OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
I've had the Kindle for over a year and the iPad for a few months now. Here's how I am using both devices.
In the video, I explain:
Reading fiction. Pretty much only on the Kindle device or on the Kindle app on the iPad/iPhone. I am quite loyal to the Amazon.com brand and experience as I have been buying physical books from overseas for years. It is a natural extension to move to the Kindle store, buy books there and read over multiple devices. The iBookstore is not very well populated as yet, and the Kindle app on the iPad is preferable.
Reading blogs. I use the iPad to relax and browse my Google Reader feeds as well as my social networks. I love using Flipboard, a fantastic app that formats the feeds into a magazine style layout with different sizes and pictures. It is addictive to read on Flipboard so that is how I find all the interesting articles that I tweet @thecreativepenn
Reading non-fiction/online course materials generally in PDF format. I do a lot of online courses and learning. Much of that material is formatted in PDF. I use GoodReader app on the iPad for this and love to be in the hammock with the iPad, a notebook and a cup of tea.
Multi-media. I am watching more videos on YouTube on the iPad as part of my surfing. I have also read some ebooks with embedded links to video that are great on the iPad specifically.
Traveling. When I was in Bali, I used the iPad for email, skype phone calls and twitter/facebook while I was away. I didn't take the Kindle device as it is specialized but I did sync the same books and read them on the Kindle app. Using the iPad for skype saved me lots of money on international phone calls as well as being easy for email so I could work seamlessly while traveling. It's definitely the device I will use in the future for travel.
Email/social networking/news on a casual basis. This may freak some people out but I often read email/twitter/FB/news while having breakfast! My husband also has an iPad and consumes different media to me. I often read UK and European news and he reads information from New Zealand (our respective countries of origin). Sitting at breakfast with a newspaper is not unusual for many couples, and for us, it is sitting with iPads. I don't feel like it is work when I can just check a few things on email, reply to a few tweets and catch up on the news.
Overall, the iPad replaces laptop usage rather than Kindle usage. I am shifting consumption of blogs/video/learning onto the iPad whereas I did that with my laptop before. It is much more relaxing to sit with the iPad on the couch than to sit with a laptop. I still use the Kindle device for reading fiction primarily as their are no distractions when using it. The iPad has multiple distractions!
Do you have an iPad? How do you use yours?
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1 2 Next »Interesting stuff! You said:
"I didn’t take the Kindle device as it is specialized but I did sync the same books and read them on the Kindle app."
What sync method do you use?
Hi Alan,
I guess sync was the wrong word! If you open the Kindle app on the ipad you can download the same books i.e. they are not all available to read immediately. You have to un-archive them.
Then I just got into the same books I was reading on the app.
Ah, with you!
Thanks for the great thoughts and suggestions. I have only an iPad and I love it. I just found (through your posting) Flipboard, and so far, I really enjoy it. It will take a little learning to get used to it, but it looks great! Love you accent, by the way!
Glad you like Flipboard - it is totally my favourite waste of time!
BTW - love the background: "Nazis And The Occult".
Great book!
Yes, it is required background reading for thriller writers :) I was wondering if anyone would notice! Maybe I could charge for advertising that way!
Timely comparison Joanna - thanks! I have an ipad but don't use it for as much as you do (nor do I have a hammock!). But was wondering about the Kindle as it's so light and portable. Longer batterylife too I'm told. But think I'll stay with my ipad for now. I too have the Kindle download and like it very much. Thanks for the tip about Flipboard - sounds awesome! Regards Catherine
Thanks Catherine. Definitely get a hammock! I know you like to de-stress, and it's perfect for that. Have great hols!
I LOVE my kindle. I love that there are no distractions and love that I don't have a reflective surface. It's so easy on the eyes. That's why I didn't get an ipad because I thought it would be too distracting. But maybe instead of getting a new laptop I might get a new iPad. Great thoughts to consider.
Thank you for retweeting my article by the way! I appreciate it. :)
No worries Ollin. You have a great blog and I'm honoured to be on the Write To Done list with you. I love my Kindle too.
I sold my Kindle DX about a month after buying my iPad. The Kindle app provides me the majority of my reading. I have a few books under iBook, "Slan" being one - I buy that in just about every format (I have the Kindle and dead-tree format also).
When I went to Ireland this year, my iPad came with me. Email, news, blog reading (Flipboard, Early Edition - both excellent apps).
For PDFs I use Goodreader. I also do a little surfing, but not much.
I own a couple of writing-related apps (Index Card - inspired by Scrivener's cork board, Stickies for getting ideas down). I'll be investigating apps that allow me sync to DropBox and thence Scrivener.
The iPad's glossy screen was an initial put-off when reading, as compared to the Kindle. But I adapted.
That's great feedback thanks. I may end up moving completely, but for now there's room in my life for both!
Interesting. I used a Sony Reader for fiction and my iPad for most everything else for a while, but the incredibly annoying interface of the Sony caused me to eventually abandon it. Having become comfortable with reading books in the Kindle and Kobo apps on the iPad also helped.
I also have an iPod Touch. Added the Kindle and Kobo apps to it, synced my books, and the iPod is now my reading device for places like medical waiting rooms and stores when my wife is power shopping and only needs me to carry the swag.
My iPad has nearly replaced my laptop as it is way lighter and the battery lasts much longer. For meetings/conferences and the like, I take along an Apple Bluetooth keyboard, type my notes in IA Writer, and sync them to Dropbox (a very nice feature of IA Writer which also has a truly distraction-free interface). Another thing I like about IA Writer is the ability to email notes/text I have written.
Like you, I use GoodReader for PDFs. I find Instapaper/Read Later excellent for grabbing articles I don't have the time to read immediately -- those become my breakfast reading, along with FlipBoard and some news apps (BBC, couple of Chinese news readers).
I don't think I will go back to a dedicated ebook reader (Kindle or otherwise), if only because it would be one more device to lug around, charge, and fret about new models making mine seem dated . My wife said when I got home today, "You're not buying that new iPad are you?" Sigh.
Hi Ric, great to hear about your usage of the iPad and other devices. I'm not buying a new iPad :) I think my one will last a good time but it is definitely the travel device, very handy. My husband just got a new Kindle and it is very attractive. I like the dedicated ereader for fiction. It just suits hammock time!
Thanks, great comparison and answered my questions. I don't have an iPad or a Kindle yet. But will probably get a Kindle, because I have a MacBook Pro which is already pretty portable. You've got a great crisp Aussie accent!