I can only answer this question for myself, @Bill Boggs . I use my iPad for everything except reading books. I have an iPad Pro, which is the 13" iPad, so it is larger and heavier than the smaller ones. It is great because I can see everything better, and it does a lot more than the smaller ones, too. This is great for everything except reading. So I have a Kindle that I use just for reading. It weighs next to nothing, and is easy to pack around if I go somewhere that I will be sitting around (think doctor office) and want to be able to read. It is so much easier than read on the Kindle than on a paperback, and it weighs a lot less, plus you can set the size of the font to whatever works best for your eyes, and also adjust the background from plain white to more of a creamy color. Another thing that I really like about having a Kindle is that I can use the Kindle Lending Library and borrow books that cost more than I could pay for them. It is like a library and you are not buying, only borrowing; but if all you want to do is read the book, it works fine. I belong to Bookbub.com, and they send you emails for free and cheap books every day. You can fill out a profile of the types of book you want to read, and then they send you only those type of books on your list. You can also go to the Kindle Store on Amazon and search for books. If you put in the type of book you are looking for (mystery, non-fiction, etc) and then search by price from low to high, you will get all of the free books first, and then all of the 99 cent ones, and then the $1.99, and so on. A Kindle can store hundreds (maybe thousands ?) of books for you, plus Amazon will store more in the Cloud, so you can always have all of the books that you want to read, right at your fingertips. The old Kindle Fire that I had was bought used on eBay, and several years old, so when they put the new ones on sale for only $29, I just could not go wrong with getting one. It will also go online, so if I am away from my iPad and want to check Facebook, or this forum, or email, I can use it just like I would the iPad. Since it is a lot smaller screen (7"), I seldom use it for anything but reading, however you can do it if you want or need to. You can also play music or watch movies, and with Alexa, I think that all you have to do is ask and she finds it for you. I don't do either of those things; so I have not had any reason to try out Alexa yet. I would never think of trading my iPad for a Kindle; but it is a very valuable addition to the iPad.
My wife has an iPad and a Kindle, and she uses both; although she uses the Kindle less now than she did before she got the iPad, but not for reading books. I have a Kindle Fire 7 and a Fire 8, and I use both of them. The small Kindle is easier for me to carry around with me, so that's the one I use if I am going to read while in a restaurant or in bed. But the larger one will hold a charge for over a week so that's the one I take when we're traveling or for books that I am using as research, since I have a nice stand/cover for it that I can set next to my computer, and the larger screen keeps me from having to pick it up in order to read it. I also have an older paper-white Kindle that I find more comfortable for reading but, to be honest, I don't use it much anymore - only when I have gone to bed and found that my Kindle Fire has a bead battery. The lower-end Kindle Fire doesn't hold a charge long at all. I have an iPhone but I haven't downloaded the Kindle app, as I can't imagine trying to read a book on that tiny screen. Maybe I'll change my mind at some point, but I see no reason to buy an IPad. My wife uses hers a lot but much of what she does is more easily done on a real computer.
I just have an iPad Air 2 and an iPhone 7 and have the kindle app on both. That's all I need. I can read on my iPhone when at the drs office or anywhere else I'm waiting. It suits me fine but everyone is different. I also get on FB, forums etc on my iPhone when out...not hard at all. I dislike having too many devices because then when I travel it's just more to take.
Roger, dodger, it all sounds reasonable. My iPad is a heavy dude. what makes it that way, It's generation 3, but it has the heaviest frame around it. Rubber, and plastic to protect if you drop it, but the frames is as heavy as the iPad. However in September I an getting an older, smaller iPad, my daughter will bring it when she comes to visit from Austin. I plan to use it for reading only. And, I do not have an iPhone.
I have a heavy case for my Kindle Fire 8. It not only has a durable stand but it has rubber and plastic to protect it from drops. The first Kindle Fire 8 that I bought broke within a month because I fell asleep with it in my hand and it fell on the floor and never worked again. The 8 wasn't so heavy by itself, I guess, but the case adds a lot of weight to it.
I do not have a case for the new Kindle; but I have been looking on Amazon, and intend on getting one as soon as I can. I don't need a keyboard for the Kindle; so just a very lightweight case that will "wake it up" when I open the case will be perfect for me. That way, it will protect the screen, and also not make the Kindle bulky. They have some really pretty ones; so I have been browsing to see which one I will like best to compliment my new yellow Kindle. Some of the prettiest ones are for the larger Kindles; but there is a good selection for the new Fire 7 also.
@Yvonne Smith , I don't buy ebooks because I still love my county library, I even love the smell of libraries, and I doubt that will ever change. I also get books from Bookbud, but those are the one that automatically go to my iBooks app. I like the Kindle app's ability to give me a vocal pronunciation, whereas the iBook's app does not. @Bill Boggs , I need to lighten the load of my purse, so the Kindle will help with that. Now I really don't carry much in my purse like a lot of women do, but any weight dragging on my shoulder will cause me to have to try and sleep on my back, and that never works. Plus when Amazon put the Kindle on for $29.00, I bought four of them. I will be taking three to the vets that are permanent residents at the VA. I'm looking forward to goings as I haven't been able to go in over six weeks. I was really hoping to be able to set the guys up with Bookbub, and I'm hoping Yvonne can explain how she is able to read their books on the her Kindle.
I have really grown to love ebooks since getting my first kindle. I don't have to worry about having bookshelves anymore, and I have lost so many books over the years, every time that I moved from one area to another. The kindle is even lighter weight than a paperback, and for traveling , it is awesome; because I used to haveto pack 2-3 books to read if I was going very far. Anytime you order a book from Bookbub, you always have a choice of where to get it from, and I always choose Amazon so I can read it from the Kindle. Here is a screenshot of what my Bookbub email for today looks like. As you can see, one of the books can come from either iBooks or Amazon, and the other one from Amazon only. Some of them can also be bought from other sources; but regardless, I only choose amazon.
I found the case that I want for the new Kindle. I have the golden yellow Kindle, and this case should be perfect for the color, and I just love how it looks.
Here is my update on the new Kindle Fire. Basically, I am pleased with the Kindle Fire 7. I do not think that this model has Bluetooth, or at least I do not see that on there when I look at the information about the tablet. Since I do not need to connect anything with it using Bluetooth, that is not a real issue for me. After using an iPad for everything for all of these years, the Kindle seems cluttered, and nowhere near as easy to navigate if i want to do something besides just read ebooks on it. I have everything organized on the iPad , with the little boxes that you can group everything in, but the Kindle just has main headings across the top of the page and you have to find your way from there. Since I don't use it for anything except reading, I only have basic apps on it, but even so, the apps that I have for the iPad can't be put on a Kindle, and they would not interact with the iPad, even if I had the same app on both. I have decided that I want an iPad Mini. It can have everything that is on my iPad Pro, so they will work together, and it is larger than my iPhone, so it is easier for me to see and read everything than when I try to use the phone. The Mini is around the same size as the Kindle, so it would be small enough to fit in my purse if I am going to have to sit and wait somewhere (like the doctor's office), but since it has all of the same apps as my regular iPad, I could do more than just read with the iPad Mini. Some apps only work in the portrait position, so those apps are difficult to use with theiPad Pro, which is cumbersome to turn sideways and use, since I have the external keyboard. It is like trying to use a laptop sideways. When Robin took me out to Idaho earlier this summer, I carried along the iPad Pro, and it is like having a 13" laptop to carry around, and totally filled up most of my backpack, and was heavy. If I had had a Mini, then I could have used that for traveling, and not needed to take along both the large ipad and the Kindle for reading.