iPad or Kindle: which one is for you?

With all PC and mobile phone manufacturers taking the leap of faith and releasing tablets every now and then, consumers are loaded with a plethora of choices. There is no denying that there is still no one out there to beat the iPad as a complete tablet that it is. But with this amazing eReader called Kindle from Amazon.com, I would say you should have a relook at your priorities. 

 

The general question that arises is what do you need? Do you want a complete power packed tablet that does almost everything, runs a whole gamut of apps, takes photos, allow video chat , surf the web and what not and plus its an eReader, then probably you should go for an iPad. But if all you really care for is a decent eBook reading and some web surfing on the go, then you are looking at this nice little device called Kindle which is essentially an eReader at best.

I must make it clear that there is no question on the performance of these two devices, its only about the purpose that they serve. Both are really good at what they promise to do. But your decision should be a well-informed one and only based upon your needs and not upon the fantasy. 

So, here I am going to explore some general criteria that would you make a wise choice by looking at the different aspects of the two devices and see what suits you the best. This would not only help you get the right device, but might also save a considerable amount of money!

The most important factor: Price

The Kindle Fire is Amazon's Android-based Kindle tablet. At $199, it's far less expensive than the iPad, which ranges from $399 for the iPad 2, to $499-$829 for the new iPad 3 (the third generation device). You can also get Kindle devices for as little as $79. 

But the key is going to be what you do with the device. The machines are substantially different and serve different purposes. That said, if you're very much budget constrained, the Kindle Fire is a nice little machine for $199. 

The Size do matter

The Kindle Fire is a 7-inch device, while the iPad is nearly 10-inches in size. The iPad is also considerably heavier. Again, it depends on what you want to do with the device. 

 

I have my Kindle Fire on my night table, and it's my bedroom reader (and, sometimes, I cheat and look something up on the Web with it). The iPad would be uncomfortably large to read in bed. On the other hand, the iPad is great for larger documents and reading PDFs, so if you want to see something in detail, you'll want the iPad. With the new Retina display, the iPad is clearly the better looking of the two devices. 

Ecosystem

Each device is tightly tied into an ecosystem of products and services. The iPad is tightly integrated into Apple's App store, and the iTunes ecosystem. The Kindle Fire is tightly tied into the Amazon ecosystem.

I'll be honest: I prefer the Amazon ecosystem far more than Apple's, but that's me. Both my friends and I have Amazon Prime accounts, we buy most of our goods from Amazon, we read Kindle books almost exclusively, and we watch the large library of free Amazon Prime videos. 

If you're a heavy Amazon user, the Kindle Fire is something of a no-brainer. Of course, you can also read all your Kindle books on the iPad or even your iPhone. Smart boys, those Amazon chaps. 

By contrast, I've never liked iTunes and I find the Apple App store cumbersome. But there's no getting over the fact that Apple does have a tremendous presence in the App store game... 

Let the Apps talk!

Let's be clear. Nothing... and I mean nothing touches the assortment of apps available for iPads and iPhones. It's almost insane. Apple claims over 500,000 iPhone and iPad apps. By contrast, the Amazon AppStore has 31,000 apps -- a large selection, but tiny compared to Apple. 

If you want apps, the clear winner is Apple. In addition, the apps available for the iPad are often far more capable and powerful than those you'll find for the Kindle Fire.If apps are your game, the winner is, without a doubt, the iPad. 

Mobile connectivity

The Kindle Fire is a WiFi-only device. That means you need to be connected to a router to browse the Web and download books and apps. Many iPads are also WiFi-only devices, but the new 3rd generation iPad also can be purchased with 4G high-speed wireless connectivity (and the cheaper iPad 2 with 3G).

Interestingly, although the Fire doesn't have any 3G wireless capability, all the older Kindles do -- but only for downloading books you bought from Amazon. 

If you want to browse the Web while at your local coffee shop or in the airport, the winner is clearly the iPad. 

Flash support for websites

This one is simple. The Kindle Fire supports Flash (meaning a lot of Web sites that don't work on the iPad work on the Kindle Fire). If you want to browse a Flash Web site (and this includes a ton of educational sites), the winner is clearly the Kindle Fire. 

Native USB drive mode

There’s much better access to the Kindle Fire as a storage device than Apple provides with the iPad. For example, you can take a USB cable, plug it into the Kindle Fire and then to your PC, and drag-and-drop documents for later reading. 

There are some hacks for this for the iPad, but native USB drive mode is supported, out of the box, for the KindleFire. There is a detail here, though. While the Kindle Fire supports this without fiddling, the device doesn't actually come with a cable that will connect to your computer. Of course, you know where to go if you want to order one, don't you? Click here to order one from Amazon.com.

Usage model

We touched on this earlier, but let's make it explicit. The Kindle Fire excels at consuming Amazon content. If you want to consume Amazon content, whether it's Kindle books or Amazon Prime videos, the Kindle Fire is the clear winner. 

On the other hand, if you want to consume or create other content, the choice isn't as clear. You can watch Netflix videos on both, for example. But if you want to see high-quality 1080p video on a vivid display, you'll want to get the iPad 3. 

 Both devices will let you read PDF files quite nicely. I’ve found that the 7-inch form-factor of the Kindle Fire makes it much easier to hold the Kindle Fire in one hand, and fiddle with a switch, knob, menu-panel, or button in the other. It's much harder to do that with the iPad.

So, as you can see, it's up to how you use the device to determine which is a better fit in terms of usage.

Support

Support is always relative, and depends on which company ticked you off last. That said, both Apple and Amazon provide surprisingly good support, at least compared to the norm in tech products. For support, it's a tie. The only major downside is that, unless you've ponied up for AppleCare, you're on your own for support after the free support period ends. As far as I know, Amazon support is ongoing.

5 most creative iPad wallpaper websites

Ever since I got my hands on my brand new iPad, I had been searching for unique and creative wallpapers for my iPad that would reflect my personality. Even though the bundled wallpapers are there, but I find them outright boring and plain. So, I went ahead and dug out some really cool websites that offer incredibly creative and fun filled iPad apps. I hope you would find one that matches your personal taste :)

1. Mantia

Mantia is a simple website featuring iPad, iPod and Mac wallpapers created by US based designer by Louie Mantiais. I simply fell in love with the simplicity and character of the featured designs.

2. Vlad Studio

Vlad studio has a whole gamut of wallpapers for everything Apple! Filled with colorful and extremely attractive wallpapers, Vlad is one of my favorites. Apart from wallpapers, the site also features some small games and apps for iPad.

3. Iconpaper

Dedicated to making awesome artwork for your Apple devices, Iconpaper is a dedicated Mac/iOS customization website that will definitely blow your mind away. With designer docks, icons, wallpapers and lockscreens, you are good to go!

4. Dizorb

Dizorb aims at compiling an extensive wallpaper library using user-contributed content. Dizorb features a wide range of gorgeous HD wallpapers for your iPad. You would really appreciate the variety and quality of the content that is shared.

5. The Desktop Wallpaper Project

This is a really special one. The Desktop Wallpaper Project is a great initiative of The Fox Is Black, an art and design blog. The blog's endeavor is "share the most interesting and inspiring parts of contemporary life and culture". I personally find it one of the best source to choose your pick if you are in love with contemporary art. The website offers wallpapers in many different resolutions and off course, it supports your favorite Apple devices.

Lets hope that you enjoyed the compilation and found a perfect match for your homescreen on your loved iPad/iPhone. Please share your comments.

Laptop deals online for students

           Students and their parents always find it difficult to choose from a wide variety of laptops that are available in the market these days. A few years back, the question that used to play at the back of their mind was whether they should go for Desktop PC or Laptops, but now with huge competition between top players in the industry bringing the laptop prices down, the aim now is to get the best deal available on the internet.

Set your priorites

          While the parents are bothered about the price, the students are easily carried away by popular brands and their marketing techniques. However, top brands like HP, Sony and Apple come with a hefty price tag. You can easily find cheaper laptops with almost similar or sometimes even better features if you really look at it that way. All it takes is a little window shopping over the internet and a desire to save some serious money! We all know how expensive Schools can be these days, so it always pays if you could save a few bucks on laptop.

What should you look for?

     Buying laptops online gives you opportunity to save a lot of money as the company also saves by cutting costs on employing sales people and maintaining a store. There are special student discounts available online as well. You should search for special student offers that could be either special discounts or price reductions.

       Buying a student laptop is serious business. You must consider the kind of software that you are going to use. Of course, Microsoft Office and other utility software would run even older computers but if you are the kind of advanced user who uses Matlab, HFSS, Cadence, Synopsys, Xilinx ISE and other such resource hungry software then you better make sure that you buy a equally performing laptop. 

         Many students are confused when deciding on the processor. Latest entrants like Intel i5 and i7 may sound fancy but you are good to go even with a Pentium 4 or Core2Duo processor that would cost you much less compared to the laptops with latest processors. You should be good with a 2 GB RAM and a little dedicated graphics on board.

Recommended sites and products

     When it comes to online shopping, what matters the most is trust. And you can’t go wrong with market leaders in the online shopping world like amazon.com and ebay.com. I follow amazon.com for their rich customer experience and amazing deals and prompt customer service.

  Acer laptops are pretty cost effective and give decent performance for its price. You can browse for them at amazon.com. Acer is a Taiwanese computer maker which is currently ranked 2 globally among laptop makers and is the proud sponsor of Ferrari F1 team. They sell laptops at surprisingly low prices with competitive performance and features. Here is a list of my favorites:

1.      Acer Aspire V3-571G-6602 15.6-Inch Laptop (MidnightBlack) (save $30)

2.      Acer Aspire AS5750Z-4835 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) (save $30)

3.      Acer Aspire AS5560-7402 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) (save $120)

HP, Dell and Asus also offer some excellent budget laptops. You can check these out as well:

1.      Dell Inspiron i15RN5110-7126DBK (save $160)

2.      Lenovo G570 4334DBU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) (save $150)

3.      HP Pavilion g7-2010nr 17.3-Inch Laptop (Black) (save $100)

4.      HP Pavilion dv6-7010 us 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) (save $150)

5.      Dell Inspiron i14RN-1227BK 14-Inch Laptop (DiamondBlack) (save $110)

6.      ASUS A53U-EB11 15.6-Inch Laptop (Mocha) (save $80)           

    And If you are one of those who is really brand conscious and can’t compromise in that manner then you should check the Sony VAIO T Series SVT13112FXS 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (SilverMist) which is an extremely stylish and high performance laptop from Sony at $770. Amazon offers a $100 rebate as well.

   Amazon is also offering this Back to School savings offer in which you will get a $100 Amazon.com gift card with the purchase of select Ultrabooks (Ultrabooks are designed to feature reduced size (less than 2.1 cm thick) and weight (usually less than 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs)) without compromising performance and battery life). Here is a list of some of the ultrabooks worth mentioning:

1.      HP Envy 4-1030us 14-Inch Ultrabook (Black)

2.      Samsung Series 5 NP530U3C-A01US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook(Light Titan)

3.      Acer Aspire S3-391-6899 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Champagne)

Note: I have taken extra care to make sure that I don’t cross the $800 mark. If you are not restricted by a budget, then you should look at other options (read “high-end”) as well.

   Amazon is also offering a 12 month interest free EMI option for laptops above $599 which is a really good option for those students who are expecting a Teaching or Research Assistantship or are on a scholarship with a monthly stipend. This is helpful if you can’t pay the lump sum amount but still want to buy a high-end computer.

   Another advantage with online shopping of laptops is the free shipping. All the models that I have listed come with free shipping.

    Dell offers its special Back-to-School laptops at reduced rates. They have a wide variety of laptops with rich feature set at every prize range. You can get them from Dell’s direct sales portal, dfsdirectsales.com. Dell also offers a special discount to students who are student member of professional organization called IEEE. Please check the IEEE website for more details.

    Tigerdirect.com is a very good website for online purchase of laptops and other computer peripherals. You can also look for Toshiba Satellite C-series laptops starting from $349, which are value for money and come with many freebies. You can get them from toshibadirect.com. In India, flipkart.com is a very good website for buying laptops with very nice customer support.

    I have tried to touch upon the various needs and solutions for an well informed buying experience in online laptop purchase. Please leave some comments if you feel something is missing.