“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.” ~ Carl Jung

Back when iPads were the only viable tablet solution, Suzy and I purchased one each for a trip. We immediately fell in love with our tablets and never traveled without them. We even sprung for the pricy 3G version so that we weren’t tethered to a WiFi. We used these for two years.

Then, having been hired by Amazon, I decided to give the Amazon Kindle HD 8.9 4G a go. As an avid community transit user, this device needed to be able to provide me with an online solution as a traveler for 90 minutes to 2 hours a day. For me this solution has worked out better than I thought it would for what is really 1.0 version of a tablet.

Here is a YouTube review:

Tip du Jour: If you wanna go cheap, you can save ~$200 by not buying the 4G connectivity and only connecting up to your home and the free WiFi spots that are becoming more and more prevalent.

Tip #2: Get a cover to protect your Kindle when you are traveling. I sprung for this one.

I luv the online magazines subscriptions, eBooks, and apps that I use. For example, did you know that the venerable Newsweek magazine is *only* available online now? Each new subscription pops up automatically on my Kindle carousel.

The battery life is excellent. I do plug it in every night, just like I do my phone. I just can’t imagine being without the device because the battery ran out. But I don’t think I’ve ever hit the halfway mark on the battery life indicator. My iPad II did not usually last a full day of use for me.

Now, all that said, the two best features are the lower price and not being tied to iTunes. I hope to be happy with this tablet for a couple of years. And then, as is my way, I plan to give it to a family member for further use.