Who would buy an Ipad if you already have a MBA and Kindle for Mac as of today?

[rittchard]

This morning I found out that I can also buy a book and not carry extra weight by using the Kindle application. So, now I have movies, tv series, songs (I have an Iphone as well), and books, in a small package that is almost the same weight of the Ipad (a pound is not a lot of difference), and if you would throw the book that I am leaving home in the equation I am carrying less weight, and I have a full featured computer to work with.

I guess your point is you are very happy about the addition of Kindle for Mac particularly for the MBA, which is already light and extremely portable?

Anyway, I think I'm one of the few people who actually answered the question you pose in the title of the thread - the addition of Kindle to my MBA really doesn't change my desire for the iPad a bit, I'm still 100% IN. Regarding the weight, of course a pound (actually 1.5 pound) is not much in the grand scheme of things if you are talking travel weight. However, from a *relative* sense the MBA weighs TWICE as much, and that is significant, particularly if you are thinking about sitting in bed or on the couch (or in the bathroom) holding it in one hand while using the other to turn the pages (using the touch screen). So while it's nice that the MBA now has the Kindle eBook capability, it's not going to offer the same reading experience - it's more of an added convenience to an already great device. Whereas on the iPad I anticipate it will simply be a great "must have" app and reading on the iPad will be much closer to reading a real book.

If I absolutely had to choose between the 2 I can't say yet, it would definitely be tough. The convenience and touch interface of the iPad vs. the full featured (and keyboard) MBA - man I'd hate to have to choose

 

[MikhailT]

This is another great point.
The e-ink screens have always been touted as better than a reflective LCD for reading...

...yet suddenly many people are calling the iPad a "kindle killer".

Wha? Why?

For reading and reading alone, the Kindle is far superior and easier on your eyeballs.

Can the iPad do more and thus Amazon may have to work harder and get the Kindle prices down? Absolutely...

But just because Apple is making the touch screen device doesn't suddenly mean that shiny LCD screens are now "great for reading for long periods of time!"

After all. Apple uses the same LCD technology has everyone else. It hasn't magically gotten better for long periods of time reading on it.

First of all, majority of people complaining about eye strains are reading content on bright LCD in dim rooms. Those are what caused the eye strains, not the LCD itself. Some people use special anti-glare glasses to help with the eye strains if the LCD doesn't dim low enough. There's a reason many of the ebook applications on iPhone has dark mode, they do help a lot when reading on bed. Same situation with iPad, there'll be dark mode to help with reading in dim or dark room.

Secondly, hundreds if not tens of millions of people read content all day on their monitor. The eye strain occurs when reading for long period of time because of the previous reason and because people are not blinking their eyes as often as needed. This happens because of more words per line on a monitor cause people to try to read the whole line without blinking and it will put more stain on the eyes. People need to rest their eyes more often. (Especially on a wide screen monitor, I have seen people read ebooks like this and they don't barely blink once per line).

Third, Apple is using IPS screen, which is the best screen technology you can get and the best for reading as well due to the fact that it has high viewing angles and superior text clarity with high contrast, which is why eInk is better, it has very high contrast. Good quality IPS screens are usually very expensive. 24" monitor using IPS would cost you 300-400$ nowadays, majority of people don't buy those when they can buy 150-200$ 24" monitors.

I have no eye strains reading books on my 24" IPS screen in good lighting environment, which is why I'll have no problem with iPad.


Also, Kindle DX sucks for PDF files. iPad will let you read any ebooks from BN using their BN app, Amazon with their Kindle app, and drm-free epub files from Baen and other small stores as well as Safari O'Reilly Books as they don't use DRM. Hell you can even get a subscription from Safari Books Online and read thousands of technical books on your iPad for a monthly fee without trying to convert files or whatever. You can't do that with any of the e-ink devices now.


As for the question, even if I have MBA with Kindle for Mac app, I would just sell MBA and buy iPad instead with the Kindle for iPad application. The money I save probably would go toward buying ebooks.

 

[yodaxl7]

I don't have a mba or a kindle. I am planning to get a mbp when the new version is available. I do have an iphone 3gs. I don't read books. However, if I would read a book, I would want to read it in color. I am used to reading off lcd screen for hours. I have seen the mba, but it is just another netbook or laptop. It is nothing like an iPod touch or an iPhone. The user experience with the iPhone os simply awesome. To have it in a bigger form factor would be amazing. We are used to typing on a keyboard, but tapping on the iPhone is not bad. Tapping on the iPad to input text will be ok. It is just matter of getting used to it. I am looking forward to playing games, surfing the net, keeping up with emails, taking notes, even reading books, textbooks,etc. I may even subscribe to magazines. I know I will be using the iPad for just about everything: planner, reader, web surfer, keeping a journal, gaming,etc. I wished we didn't need a laptop, though. However, I am looking forward to hear what the new mbp will bring to the table. Guess, the mbp can serve me for something. What I am not sure. Maybe just a station to upgrade my iPhone and iPad. My work does not require a computer. I am done with school. I don't have any hobbies that require a massive computer. I got ps3 and xbox360 for serious gaming. MBP has only one purpose: upgrade my iphone and ipad.

 

[MV ROB]

I just sold my MBA to my brother. I knew once I had an iPad the air would see no use. I also have a late 08 macbook that is going byebye too now since I ordered a 27" iMac. I tend to use my iphones and iPod touch for couch surfing. With multiple animals and two small children running around, I knew something was bound to happen to the MBA. Ever since I got a 24" external monitor for my Macbook, it is used only as a desktop. I knew once I got the iMac, the Macbook would never be used and would just sit there like my old powerbook. So it looks like the iMac will be the primary computer with two ipads, two iphones, and an ipod touch. My old 24" monitor will probably used for a future windows 7 computer along with my PS3.
Do I miss my MBA? Heck yah! That was one great computer! I enjoy it more now that I know it is slowly converting my brother over to a mac person after being such hardcore windows user for years.

 

[jns2001]

I just sold my MBA to my brother. I knew once I had an iPad the air would see no use. I also have a late 08 macbook that is going byebye too now since I ordered a 27" iMac. I tend to use my iphones and iPod touch for couch surfing. With multiple animals and two small children running around, I knew something was bound to happen to the MBA. Ever since I got a 24" external monitor for my Macbook, it is used only as a desktop. I knew once I got the iMac, the Macbook would never be used and would just sit there like my old powerbook. So it looks like the iMac will be the primary computer with two ipads, two iphones, and an ipod touch. My old 24" monitor will probably used for a future windows 7 computer along with my PS3.
Do I miss my MBA? Heck yah! That was one great computer! I enjoy it more now that I know it is slowly converting my brother over to a mac person after being such hardcore windows user for years.

You have a lot of courage to sell the MBA without having a real experience with the Ipad, as the performance of the Ipad is still unknown by most of us.But worst case scenario you can still resort to the new Imac.

 

[MV ROB]

I sold it MOSTLY cause it was getting used far less each and every day. It was a first gen MBA. I have three very hyper animals and have had too many close calls with such an expensive computer. I would have been sick if the hinge got broken cause of this. I also knew with the iMac coming, I really didnt need 4 computers. Most of what I do is email and web so the touch interface is perfect. I also like to play casual games on the iphone, along with my slingplayer. I use ebay, chase banking, and netflix apps more on my iphone more than my computer. All my favorite websites are optimized for the iphone so i hope that will continue for the ipad. I use the slingplayer app alot on my iphone more so also. All in all, I believe the ipads will be used around the house more than the MBA with less fear of it getting broke. If for some reason a glas screen does get broke, it is far cheaper to fix than ANYTHING on a MBA which I had $1900 in.

 

[elfxmilhouse]

the ipad is/has:

1. smaller
2. lighter
3. longer battery life
4. built in 3G
5. touchscreen

again,as some posters have mentioned already, not the same animal.

 

[jns2001]

the ipad is/has:

1. smaller
2. lighter
3. longer battery life
4. built in 3G
5. touchscreen

again,as some posters have mentioned already, not the same animal.

Perhaps I am having difficult to get my point accross, I do agree with your statement. But if you had the MBA already, would you buy the Ipad? Would it make technological sense, emotions of a new gadget apart? We all love that don't we?

 

[CanonicalKoi]

But I must admit that for me there is some attraction in the Kindle. Free connectivity for an ebook reader is worth something to me, even if the built in browser is WAP based. Remember it's free. Not $29 a month. Not $15 a month. Free.

Except that it's not. You pay for it with every book you buy, included in the cost of the book. If you buy a book outside your home country, it'll cost you an extra $1.99 a book, even if you're downloading free books. Get 3 free books out of country? It'll cost you $5.97. Downloading newspaper or magazine subscriptions? $4.99 a week. Downloading personal docs via Whispernet? $0.99 a meg, rounded up to the nearest whole megabyte. It's not "free", it's just invisible unless you're out of country.

 

[elfxmilhouse]

Perhaps I am having difficult to get my point accross, I do agree with your statement. But if you had the MBA already, would you buy the Ipad? Would it make technological sense, emotions of a new gadget apart? We all love that don't we?

yes. and for the same reasons i mentioned in my post.
the MBA is nice and im actually thinking of selling my MBP and getting an MBA when my ipad 64 +3G arrives.

there are many situations where i dont need a full fledged computer, no matter how small it is.

i would also take into consideration the form factor. it would be pretty inconvenient to pull out a laptop, open it and use the keyboard/trackpad just for a short while. a laptop would also require a table or lap to use comfortably. the ipad on the other hand can be used immediately using the touch interface both on a table or in your hands.

 

[flynz4]

I am really looking forward to having an iPad, and I do not think it will decrease my enjoyment of my other devices at all. For me, and my personal needs, I will have the ideal computing environment... with different machines optimized for different applications:

1) 27" i7 iMac - Content creation (ex: iWeb and Aperture), central place for 100% of my data and dual back locally and to the cloud. All other machines sync to this machine.

2) MBA w/SSD - My personal laptop, and by far the finest laptop that I have ever owned... and it is about my 20th laptop. Unfortunately, I also have a MBP because my employer will not provide MBAs.

3) 3G iPad - expected to be good for content consumption, reading books, watching videos on flights, etc

4) 160GB iPod classic - Holds all my music in a good form factor... but will be replaced by a Nano (or equivalent) once the capacity increases.

5) iPhone 3GS - Cumsy to access content because of the small screen size... yet still super convenient because of the extreme portability.

I am pleased,

/Jim

 

[bowlerman625]

My new 3G iPad will compliment my SSD MBA...and very nicely I might add!