Kindle HD6 and other pads/ tablets, opinions?

[Lithos]

27. You have two decisions

The first and most obvious is the hardware. But the second and least obvious is the ecosystem you are subscribing into. You mention Kindle, so thinking are you are more "book" based than not.

Kindle is tied very much into the Amazon Eco-system. While the hardware is very good, there are advantages and disadvantages to the Amazon eco-system. The good pieces are that they have a very rich choice, but in the negative, they are very much dictatorial and closed meaning they own it and you just rent it. They prevent you from moving it from device to device (meaning you have to pay for it again should you leave). And in a few cases they have arbitrarily removed content you have purchased.

Apple has excellent hardware and can live in many eco-systems. The downside is that they are very expensive. Android also supports many ecosystems and has a lot of choices, but the hardware and android versions are extremely vendor specific meaning you have to watch the specific reviews.

The notes about eco-systems is to find those which are not closed. Amazon, Apple and Google have closed eco-systems for the most part. However, Android systems are a bit more open w/r to Apps.

L-