iPhone/touch-Kindle Smackdown
eMedia. Everyone wants it. And Amazon's Kindle is the latest media darling. For all that, we think that the iPhone and iPod touch may be getting overlooked. These devices offer a full-color screen with 480-pixel wide displays in landscape mode, PDF compatibility without fees, and full access to the Internet. Sure, you have to jailbreak your system or stick with Safari, but feature-to-feature we think Apple's hardware stands up pretty well. What do you think?
Feature | Kindle | iPhone | iPod touch |
Cost | $399 | $399 + $50/month | $299 |
Connectivity | EV-DO (free) | WiFi & ATT/EDGE (monthly charge) | WiFi (free) |
Onboard Memory | 256 MB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
Memory Expandability | SD slot | No | No |
Screen Size | 600x800 | 320x480 | 320x480 |
Measurement | 6" diagonal | 3.5" diagonal | 3.5" diagonal |
Screen Depth | 2-bit Grayscale | Full color | Full color |
Book Software | Included | PDF reader and Books (requires jailbreak) | PDF reader and Books (requires jailbreak) |
PDF compatibility | Yes. (You pay to email directly to the Kindle.) | With free software | With free software |
Flash Support | no | no | no |
3rd Party Apps | None at this time | Unofficial only until February | Unofficial only until February |
Weight | 10.3 ounces | 4.8 ounces | 4.2 ounces |
Video Playback | No | Yes | Yes |
Newspapers and Magazines | By special subscription, full content or via websites (with the Kindle's experimental browser) | Via websites | Via websites |
Physical Keyboard | Yes | No | No |
Touch Screen | No | Yes | Yes |
Font resizing | Yes (6 levels) | Yes (arbitrary) | Yes (arbitrary) |
