I have debated this for long. Should I get a tab or should I buy a Kindle for reading. My thrifty self keeps coming to tab and argues that a tab can be used for other purposes too. But these choices are never easy. I really like that the old Kindle does not have a backlight and needs external light to read off the screen. While it has its drawbacks, it is much easier on the eyes.
Frequency of Use
I read books all the time and it is really tiresome to read these off a laptop; laptop is much easier to take notes though. I am also a multi-tasker and using the laptop makes it quite easy to do other social media tasks simultaneously, while reading the book. It is also very easy to open a browser and look up something interesting that the author mentions in the book. The only drawback is it is not that easy to carry around. A tab should satisfy both these requirements. Moreover, the processing speed of the tablet wins hands down when compared to ereaders, which is so important when doing multiple things at the same time.
Although some ereaders allow browsing, based on my experience with smart phones, switching between windows is very cumbersome. So I think at tab wins here.
Interface
I don’t really read a lot of travel guides or cookbooks or other genres of non-fiction that require graphical support. But my little experience in the older versions of Kindle tell me that diagrams and tables are not that easy to read there for restrict the reading ability. Moreover, I loved reading comic books as a kid. This is a genre I am keen about and thinking of diving into. A tab should not have a problem rendering the graphics. Tab it is then.
Enhanced EBooks
The publishing industry is constantly reinventing itself and enhanced eBooks seem to be where it is headed. I surely can’t afford to buy a new device every time the industry thinks of something new and decides to embed a video or audio in the eBook for the readers. New ereader will add this support, but a tab is much better prepared to handle these enhancements and difficult to phase out anytime soon. The wide screen and fast, powerful media accelerators further enhance the quality of the embedded content and take the reading experience up a notch.
Cost
The prices of ereaders and tab are not that divergent. An ereader like the basic Kindle Paperwhite is priced $78. Tabs on the other hand, with roughly similar dimensions and additional features like primary and secondary cameras start at . Now if you compare the features and utility of the device, there is no doubt that the tab wins hands down to the reader.
My arguments may appear based toward tabs, but they do offer more for the same price. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have tabs with a reading mode which would then behave like the Kindle screen? I have no idea if it is possible technically. That is switch between a glowing screen and the one like Kindle uses. But there it is, a feature that would help tab users a great deal and be easy on the eyes.