Category Archives: Apple

So I read a ton both for fun and for work.  Denise likes to call it her quiet time, because I basically turn into furniture when I pickup a book.  I have always liked Barnes and Noble, and so as soon as their ereader the Nook came out I got one.  I was pleased with it for pleasure reading, but it’s issues with PDF diagrams, and lack of Cisco Press books in the ebook section left me dry when it came to reading for work.  However, it loaded up all the DRMed pdfs from ciscopress.com with no problem other than diagrams.  I had been looking for another device that would provide me with a great reading experience that worked for both home and work.

Next up the iPad, it’s sleek, it’s sexy, and it’s bright!  I didn’t realize when I got it how much I liked eink when it came to reading.  I tried the brightness tricks etc, but I could not read on this device all day like I could a book or a nook.  Also, it was detrimental to studying.  I mean my email, netflix, and games right beside my studying icon…. guess what I didn’t do.  I did like the PDF support on the iPad it was fantastic!  I could do almost anything to a PDF, mark it up, highlight, search I loved it.  I did not enjoy holding it for hours on end!  But alas iBooks did not have the Cisco Press titles either .  After about three weeks, I was done with reading on the iPad.

Finally the Kindle 3, that would be the new graphite one.  I loaded up my two tests first I used the ICND 2 PDF from the CD and the Sybex PDF on the CCNA CD.  Both looked wonderful on eink screen without any of the oddities I had seen on the Nook.  I also puchased the CVOICE book directly from the Kindle store, and it looked fantastic.  My only complaint with the Kindle is the lack of support for the DRMed PDFs available from the ciscopress.com site.  I’ve purchased a few, and I’m not able to view them on the kindle presently.  One other really nice thing about the kindle is the weight and buttons.  It’s noticeably lighter than a N00k or an iPad, and after holding it for hours I don’t stop reading because my arms are tired.  Also the page turn buttons are very responsive, and the page switch process is much faster than on a N00k.

So my final thought are: N00k ok, iPad good, Kindle Perfect for me.  I suppose I should have gotten the Kindle DX which is a bit larger, but I am fine with my normal sized one for now.  I’ve heard some CCIE guys say that the DX is better for viewing Lab information.  Just my two cents.