Gutenbergermeister - mustard and ketchup really CAN co-exist

I am comfortable with my own embarrassment.

I purchased a Gen1 Kindle the day it was launched in late 2007 (mostly because of the dorky video testimonials on the Amazon.com site – more on the power of video later). I purchased an iPad the day it was released in April 2010 (but please don’t think I lined up - I’m not THAT comfortable).

My first impression of the Kindle was that it was a game changer – and I still believe that. I have sold at least a couple dozen of them to friends by wholly unremunerated advocacy. Its form factor, screen technology and breadth of content have seen my physical book purchasing drop to nearly nothing over the last three years. The volume of my reading has increased substantially (but nowhere nearly as much as the length of my reading list) and I have even managed to embrace newspapers and books on the Kindle – somewhat.

Then along came the iPad. In the spirit of my preface, I was so smitten with the cutesiness of iBook that my immediate post iPad “bookings” were exclusively from the iBook store. How could I possibly live without virtual shadows on the back of the virtually turning page? Then I discovered the native Kindle app (yes, I did not buy the iPad with reading as my primary goal so I had not fully done my research beforehand). In a rather dimly illuminated light bulb moment, I realized I could continue to buy Kindle content and read it on both devices! This allowed me to re-embrace my trusted old friend (by technology standards), the Kindle, but also read the same content on the iPad which had now replaced it as the singular device in my daily kit bag (more on bags later – then we’ll test the limits of my embarrassment as we delve into the world of man bags and how to generally carry tech gear).

It took very little time for me to realize that the iPad and the Kindle only compete at the margin. The Kindle is still a far better pure reading device. Smaller, lighter, better screen (although not illuminated) and incredible battery life (although the iPad is excellent). But the iPad is always with me and is definitely the better night time reader (if you can figure out the ergonomics – the single biggest challenge as it’s a much larger and heavier device).

The combination of the Kindle and the iPad Kindle app also does a good job of keeping my bookmarks synched. If only some smart guy could figure out how to include the audio book medium in that mix so that I could have proper bookmarks across all my reading / listening formats (and extra bonus points if you can have it pick up from the point I fell asleep in the audio book – maybe an integration with Fitbit’s sleep tracker)!

P.Roy Havas – feel free to drop me a note proy@specialtys.com