I use both, most of what I read is non fiction. If the book has charts, I use the mini. Otherwise, I use the Kindle.
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I read all of my digital books on the Kindle. I read mostly at night and while in bed. I like the fact that I can change the light mode to red with black mode so itās a black background with red print.
Itās perfect because the light doesnāt bother my husband and Iām not staring at blue light just before I want to sleep.
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I have been using Kindles for several years. I donāt have an iPad mini, only a standard-sized one, but decided against getting a mini even though I prefer the iPadās responsiveness and ease of notetaking and navigation, for a simple reason: I donāt feel the need to protect a Kindle as much as I do an iPad.
A Kindle is less expensive, lighter, and in my experience, less likely to suffer damage due to a modest fall. Itās not as appealing a target for a thief. And the consequences of losing a Kindle are also not dramatic - while someone could see or read my library, I donāt need to worry about someone getting into my email, seeing my messages, etc. (Even if they buy books on my Amazon account, they can be easily returned within a week.)
So even though I find some aspects of the Kindle frustrating, ultimately I find it to be a far better value for leisure reading - just like the best camera is the one you have with you, for me the best reading device is the one that I can take anywhere without worrying about whether I should have left it home.
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Another vote for both here. I read on the iPad mini but mostly with reading apps and occasionally the Kindle app when I donāt have my Paperwhite nearby. But when it comes to some hardcore reading, the Kindle is by far superior for not just my eyes but also from distractions. Itās just for reading and it excels at that. With the iPad Mini, I feel like Iāll check other apps or do other things. Also the Paperwhite just feels so great in the hands and very sturdy. I have the newest version and Iāve taken to the pool and beach and never felt like I had to baby it. If I took my iPad mini, Iād constantly worry about it.
Also, Iām loving the Matter app and sending long form articles to my Kindle Paperwhite for reading. Itās super fast and such a great feature. I donāt think there is a better time to be an avid reader when it comes to technology.
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iPad for me no question. Not only do I highlight, but I actually use multiple colors and like to take inline notes.
If you just want to read/consume then kindle is great because itās so lightweight, but interacting with text is a level of magnitude easier on iPad glass.
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If cost is not a deciding factor, I would say āboth.ā I have been going back and forth between iPads and Kindles for more than a decade now, so this is definitely something I consider pertinent as someone who reads a lot and for different purposes (personally and professionally [academic]). The strength of the Kindle, for my ācontext,ā is that itās distraction free, the text looks great if you read outside, and the battery lasts forever. And since I bike or walk everywhere, Iāll also mention that it weighs hardly anything.
I read texts in Instapaper, PDFs (usually via DEVONthink or PDF Expert, FWIW), and magazines/newspapers I have access to via iPad. I switched over to an iPad for book reading as well for a while, as I liked the multiple color highlights. When I started using Readwise, I discovered that tags like āblueā (or .b) produce colors in Readwise, which encouraged me to switch back to the Kindle as I find it a better reading experience for books overall. I do lots of highlighting, notetaking, and exporting of those notes, and Readwise has really made doing these actions easy and efficient from a Kindle, not to mention other devices, and has thus changed my reading habits. Also, as @acavender mentioned, the most recent generation of the Kindle Paperwhite (2021) is really nice.
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iPad hands down. I put my paperwhite on loan to a friend with similar taste in books because itās not as easy to do the annotations on it. I do prefer it for reading in bright sunlight but for work I prefer the iPad.
I donāt have an iPad Mini but do have a Kindle Fire and a Paperwhite. In my case for reading novels the Paperwhite is a hands-down winner for light weight, battery life, and usability in any lighting condition. When Iām at my desk, I use the Kindle app on my iMac. I bought the Kindle Fire out of curiosity. I can only imagine using it if I needed portability and had a book with color. Iād probably think the same about a iPad Mini.
I love using my iPad mini for reading with the Kindle App. I too outline all the time and now that I found that I can export all the notes to Evernote where I store notes for each book I read. The link to do this is : Amazon Sign-In. I can do the same with Apple Books, but given the choice I almost always use Kindle and then export to entire book notes to Evernote.
The thing I would love to do on the kindle is doodle notes in the margin. I love seeing the notes more effective than creating a note then I have to click on the tab. Hope that helps.
I buy my books on Kindle, convert them to A4 PDFs and read and annotate on my ipad. Although reading is nice on the Kindle, I prefer to have my library as PDFs, itās more versatile.
You can read PDFs on the Kindle.
Not done that. I donāt read on the kindle as I need a more feature rich mark up facility.
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Iām rethinking this as Iām about to embark on an MA and have received a fairly extensive reading list!
One factor that I donāt think that has been mentioned yet is that I find I can concentrate longer in reading on the Kindle than the iPad. I donāt know if this is to do with backlit screens, but a few years ago when I had a heavier reading load I noticed I could do 2 hours straight on the Kindle with fairly in depth non-fiction books, but on the iPad I was flagging after 40 min. Perhaps it is just me, but if you are going to read a lot that may be an important consideration.
Thanks everyone for the excellent input. Iāll be reviewing this thread again and giving this careful thought before I spend money. Much appreciated!
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Remember itās Amazon prime day and Kindleās are discounted for today and tomorrow.
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You should not tell me these things. It is too tempting to spend money.
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If you give into temptation, Iād recommend the Paperwhite Kids. It comes without ads (usually $20 to remove), and includes an extended warranty and a case. The device itself is just an ordinary Paperwhite.
Right now it looks like the Robot Dreams case is the only one available to ship, and itās pretty juvenile. But if you think the device needs a case, there are very reasonable third-party options available.
Thanks, if I decide to spring for the paperwhite that is a good, creative, solution!
Iāve purchased the Kindle Oasis with 32gb memory, wifi only. I know in the next 3 years Iāll have to load on a lot of hefty theology books. I also wanted a bigger screen as for my eyes the smaller paperwhiteās are a little too small.
They are indeed hefty. You may want to consider Logos.
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