "slight" glare, but it is significantly less than my iPad Mini screen in almost every situation.
I use both. I use my rMini primarily for web, Twitter, Newsstand, and Zite, but I use my Paperwhite 2 primarily for anything longer than what I just mentioned. While the rMini display is great, I think the major difference is two-fold: the Paperwhite 2 has a front-lit, rather than back-lit display, and it's matte while the rMini's is glossy. I don't know that I get eye strain from the rMini, necessarily, but I do find longform reading (novels, mostly) more comfortable on the Paperwhite 2--especially at night, in bed.
Plus, of course, the rMini is useless outside.
That's interesting - having those three would be overkill for me personally but I can see how the paperwhite is sort of being nudged out of your usage. Do you never use it at all anymore?[/QUOTE]
I have all 3 too. I tend to use the Air at home, take the rMini to the office and read the paperwhite 2 in bed. I guess it is overkill. The problem with reading on the rMini is that I always end up on here!
I have all 3 too. I tend to use the Air at home, take the rMini to the office and read the paperwhite 2 in bed. I guess it is overkill. The problem with reading on the rMini is that I always end up on here!
I have all 3 too. I tend to use the Air at home, take the rMini to the office and read the paperwhite 2 in bed. I guess it is overkill. The problem with reading on the rMini is that I always end up on here![/QUOTE]
It's hilarious and sad, but true. Everytime I try reading on my iPad, I invariably end up in Safari.
This does happen to me, often. I just conclude that whatever book I was trying to read must not have been that important / interesting anyway.
I mean, if I have a "can't put down" book, I do read it on the iPad, and realize, after finishing the book, I haven't opened Safari or any other app in half a day.
This does happen to me, often. I just conclude that whatever book I was trying to read must not have been that important / interesting anyway.
I mean, if I have a "can't put down" book, I do read it on the iPad, and realize, after finishing the book, I haven't opened Safari or any other app in half a day.
Ha, yeah. My problem is with the "can put down and frequently do" books, which applies to most dense non-fiction books. If I use a kindle, the most I can do is browse other books. On an ipad, I'm off on some other tangent completely in cyberspace!
I switched from an iPad Mini to the current generation paperwhite.
Personally, I FAR prefer the reading experience on an eInk display. I have no strong allegiance or preference towards Kindle's eInk devices, but that said I am at this point invested in the Kindle format (I've bought a number of ebooks on amazon).
For me, it comes down to a few main points:
1) It's FAR less distracting for me to read on a kindle (I'm just going to say "kindle", but I don't mean the android) then an ipad. It's honestly refreshing for me to have something so "simple" as a book in front of me, laying in bed. I don't have to fight the urge to check my email, or refresh the redit homepage, or play some stupid video game, etc. I have only a single option: read the words on the page in front of me.
2) Even though the battery life on the iPad is awesome awesome, it's not as good as the kindle. AND honestly, the battery life on the ipad mini blows me away. But even still, it's something that I do think about. On my Kindle, I never, ever think about it. Sometimes for weeks on end, reading every night, I don't even think about it or notice it. When I do get a low battery notice, I can normally still read for another full night (at least) before actually having to plug anything in. For me, this is huge. I don't need to think about taking a charger with me on trips, etc, unless it's a very very long trip. Of course, being a nerd, I always have a micro-usb charger somewhere close (and the fact that it's a standard micro-usb cable is a huge plus), but it's a weight off of me to not have to think about it.
3) The display itself, for me, is an absolute must. I spend my entire day sitting on a computer, reading text (well, programming, which involves lots of text reading!). For me, I don't get headaches or anything looking at a display like this all day. I don't "mind" it. But, it's NOT the same as looking at a book. eInk is, obviously, closer to a paper book then a led/lcd screen. Again, the resolution on the ipad rmini is amazing, super super impressive, but for me that matters less then the "look" and feel of the display.
All of this said, if I was going to buy one or the other, and reading was only a part of what I was interested in doing, I'd certainly choose an iPad Mini over a kindle. So take all of this with a grain of salt.
p.s. I actually preferred the kindle without the backlight. I had the kindle keyboard and loved it. The backlight is super super convenient, but for me takes away a bit of the "book" feel.
Personally, I FAR prefer the reading experience on an eInk display. I have no strong allegiance or preference towards Kindle's eInk devices, but that said I am at this point invested in the Kindle format (I've bought a number of ebooks on amazon).
For me, it comes down to a few main points:
1) It's FAR less distracting for me to read on a kindle (I'm just going to say "kindle", but I don't mean the android) then an ipad. It's honestly refreshing for me to have something so "simple" as a book in front of me, laying in bed. I don't have to fight the urge to check my email, or refresh the redit homepage, or play some stupid video game, etc. I have only a single option: read the words on the page in front of me.
2) Even though the battery life on the iPad is awesome awesome, it's not as good as the kindle. AND honestly, the battery life on the ipad mini blows me away. But even still, it's something that I do think about. On my Kindle, I never, ever think about it. Sometimes for weeks on end, reading every night, I don't even think about it or notice it. When I do get a low battery notice, I can normally still read for another full night (at least) before actually having to plug anything in. For me, this is huge. I don't need to think about taking a charger with me on trips, etc, unless it's a very very long trip. Of course, being a nerd, I always have a micro-usb charger somewhere close (and the fact that it's a standard micro-usb cable is a huge plus), but it's a weight off of me to not have to think about it.
3) The display itself, for me, is an absolute must. I spend my entire day sitting on a computer, reading text (well, programming, which involves lots of text reading!). For me, I don't get headaches or anything looking at a display like this all day. I don't "mind" it. But, it's NOT the same as looking at a book. eInk is, obviously, closer to a paper book then a led/lcd screen. Again, the resolution on the ipad rmini is amazing, super super impressive, but for me that matters less then the "look" and feel of the display.
All of this said, if I was going to buy one or the other, and reading was only a part of what I was interested in doing, I'd certainly choose an iPad Mini over a kindle. So take all of this with a grain of salt.
p.s. I actually preferred the kindle without the backlight. I had the kindle keyboard and loved it. The backlight is super super convenient, but for me takes away a bit of the "book" feel.
I had a Paperwhite and although I liked eink, I didn't like the Kindle software. I then bought an rMini and tried reading on it. Although it is fine for emails, videos, web surfing etc., it just doesn't come near the experience of eink reading. It is far too heavy to read for long, particularly one handed in bed and has too much reflection, especially in bright light. I ended up buying a Kobo Aura which I love. It is only 174g (rMini is 341g) so is a pleasure to read on in bed, and you can add custom fonts, change the weight of the font and do much more customisation if you wish. If you like to read for longish periods then I highly recommend trying eink.
I agree. I love the iPad. It's just an awesome device. But for pure reading, e-ink just feels so much better.
Yes, they do. And I find that most e-readers are rugged enough that you don't really need a case. They just don't feel nearly as fragile as an iPad. The way lower price point also helps. I throw my Kindles around (relatively speaking, of course) and don't really worry about additional protection.
I agree that when I handled the Kindle, it feels rugged enough I don't feel like I need a case for it. I'd probably get one, but I just can't stand eink. It doesn't look at all like a book to me, it just feels more blurry than a book or the iPad.
Having recently read a series of paper books after a long time only reading on an eink reader, I was surprised to find it so much harder than I remembered. Not only were the books far heavier and more cumbersome, but the text was harder to read and definitely not such a high quality/definition as my Aura.
I, too, have a hard time going back to a printed book after reading books on digital devices (in my case, not eink, but iPad) for so long. Mainly because I've gotten used to enlarging the text. Now most print is too tiny, and I have a hard time reading them even with glasses!
I have a case for mine so the screen doesn't get cracked or scratched when it's in my purse (I've had an iRiver Story HD with cracked screen). The case stays on if I'm just reading while waiting at the doctor's office, etc. When I'm at home and settling for marathon reading sessions, I take the case off. While cases do add weight, e-ink readers tend to be much lighter than tablets to begin with so even with the additional weight, I find they're still easy to hold and operate single-handedly for short periods of time.
I use the Amazon case on my paperwhite but am always toying with "going naked". Feels great in the hand. I'm the same with my iPhone, case on, case off etc etc.....I guess one thing to consider (and that one one really knows yet) is the lifespan of these devices. I'm already on my 3rd Kindle but that's cause I just like to upgrade to the latest one.
Meh, I just have $5-10 cases for my Kindle. As for lifespan, my iRiver broke in the 1st month of ownership. I've never dropped it or anything.
I actually used my Paperwhite without a case for a couple of months. It's a lot less fragile than the iRiver. However, when I started to notice scratches on the screen (likely from bumping into flash drives, etc inside my purse), that's when I bought a case for it.
Seriously! I picked up a real book yesterday and was just simply blown away by how small the text was. I can't believe I used to read books with font that small on a consistent basis. Nowadays, I blow up the font of whatever book I'm reading since they're all in digital format.