Regarind my iPad messages, Jonathan West (POL) wrote, "You did not mention downloading books. For me it is the ipad or the kindle. Have you used both? It sounds like you have bought a lot of accessories for the ipad. Are some of these more essential than others? What about the various models of ipad (3G vs. others), is there a big difference. Which one do you have?" I thought I would respond to the entire group, in case others are wondering the same things. Some of you are thinking of buying an iPad and others are looking at them for gifts, so I thought it worthwhile to take this teachable moment and write some things down. Even if you are not looking at buying an iPad, I think you may find some of the information below useful.
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EBOOKS: IPAD VS. KINDLE
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I have only looked at the Kindle, Nook, and similar ebook readers; I don't own any. I have the Kindle reader app on my iPad, so anything you can get for the Kindle I can get for the same price on the iPad. I buy quite a few electronic books from O'Reilly, a computer/technology publisher, and read them in either ePub or PDF formats using iBooks, the Apple reader, or GoodReder, a 99 cent app that handles PDFs very well. The ePub format, like the Kindle format, reflows the book as you change the font size or use a different display. The PDF format is an electronic copy of the printed page. I like the PDF format better. For textbooks, as we move to eBook formats, it seems to me we will want the PDF format, so that we can talk about "the top of page 127" and have everyone in the class on the same page, literally. If paper books disappear, which I think is very unlikely, and everyone is using an electronic copy of the text book, we might start numbering the material with chapter and sentence numbers, in order to accomplish the same thing. Interesting to watch how this works out.
I did NOT get a Kindle when it came out. I DID get an iPad. An iPad makes more sense for me. But I have a friend in Orlando who went to Barnes and Noble when we were visiting a few weeks ago and bought a Nook. She uses a netbook to access the Internet and do work when she is home. She wanted something light and easy to take with her so she could read books. That was the right choice for her.
Here are some short/quick comparisons between the Kindle and the iPad. This is obviously my opinion. I think the facts are acurate, and I stand by my thoughts on which system is better in each area, but depending on which areas are most important to you, you may come to a different conclusion than I made.
- BATTERY LIFE: Advantage KINDLE
The Kindle is an amazing reader, as are the Nook and some others. The electronic paper technology is almost magical. Power is used to set the page so you can read it, but then the system is essentially asleep while you stay on the same page. This makes for an incredibly long battery life on the Kindle. The iPad lasts a day of heavy use, based on my experiences.
- USEFULNESS: Advantage IPAD
The Kindle allows you to do one thing: read things, primarily books but also magazines and newspapers. It does that well, but that is about all you can do. The iPad has an app for almost everything. Its email and calendar are incredible, integrating perfectly with both Exchange and Google. I have both a personal calendar on Google, a work calendar on Exchange, an Instructional Advancement Center calendar on Google, and about four other calendars, and I see them all as one integrated calendar. I have book readers on the iPad, so the iPad does much more than the Kindle
- DISPLAY: Advantage iPAD
The Kindle only displays black and white. That is OK for many books, but many others have diagrams and photos that are in color. These are displayed in Black and White on the Kindle, even though the underlying file is actually in color. The iPad screen is lovely. It has beautiful colors and a larger screen that eBook readers like the Nook. Reading a magazine on the iPad is pleasant, with full-color pages. The newest App I have is a Wired magazine with videos and other neat features integrated into the magazine. There is no way to replicate that on a Kindle
- BACKLIGHTING: Advantage IPAD
The Kindle can be read if you are sitting on the beach, but it is hard to read from the Kindle in bed. The Kindle has no back-lighting, so the screen must be illuminated from external lighting. There is lots of external light on a beach. You have to turn on a light in bed if you want to be able to read there. I find myself doing lots of reading in bed and very little on the beach. Not disturbing my wife while reading in bed is crucial, so the iPad is better for me.
- WEIGHT: Advantage KINDLE
The Kindle is lighter than the iPad, noticeably so. The iPad has a glass screen, the LCD display, and an aluminum case, all of which add weight. The Kindle feels like a feather to me, while the iPad feels like a hard-cover novel. I use a shoulder bag to carry it around, so that isn't a major problem for me, but the Kindle gets the advantage here.
- COST: Advantage KINDLE
The cost of a Kindle is much less than the cost of an iPad. With the Kindle you have wireless access included for the life of the item. With the iPad it costs $130 more for the wireless version and you will pay another $30 a month if you buy the 3G iPad if you want to get unlimited data through it. Both the Kindle and the iPad will generate lots more expenses. With the Kindle you will be buying books and subscribing to magazines and newspapers. With the iPad you will be buying books and applications. The Kindle looks like it will cost less, both to buy and to own.
- CONCLUSION
I really expect eBooks to grow in usage over time. I can only hope that it happens before my children have to have back surgery from carrying around their incredibly heavy backpacks, filled with textbooks. I hope that everyone at UM will research how they can select either a textbook that is available as an eBook, or an open source textbook that can be downloaded onto a device like the iPad. Our world will be better as that change is made.
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ACCESSORIES
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- APPLE IPAD CASE
There are an incredible number of cases for the iPad. I bought the Apple case and it has worked well for me. My goal was to make sure the screen didn't get scratched while I was carrying the iPad, provide some protection for the iPad, and make it easy to tilt the iPad when setting it down on a desk or table. I wanted a slight tilt so I could use the on-screen keyboard, and a steep tilt to watch movies and such. The Apple case has met my needs. The case covers the screen when I am carrying the iPad. The cover flips around and attaches in the back, holding the iPad either slightly tilted or almost vertical. The way the case is put together there is a nice edge of rubber all the way around the frame of the iPad, providing protection when I set down my bag. The Apple iPad case costs $29 as I recall.
Many people just get a case that they slide or zipper the iPad into when they are not using it. They seem to work well. I have one of those for my MacBook Air and it works well. I guessed, before using the iPad, that I would be flipping it out a lot, and that opening a case to get to it would be a nuisance. I was right about getting it out a lot. I have been happy with the ease with which I can get it out, work on it, and put it away, when using the Apple iPad case.
- POWER SUPPLY
The iPad comes with a power supply that plugs directly into the wall. For $29 you can buy the power supply that either plugs directly into the wall or has a power cord so you can be farther from the outlet. The iPad needs a lot of power, more than the iPhone, which needs more than most USB devices. So I have a second charger. I keep one at home and one at work. I discovered that one of my original iPhone chargers, with the fold out power plug, will charge the iPad, although slowly. I keep that next to my bed for overnight charging. I also have a charger in our living room so I can charge the iPad while I am using it on the couch. And I have a charger on my desk at work so I can keep it charged during the day. I keep it open and turned on all day, as my control panel for what I am doing, using a task manager application.
- VIDEO CABLE
There is a $29 iPad video connector. It lets you connect the iPad to a VGA device, like a monitor or projector. It only outputs some things, such as slide shows from Keynote (including Powerpoint files), pictures, and videos. The application has to enable output through the video connector. I got this, so that I can start using the iPad when I give presentations. This may not be as nice as using a computer, since I may have to stay by the iPad to advance the slides. I don't know.
I had an iPod video connector. It lets you connect the iPad (or iPad or iPhone or Touch) to a device with red, white, and yellow RCA connectors. I use that a bunch. Out TV has RCA connectors on the front, so that you can hook up a device like a Wii or Xbox. I plug the cables into that connector, change the TV input to VIDEO 3, in my case, and watch videos from my iPad on the TV. Very good quality. ABC has an app that lets you watch recent episodes of their shows. And Netflixs has an app to let you stream movies directly onto the iPad. I may have to activate my Netflix account again.
- TEN ONE DESIGN POGO STYLUS
A couple of companies make stylus that work on the iPad. Because the screen requires conduction in order to work, it normally only works with your fingers. But you can take some conductive foam, often used to hold computer chips when they are being shipped, stick the foam on the end of something, and use that instead of your finger. (You can also use stick cheese and sausages, I have been told, but they probably mess up your screen.) Ten One Design makes a stylus that I tried out. You can see it on the http://tenonedesign.com/stylus.php web site. It cost more than $10, and I don't like it at all. It reminds me of a golf pencil: very short and stubby. I have to press hard in order to make it work. And it is hard to drag the foam across the screen when trying to scroll up or down web pages. If I was going to try this again, I would certainly get one with the clip so that you can clip it in your shirt pocket. The one with the clip is called the Pogo Stylus. I think the addition of the clip is the only difference, so I don't intend on trying it.
- KEYBOARD
I bought and returned, unopened, the keyboard dock. It lets you connect the iPad to a keyboard so you can type and charge the iPad at the same time. I realized, before opening the box, that I wouldn't be able to use it with my case. It only works with a "naked" iPad.
I have an Apple Bluetooth keyboard, as well as another Bluetooth keyboard. I have successfully connected both of these to my iPad. I haven't used them much, because the on screen keyboard is good enough for 1-2 hours of work. But if I was writing on the iPad all day, I would probably use the Bluetooth keyboard. My previous messages have been created on the iPad with the on-screen keyboard. This message is being created on my Mac using the same Bluetooth keyboard that I have for my iPad. It is much easier to work on the real keyboard for long periods of time.
- APPLICATIONS
I don't really want to itemize all the apps and books I have bought so far. I have all the Apple iWork/office apps: 3 @ $10 each. I have LogMeIn so that I can get to my desktop computers from my iPad: $30. I have around six ebooks that I got on-sale from O'Rielly: 6 @ $10. I have Things for iPad: $20. (I already had Things for my Mac and Things for my iPhone: $50 and $10 respectively.) Those are the big ticket items that I can think of. I have bought lots of games for anywhere between $1 and $5, and some other things that were free.
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IPAD MODELS
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The iPad comes with three amounts of memory: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. I have the 64GB model, and I have most of the memory occupied. This is primarily due to my loading lots of video on my system, so I will always have something to watch when I am on the public transportation to work. The cost for the smallest memory model is $499. It costs $100 extra to get the 32GB model, and another $100 to go to 64GB. So you can think of the three models as $500, $600, and $700 each. These are the Wi-Fi models. That means that you can connect to the internet if you are in a location with wireless access. This includes almost all of UM, my home, McDonalds, Panera Bread, Starbucks, and other locations. The last time I as at Starbucks, they charged for their wireless access, but if you have a starbucks gift card and register it online, you get free access. That is how I do it. The Wi-Fi only iPad cannot access the internet from a car, many restaurants, a park, or any other location that does not have Wi-Fi wireless access available. This is the model I have (64GB Wi-Fi) and I will explain how I get around the limitation below.
The Wi-Fi plus 3G iPad costs $130 more than the Wi-Fi only model, at each of the three memory amounts. It has equipment in it so that you can use the 3G cell phone system to access the internet, anywhere that you can get a 3G signal. 3G service goes a long distance from each cell phone tower. I don't know the real number, but it is probably a bit less than a mile. Current Wi-Fi goes something like 100 feet or so, at least within buildings. We have many Wi-Fi access points on campus, including many of them inside each building, in order to have full coverage. I am not sure where our AT&T cell towers are, but if one was located on or near campus, it would probably cover the entire campus, including inside most of the buildings. So 3G is much more pervasive than Wi-Fi, at least in Miami. But 3G is also slower, and in much of the country AT&T doesn't have any 3G service. A cabin in the mountains probably won't have 3G service, even if it has AT&T cell phone service. But if you can get internet access through the phone company or a cable company, you can set up your own Wi-Fi access point and have Wi-Fi in your cabin. So, as with most things, there isn't a simple question which is better. If you are just going to use the iPad in your living room in front of the TV, and you have Wi-Fi in your home, don't bother with the 3G model iPad. But if you want access anywhere and everywhere, get the Wi-Fi plus 3G model.
I have the Wi-Fi only model, but I can get access anywhere. I do that because I have a smart phone with "tethering." If you have access to the Internet with one device, like a smart phone, you can usually find a way to connect the smart phone to other devices so they can access the internet through the smart phone. In my case I am using an iPad and an iPhone. The iPad connects to the iPhone via Wi-Fi. A program that I bought for the iPhone connects the iPhone to the internet using 3G, and relays everything from the iPad through the iPhone. So the iPad is tethered to the iPhone. It is all wireless, so I can actually keep the phone in my pocket while using the iPad. No physical connection is needed.
Now, what I am doing is against AT&T rules. They do not allow tethering. At least some of the Android smart phones come with tethering enabled. AT&T says that they will be allowing tethering at some point, but have not announced how much they will charge per month for this feature. So I have jail broken my iPhone so that I can install special applications onto it, including on called My-Fi that sets up tethering. Jail breaking also violates AT&T and/or Apple rules. It is incredibly easy to do right now, using an application called Spirit. I don't use tethering very much, so I don't think I will get caught, unless someone turns me in and AT&T decides to take action. I would rather pay AT&T's fees, assuming they are somewhat reasonable, than have to jail break my iPhone, but I want the tethering capability.
If you get the Wi-Fi plus 3G iPad, you will have to also pay a monthly fee every month you use the 3G internet access. This is either $15 or $30 for each month. Given my limited access, but sometimes listening to music, checking email, and reading newsfeeds, I would need the $30 unlimited fee. So if AT&T is willing to offer me $30/month tethering on my iPhone, I will take them up on it. I am already paying for an unlimited data plan.
Which model you should get is up to you, depending on whether you want internet access anywhere or have a way of getting internet access via some other device. There is another device called mifi from either Spring or T-Mobile that costs about $60 a month and provides the same service as the iPhone with the My-Fi application installed. So there are many ways to skin this cat.
Hope this helps someone.
Bill Vilberg
Instructional Advancement
Richter Library, Room 325
bill.vilberg@miami.edu<mailto:bill.vilberg@miami.edu>
786-250-2255
