Tablet or E-reader?

Hmmm. After leaving yet another unfinished book somewhere on the wild streets of Manhattan (specifically, in between Carnegie Hall and the Port Authority), I have decided to invest in a more sophisticated method for obtaining literature. The decision, however, was tough. I have long debated the tablet and in fact purchased one last summer. After a brief stint configuring and enjoying some of the many features of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, I returned it due to a small oil-slick defect with the screen. Now, six months later I am giving it another go, but this time I am going to try the Amazon Kindle.

I’ll be the first to advocate the tablet and its ability to deliver an amazing multimedia experience, but a few things worried me. The first was with the battery life, which may provide you 8 hours. The last thing I want when reading a book or newspaper in a cafe or in the park is to worry about charging my device. And from everything I have read the Amazon Kindle Touch gets impressive battery life, which is like 24+ hours of something insane. Additionally, the goal of this device is to force me to read more ‘books’. Should I have invested in a tablet, you betcha, I would be playing Angry Birds or watching movies, which I still love, but will reserve for late night mind-numbing goodness.

All said, I have yet to receive my new gadget, but I am excited. My father once told me how he remembered my older brother, at the ripe old age of 5, say that the waiting was the best part, even if Tom Petty says it’s also the hardest. Either way, I look forward to the easy access to timeless classics out of copyright and available for free in the Kindle Bookstore. I have tried to read these ebooks on my smartphone and on my computer, but the experience just wasn’t there and my interest quickly waned. The E-ink touchscreen is supposedly marvelous and equal to the experience of reading paper. I will include a follow up to this post after I have had the opportunity to test it out…

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