My stepson, Dalton, just turned eighteen and we gave him a choice: iPad (or another tablet computer), color Nook, or Kindle (WiFi or 3G).
He chose … drumroll … a WiFi Kindle without 3G.
I confess surprise at his decision. So I actually asked him.
JP: So. Dalton. Explain yourself. Why a Kindle?
D: I wanted an ebook reader.
JP: Why not a color Nook?
D: It seemed more like an iPad than a Kindle.
JP: Why not an iPad?
D: I don’t need an iPad. I have a smartphone and a good laptop. I just needed an ebook reader.
JP: So, again, why the Kindle? There are other ebook readers out there.
D: You and Mom have Kindles. I have friends who have them. Everybody I know who has a Kindle likes it. All I need is a Kindle. It just fits what I want better than a Nook.
JP: What are you going to do with it?
D: Read books.
JP: Your college textbooks?
D: Yeah, those especially because they’re so enormous they’re hard to handle. I like being able to just download them and have them on the Kindle. That’s not so bulky or heavy.
JP: You wanted the WiFi Kindle rather than the 3G. Why?
D: I’ll mostly use it at home or at school, or at places with WiFi. I don’t think I’ll ever even need to download a book when I’m not around WiFi.
So he got his Kindle. His first book? A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. Good choice. It’s my all-time favorite popular-science book.
There you have it. Why an eighteen-year-old young man would choose a Kindle over all the flashier, more colorful options out there in the market right now.
What do you think? Is the guy a fool? Or did he make the best decision?
My wife and daughter love their Kindles. I’ve got at least 30 books purchased in the past several years that I haven’t read, so no need for an e-reader yet. But this year my wife gave me an iPad for my birthday. She is not a techie. But finding presents for “he-who-has-everything-he-needs” is hard. So she took a leap. I upgraded the basic model she gave me to a 32GB 3GS (just in case). Would I go out on my own and purchase this device for $875? No. I have found uses for it, and may find more, but they hardly justify such an expensive toy.
1. Reading the NY Times in the morning when my wife, who pays for our print subscription, has the front section
2. Checking the weather at the same time and seeing really big graphics!
3. Looking up facts while watching a movie at home, like, when was John Quincy Adams the president? (Much easier to do than on an iPhone). Or who was that actor? What else has he done?
4. Watching a movie on Netflix Instant in bed.
5. Watching a movie on Netflix Instant while on eliptical trainer (wife)
6. Looking up a food/cooking fact or recipe while in kitchen and I don’t want to be bothered to walk down to my office and turn on my computer.
6. Replacement for laptop on personal trips – for e-mail & web browsing. Much lighter and easier to carry. Did this on two personal trips so far.
7. Showing friends our photos. I loaded about 250 recent photos on it when I went out to California this summer. It works very well for several people to gather round. And the photos look great.
8. Watching my iPhone videos. They look amazing on the iPad – better than on a computer.
9. Pretending to be cool by leaving it out when guests come over.
Yes, I think Dalton made the right choice if he already has a laptop. There’s too many replicated functions.
Dan! I love this list! It’s interesting that many, even all of the things you mention could be done on a laptop (except for #9 — a smartphone doesn’t even get you than anymore; and arguably #7). But I can’t deny the iPad is somehow more elegant. At least I suppose that’s it. I know I use my Droid phone for many things I used to do only on my laptop. I can imagine a day when I would buy a tablet computer and use it much as I do my laptop. Until then, I’m staying in Dalton’s camp.
Kindles are wonderful devices. If you guys already have one, then it makes great sense for him to get one too. I do tend to agree with him on the tablet computer thing. I can’t think of what I would ever use the thing for, besides surfing porn in bed.
Like you and Dalton, I’m mystified by the need or desire for a tablet computer. But I’m also mystified by authors who price their novels at 99 cents.
I think he made a FABULOUS decision! And he may even pick some books I’d like to read, which is a great option when everyone in the family who reads, owns a kindle.
Well that’s a surprise. You being his mother and all. And having a sixty-book-a-year (or more) reading habit. But I also agree with you. He made a fabulous decision.