A Kindle would suffice if you just want to have a bunch of books with you. I don't know the Kindle Fire.
An iPad would offer many other options from playing Solaitaire or scrabble to reading email and surfing the web. You'd need a data plan for that. Kindle battery life is good.
Sent from my iPadHD
On Jun 1, 2012, at 6:11 PM, Chris Laarman <v.c.laarman@gmail.com> wrote:
> Carol Botteron <botteron@alum.mit.edu> on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:39:47
> -0400:
>
> I don't have "the ultimate" answers, but:
>
>
>> I'll be taking a train ride (3 days each way) and want to be able to read
>> without lugging lots of books. Not sure whether the train will have wifi
>> but if I'm somewhere that does, I'd like to be able to check my email.
>>
>> (1) Should I consider any device other than an iPad?
>> Someone suggested a Kindle Fire.
>
> I have a cheap Android 4.0 tablet. Apart from the openness of the
> operating system, it has nothing in favor of it. Especially its power
> consumption when idle (switched to stand-by, not entirely off) is
> hopeless.
>
>
>> (2) Which models of iPad can do what I need? I probably don't need the
>> fanciest. Can they run for 3 days without needing a new charge?
>
> I have an iPad 2, and I might prefer it over a New iPad.
> I have not yet seen a New iPad, but the higher screen resolution seems
> a gimmick to me. (I don't need better-than-Full-HD at that size, and
> it does need more computing power (therefore power) than mine.
> The increased RAM may be a boon, but I haven't yet run into the limits
> of mine.
> You'll need to consider the amount of internal storage space, as it
> can't be extended.
> Text-only books won't take much space, but graphics will.
> If you want to take pictures or even videos, reserve that space (and
> maybe offload to Dropbox or whatever when you can be on-line.
>
> Battery life depends on your use. Stand-by and communication are
> remarkably economical, but graphic activity visibly drains the
> battery.
> You may be interested in the products of <http://www.hypershop.com/>,
> notably its HyperJuice external batteries.
>
>
>> (3) Will I need to purchase a monthly "data service" to read email etc.
>> away from home?
>
> I'll leave that question to others. I have purchased mine with a
> two-year data subscription from my 3G provider, at a notable discount.
>
>
>> (4) What retailers do you recommend (or recommend against)?
>
> I'm in Europe...
>
>
>> (5) At home I have a MacBook Pro (my 5th Mac since 1987) attached to
>> my DSL modem by a cable. What would I need to use an iPad at home?
>
> You could connect the iPad to your Mac using a cable (to USB, both for
> synchronization and charging). You could also go wireless at home.
>
> --
> Chris Laarman
>
>
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