As I wrote in my previous post, I have been using the Kindle application on my PC and iPhone. I was worried that reading books on a monitor or especially a phone screen would strain my eyes. But I quickly learned that my lifestyle does not allow me to read for more than 15~30 minutes at a time. When I can read in longer strides, usually in sprints of 1~2 hours at most, I read on my computer and the experience is no different than browsing the web or reading email. Yes, E-ink would be nice but I think I can live without it.

Which brings me to the iPad. At first, I was looking into buying an E-ink device and rejected the iPad solely on those grounds. But ironically, using the Kindle on the PC and iPhone has convinced me that I can do just fine reading on an LCD screen. Furthermore, when I was looking into buying a Kindle, I considered getting the Kindle DX since viewing PDFs is important to me. But the Kindle DX is currently priced at $489 and at that price I would rather get an iPad for $499. I also believe the iPad would be able to render PDF documents better than on the Kindle DX.

From a book purchasing and reading perspective, there are a couple more things I want on the iPad. Some of these might already be supported:

• Reading client on the PC as well as iPhone. As for the PC, I can live with reading through iTunes although I would prefer not to.
• Be able to download and sync to the furthest page read through the cloud (and not through syncing on iTunes).
• Be able to highlight and take notes.

In general, I think that the iPad is a great device. I look forward to playing with one when I get the chance.