The iPad was a real game changer for me in many ways. I embraced its minimalist approach. I appreciated walking into a meeting or a classroom with an iPad instead of a laptop (which was usually accompanied by a laptop bag with cables and other peripherals). Although I had been using ebooks in software like Accordance for years on my Mac, it was reading ebooks on the iPad that made me realize that maybe I don't have to hoard physical copies of books so much anymore. That led to similar ideas about other material possessions, but I'll write about that another time.
It's true that I cannot do everything with an iPad; I still need my Mac. But if a situation will allow me to use an iPad instead of my my Mac, I choose the iPad. In teaching settings, I found that I could create my presentations on the iPad as well as carry electronic versions of textbooks and my course notes. However, I often had a problem. If my iPad was connected to a projector, I did not have easy access to other materials. A student might ask a question about something in a textbook, but I couldn't easily turn there if my iPad was in Keynote presentation mode. I realized I could just do the practical thing and start carrying a textbook and some basic notes again, but at this point, that seemed so backwards.
I very briefly considered a second iPad. But that seemed extreme. Really, all I needed was something to carry a few documents around. As some of you may remember, I'd been contemplating a Kindle before the iPad was even released, but in the end I opted for the iPad because of so very many tasks this one device could do. And yet the reality remains that sometimes you just need two screens.
Toward the end of last year, I'd received some Christmas money from generous relatives, so I ordered the $139 WiFi-only Kindle 3
Although I bought the Kindle as a secondary device to my iPad for notes and textbooks in the classroom, I quickly discovered that the Kindle is my preferred reading device—certainly preferred over the iPad, which frankly, can make my eyes sore after a while. When the months were cooler, the Kindle's size, with its six-inch screen, made it quite convenient to throw into a jacket pocket, something that I can't actually do with my iPad. In fact, I never could have imagined how much I'd enjoy reading with the Kindle. In fact, I believe that because of the Kindle, I'm actually reading more now.
Since this post is about using the iPad and Kindle together, I don't want to spend too much time on the Kindle alone, but I will post a couple of related Kindle-only posts later this week.
So how has the Kindle worked as a complement to my iPad? It's been extremely helpful with one significant exception, which I'll get to in a minute. For the most part, I've been able to do exactly what I wanted it for. It's great resource for when I have my iPad connected to a projector. Most of the time, I use the presenter notes built into Keynote for teaching, but if I need to refer to a specific book or article, I have them readily available on the Kindle. And now that the Kindle has page numbers, I can even tell my students, "Turn to p. 272 in your textbook," with confidence we'll (literally) be on the same page.
There's only one problem, and it is a significant one. Amazon has great support for the Kindle if you want to convert a document such as a Word or PDF file to the Kindle format. You email it to them and then they send it to your Kindle converted—all for no charge. I've actually been quite impressed with the quality of the end product. However, often I need to have an article in PDF format remain as the original layout with the original page numbers. In other words, certain PDF documents are not as useful for me converted. The Kindle will allow for viewing of native PDF files, but the 6" screen on the Kindle 3 is simply too small. Yes, I can zoom in on them, but this is not a practical way to read a document.
Of course, Amazon also sells the Kindle DX, which is a larger version of the Kindle, complete with a 9.7" screen—the same size as the screen on the iPad. PDFs are actually quite readable in their original format on the larger screen. The Kindle DX, which is often recommended for academic purposes because of its larger screen, unbelievably has never received the page number update from Amazon. In fact, the Kindle app on the iPad can display page numbers, but you can't see them on Amazon's own device, the Kindle DX.
Why the incongruity? It's because the Kindle DX is a bit of a crossbreed device. It has the great E ink Pearl screen that the smaller Kindle 3 has, but the Kindle DX has the operating system of the older Kindle 2, which also never received the page number update and probably never will.
So overall, the Kindle is a great tool, but there needs to be a Kindle with a larger screen like the DX, but with all the features of the Kindle 3. When Amazon offers this, they will have a much better offering for academic use. Right now, folks who are interested in a Kindle for academic use—whether as a standalone device or as a companion to the iPad or other tablet—will have to decide whether the Kindle 3 (with better features and page numbers) or the Kindle DX (with a larger screen, but an older OS) is best for their uses.
Stay tuned. I've got more to offer this week about the Kindle and how I'm using it—even beyond the classroom.