<p>My son just told me that his Kindle has been freezing and is no longer under warranty. I bought it for his about a 1 1/2 years ago and he uses it daily. As he is about to graduate from medical school, we were going to either get him an iPad or a new computer for graduation. He thinks he can use his book money during residency for an iPad if the program doesn’t provide on. That said, he really doesn’t want to be without his Kindle for 2 months so we thought about a Kindle Fire.</p>
<p>I know all that the iPad has to offer, but if we wanted to be cheap, would the Kindle Fire be a nice substitute? I should add that we just were given an iPad 2 as a hand me down from our daughter with the though of maybe giving it to our son, although my husband and I would love to keep it. It isn’t something we need; we both have laptops and the iPad will just be another toy:)</p>
<p>Because my son uses his Kindle while at the gym the most, I am thinking another Kindle or Kindle Fire would be best as an iPad just seems big to me for the gym. That said, I know plenty of people use an iPad at the gym. As you can tell, I am pushing for a Kindle as I don’t want to give up the iPad!</p>
<p>A lot depends on how he will use it. I have been using my husbands Ipad (largely at the gym!; rhapsody for music) since I bought it for him last year, but will finally let him use it, and get myself a kindle fire. We agreed on this approach, because his group will let him access their EMR (electronic medical record) via the Ipad, while MY EMR needs a windows tablet or laptop. So I will go with the kindle fire, and later splurge on the more expensive windows tablet.</p>
<p>Looks that way to me*, but then “my” Ipad is the first model, which I got for about $350 right after the second one came out. Apparently that one will work with H’s EMR. </p>
<p>My “dream” windows tablet is about $1,200.00.</p>
<p>I paid $800 for DH’s I-pad. My Kindle fire was $199. I use it primarily to read books, but if I’m somewhere with Wi-fi, I can use it to surf, check email, read the news, catch up on College Confidential :). It all depends on what he needs to do. I don’t need an Ipad when I can do everything on my Kindle. But that’s just not the case for everyone.</p>
<p>I have a kindle fire, given to me for x-mas by H. H has an Ipad.</p>
<p>Now, let me first say that I learned how and what to do with the Ipad on CC, and when he saw what I was doing with it, he took it over. (obviously, I could get an Ipad if I wanted one.) But, the fire serves my purposes.</p>
<p>H is now also sporting an Iphone. He has an app on his Ipad for when the food in his smoker or on the grill is ready. It’s that bad. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I really wouldn’t use it to that extent, personally. I have yet to get to the point where I can’t get up to check on whether or not the cauliflower is steamed. ;)</p>
<p>Well with his current Kindle he just reads; he also has an Android phone. I am sure if he got the iPad he would play more with it; just like I am doing while in bed:) Does he need an iPad or will the Fire be enough? He would be happy enough with a basic Kindle, but would also enjoy an upgrade.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t know. I adore my Fire. For one thing, I always thought it was a missed opportunity with the Kindle that it had no light. So, now it does and I can read without having a light on in bed, which is amazing. (I’m easily entertained.)</p>
<p>Also, I recently read a memoir which had pictures in the middle the way they do, and the picture quality was awesome.</p>
<p>But, let’s say I wanted to do the NYTimes crossword? It’s too small for that. I don’t think I’d watch tv on it, though I could, obviously. But, when I was travelling recently, it was great to be able to get my email. Though nowhere near as easy or user friendly as the Ipad. If he wants to do a lot of internet stuff, the Ipad is better, and the kindle app is free.</p>
<p>I would call Amazon, and look at the Fire. Also, just because your out of warranty doesn’t mean much. We’ve gotten very cheap upgrades on 3 different Kindles over the years… two that had problems, and one that S stepped on by accident. Each time, we were upgraded to a new or refurb of a more recent model. We were charged nothing for the one S stepped on, $49 for one, and $60ish for the 3rd. </p>
<p>Check with them and see what they offer you, and then ask what they will charge to switch you up to the Fire. Bezos wants your S to keep buying books from Amazon!</p>
<p>You need to ask him if he wants a computer that he can use to read books or an e-reader that has some computer capabilities. If it’s only use is to watch a movie or read a book while working out, go with the Fire. If he wants to use it in his residency, get the IPad.</p>
<p>I believe when he called Amazon to troubleshoot they offered him a replacement for $65, which I assumed would have been a refurbished model of the same one he owns. He has the older one with the keyboard and doesn’t need the keyboard. I said for $79 he could buy one of the new smaller ones. I didn’t think about him upgrading with them and getting the Fire at a discount; I will suggest that to my son. </p>
<p>He isn’t an Apple person like I am, and just bought his Android phone instead of getting an iPhone. Even if he gets an iPad this summer through his program, I think he would still use a Kindle for the gym.</p>
<p>If this is not going to be a surprise and if you can afford either, why don’t you ask him what he would prefer? He’s old enough to reason it out. </p>
<p>The idea of getting a used or refurbished Kindle is also a good idea - use what’s familiar to him at a cheap price and then see if an iPad ends up being provided during his residency.</p>
<p>About 18 months ago, lots of Kindle owners were reporting freeze-ups. The problem was diagnosed as being caused by the cover, not the Kindle itself. If your son’s cover is the Amazon leather cover with metal inserts that attach to the reader, it could be corrupting the Kindle operating system and be the reason for the freeze-up. Have him separate the Kindle from the cover and see if it continues to malfunction. If not, all he needs is a new cover. Amazon was replacing covers for free back then. If this is the source of your problem, they might send another at no charge.</p>
<p>In my house, we have Kindles and iPads. I find the iPad a little too heavy for reading in bed when I hold the book aloft for lengthy periods. Given my personal preferences, if I had to replace a Kindle, it would be with a Kindle Touch, not an iPad or Kindle Fire.</p>
<p>He doesn’t know what he wants! When my daughter was given a new iPad at work, she gave us her 3 month old iPad 2; well we bought it from her as she is a staving young adult The thought at the time was to either give it to our son, just because, or keep it for ourselves. We have no “need” for the iPad, we were just going to make it our bedroom computer for later night reading, surfing, and game playing. If my daughter hadn’t offered this to us, we would not have purchased an iPad at this time. Of course, now that it is in the house, I have set it up for myself as my son didn’t say he was dying to have it. It just so happens that his Kindle died the same day I set the iPad up!</p>
<p>Chuck-He does not have the Kindle cover; he is a minimalist and keeps it bare except for travel for protection!</p>
<p>I just emailed my son to call Amazon back and see what they can do with an upgrade.</p>
<p>My $0.02–we have one of each in the family (of course neither belongs to me), but if we had to choose one, it’d definitely be the iPad. Better functionality, of course, but it’s also <em>way</em> better at picking up a WiFi signal than the Fire.</p>
<p>A quick email off to my son and I think he want to just get a Kindle Touch for now, especially if Amazon with offer it at a discount; he doesn’t care if it is refurbishes as long as the warranty is the same. I did see on Amazon that they sell refurb Fire’s for $30 less with the same one year warranty and a free month of Prime. Don’t need Prime as my son already has it and we all just order off of his account instead of our own if we want something shipped fast!</p>
<p>He is going to call Amazon tonight and see what they offer and go from there. Like I said, he really uses his Kindle for reading at the gym and doesn’t require the newest and greatest!</p>
The thought at the time was to either give it to our son, just because, or keep it for ourselves. We have no “need” for the iPad, we were just going to make it our bedroom computer for later night reading, surfing, and game playing. If my daughter hadn’t offered this to us, we would not have purchased an iPad at this time. Of course, now that it is in the house, I have set it up for myself as my son didn’t say he was dying to have it. It just so happens that his Kindle died the same day I set the iPad up!</p>