The Great Trilemma

March 25, 2009 9:02 PM

Best gadget for a college student: ipod touch, eee pc, or Kindle?

I am, as mentioned above, a college student who may soon come upon some cash that I can afford to spend. I'm a bit gadget obsessed (when I can afford to be), and the ipod touch, eee pc, and Kindle all have me drooling. I can justify buying one, but certainly not two, so I have to choose.

I currently own a 14" Dell Inspiron that's not half bad and a nano 4g (which I would very likely sell if I got the touch). It seems like the Kindle would add less to my life (so to speak) than the other two, as it would add a functionality that I don't already have to some degree (actually, I do have books, but you know...)

I read a lot and I'm a major in the humanities, meaning the the Kindle would save me some money by letting me download public domain books for school for free instead of shelling out $10/each.

I also love the idea of having portable internet in my pocket that I can use to check my email and the news without lugging my laptop around campus all day.

Then again, with the eee it wouldn't be much to lug, and it has a whole lot more than the touch does (though you can't exactly put it in your pocket and stroll around town with it).

So, basically, which one should I buy? All answers welcome, though I'm particularly interesting in hearing from people who have two or three of these--which one has been the most "how did I ever live without this? (if any)

posted by Autarky to technology (34 comments total)

An iPod touch is pretty awesome, but it ends up just sitting around a lot for many. An iPhone would be a good addition to your list if you could switch to it.
posted by floam at 9:09 PM on March 25

floam, I have a cell phone that I use maybe once a week. The iphone would cost me $xx/month extra just for the service, and I don't really want to be locked in with AT&T (I have a gophone right now).
posted by Autarky at 9:15 PM on March 25

I have a touch that I got for free and I use it quite a bit. If you download Stanza (http://www.lexcycle.com/) you can use the touch as an ebook reader, and it also has the wireless, and if you're on campus you will likely almost always have wireless available. I use stanza a lot and don't mind reading on it but the screen is smaller than the eee. I have an eee as well, and you're right, it's not exactly "pocket" but I know people who use it as their main computer so if you are considering replacing the inspiron you might want to choose the eee instead. I like the touch because it's easy to use on the subway (standing in a crowded subway I can use the touch but not the eee) and it's also an mp3 player for when I'm walking around.
posted by tractorfeed at 9:20 PM on March 25

also apparently there is a microphone headset that you can get for the touch and with that and skype you can sort of turn the touch into an iphone (here's an article: http://lifehacker.com/378511/turn-your-ipod-touch-into-an-iphone) whenever you have a wireless connection...
posted by tractorfeed at 9:23 PM on March 25 [1 favorite]

Isn't there an app that's kindle for iphone? So that would take care of that.
posted by sugarfish at 9:23 PM on March 25

I own none of these, but yeah, if you can deal with the tiny screen, Kindle books can be read on the Touch.
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:29 PM on March 25

I'd get the touch.
posted by pompomtom at 9:32 PM on March 25

I'm a college student and I got an iTouch a recently and I think it's great. There's a wireless network on campus, so I always have internet with me, I have music, I have already been reading a book on it and find it totally fine and easy. Plus there are loads of other apps you can get, it's got a great level of adaptability (timetable app, organiser/to do list, all sorts of stuff). I am voting for iTouch, but I don't know enough about the other two options.
posted by atmosphere at 9:36 PM on March 25 [1 favorite]

If I were a college student again, I'd get an eee or similar netbook. As a real adult, I don't come across much opportunity to sit down and use a little laptop. And if I do have that chance I'm not usually around wifi access. But a college kid should have all sorts of opportunities to access campus wifi and fuck around on a netbook. The iPod Touch would be okay too, but since you'll likely have a backpack anyway, the smaller size won't be much advantage. I'd opt for the full-size keyboard instead.

The Kindle's slick, but I'd solve the "portable internet" thing first.
posted by mullacc at 9:40 PM on March 25

For all the techie people I know, the popular item is the ipod touch/iphone. I know a few of them have the eeePC and apparently it was fun for a while then they pretty much stopped using it - their regular laptops were more practical for the applications they were using it for.

I for one am finding the ipod touch indispensable. I check my email, the weather, the news, my favorite blogs (even metafilter), youtube, movie trailers/show times on it whenever I have wifi access. First thing I grab in the morning (it's my alarm clock), last thing I look at before bed. And the free games are great, I rarely buy them because I get bored quickly but it's been a good investment that way - I never really use my DS anymore, this has replaced it. I've also taken to reading free books via Stanza, which is pretty nifty at bedtime. I also use the stopwatch feature and the notepad for my work all the time, and the calendar function for reminding me of appointments. And I'm always listening to music, I really like the new Genius feature in itunes to make a quick playlist, so convenient.

woah, i think i just creeped myself out...
posted by lizbunny at 9:43 PM on March 25 [2 favorites]

The 14" Inspiron is already pretty small; you're not going to get a lot more benefit out of the eee. (We have an eee and it's great for travel but the keyboard is a mofo.) The Kindle is cool but kind of limited, and the feature it has (reading! books!) is something you can do fairly eaily without it. I'd get the Touch for the wireless features; it essentially gives you a functionality you don't already have or are not already closely approximating.
posted by DarlingBri at 10:02 PM on March 25

My vote's with an eee, which I am typing on. I'd get one with a harddrive, though, as it's a bit tedious to plug in my ipod (Video, not Touch) to listen to my tunes. And while the 901's size is sweet, I'd get the next larger size for the harddrive.

I read ebooks on it, write code on it, run a database server on it, etc. In direct sunlight, I can't see the screen, as I could on a Kindle. And the Touch looks yummy, but I think the screen's the same size as on my Zaurus -- which is too small for real work.

Now I will go back to writing Java code in Eclipse, and running the jetty server to test it, on my eee 901.

When I tire of coding, I will browse to metafiilter, on my eee, or maybe play Sokoban. Or read a pdf ebook with evince.

Note that if you do get a netbook, you will need to cusotmize it. The eee factory linux sucks: replace it with eeebuntu. Put Firefox 3 on a tmpfs or it will be too slow. (FF2 is fine as is.) Follow eeuser.com's wiki on getting small themes. I run KDE and the Crystal them allows the titlebar to be sized; KDE also allows the titlebar and border to be removed from any window.
posted by orthogonality at 10:04 PM on March 25 [2 favorites]

I am a Ph.D student in an interdisciplinary media/engineering program. I'd avoid the Kindle -- e-ink readers still aren't ready for primetime, particularly if you'll want to read PDFs (and even more particularly full-page 8.5x11 documents, like many electronic journal articles). Then again, I wasn't reading many journal articles in undergrad, so YMMV. I own an iTouch 2nd generation and love it. Right now I have a 60 minute commute each way to campus, and can read (somewhat awkwardly), watch video podcasts, or even TV/movies, if I'm feeling unmotivated. I do not own a netbook, but several of my friends do. One has an MSI Wind she loves, and runs OS X on. Several others have OLPCs, which seem less utilitarian, but cuter.

If you already have a small laptop and must have a new gadget, I'd go for the iTouch. But then, if you can wait 'til summer, there are rumors of a new hardware revision that may have a better GPU, etc..
posted by Alterscape at 10:16 PM on March 25

I have a netbook that I use for taking notes in class and meetings. It's wonderful. Despite my huge hands, I can touch type easily. It takes up so little space that I can have a binder open on the top of a desk and the netbook sitting on one of my legs to take notes with. Flying with it is wonderful. I've done a number of research papers with it, and although the smaller screen makes writing in one window while browsing research in another difficult, I haven't felt restricted.

I got an HP Mininote because of the functionally full sized keyboard, the awesome screen, the clean looking aluminum shell, and the sweet speakers. I got the Linux version to save money and avoid Windows Vista, uninstalled the shitty SUSE Linux it came with, and installed Ubuntu. I recommend the Mininote if you can find one on sale, otherwise they're a little overpriced.

I got my partner an iPod touch for X-Mas. She really loves it, and I've seen her check email and her google calendar with ease. However, watching her compose email replies and make text entries convinces me that it is not the tool for writing on the go. She just confirmed that in real time. I'm looking at the Kindle application on her iPod and I can't see why you would spend so much money on a Kindle when the iPhone application does the same thing, but I have especially good eyesight and other people might find the small font required to display entire pages to be annoying.

Typed on my netbook. Heh.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 10:20 PM on March 25

I have a cell phone that I use maybe once a week. The iphone would cost me $xx/month extra just for the service, and I don't really want to be locked in with AT&T (I have a gophone right now).

The reason the iPhone has an advantage for many people is not because of being able to use it as a phone, but because you're always able to get on the internet. That's the only reason I chose an iPhone over the touch. If I lived in and stayed in a city with free wifi everywhere, I would have gone with the touch. Since I don't, I got the iPhone. Now, by the time I find some free wifi, I don't need it (since I'm constantly able to get online regardless).

Again, I completely understand the reasons NOT to get an iPhone.

As for your choices, I would go with the touch. It simply can do so much more than the kindle. As far as the netbook, it's way to similar to my normal laptop. About the only thing I couldn't do on a Touch is extensive writing.

If you're always sitting down, not very mobile, don't mind typing on a tiny keyboard, get a netbook. But I use my iPhone, and would use a Touch, far more than I ever would a netbook. But it really depends on your needs.
posted by justgary at 10:30 PM on March 25

I vote for the Kindle. I'm a college student, not anywhere near a humanities major (I have just the one humanities course per semester, and already I was able to find all the books for that course on the Kindle either for free or under $1 each). Going by list prices this saved me at least $80.

Plus you can use the experimental web browser to read news, Google Reader, MeFi, whatever you want on the web really. The browser is much more usable (minus color) than any I have used on any cell phone, just because of the size of the screen. It is much easier to read on the Kindle than it would be on an iPod Touch. The best part is that I can read for short annoying periods of time that would otherwise be wasted (waiting for the bus, for an appointment, etc) without having to carry bulky books around with me.

PDFs that I have converted for the Kindle have also come out well enough to read. It does poorly with diagrams that are bigger than the screen is, but I imagine that would be less of an issue as a humanities major.

The eee looks great, but really the keyboard is a pain and the screen is tiny. And really its not that much less of a pain to carry around than a 14in laptop. And I'll very guiltily mention that it is much harder to goof off in class with an eee. It is much more obvious when you are focused on a tiny screen than when you can somewhat hide behind the screen.
posted by miscbuff at 10:36 PM on March 25

I vote eee pc. If you got a large university, wifi is pretty much everywhere, including classrooms. Having a keyboard and full pc functionality is pretty useful. Taking notes, checking email, and reading are all feasible.

My second choice would be the Kindle. It's definitely something you would buy just to have because it's cool. Yes you could download public domain books (and maybe not public domain books, *nudge nudge*), but IMHO, it's still overpriced.

Let us know what you end up getting!
posted by carpyful at 11:07 PM on March 25

The browser is much more usable (minus color) than any I have used on any cell phone, just because of the size of the screen.

Other than size this isn't true. Safari on the touch/iphone is light years ahead of the kindle in usability.

Can you surf the Internet on the Kindle?

Yes, but that’s what I have a laptop for. If you’re looking to surf the web, don’t bother getting a Kindle. The browser is a throwback to pre-iPhone mobile browsers, i.e. it sucks.

Browsing the web?

If you go in the experimental section of the menu, you can launch the basic web browser which is mostly suitable for text-only / mobile friendly sites.

And that's from two users that love their kindle.

If you go with the Kindle do so because of the one thing it does better than any other device: displays books for you read.
posted by justgary at 12:36 AM on March 26

floam, I have a cell phone that I use maybe once a week. The iphone would cost me $xx/month extra just for the service, and I don't really want to be locked in with AT&T (I have a gophone right now).

True, but you lose out on internet everywhere all of the time. Perhaps option C: buy an iPhone by itself (not unlocked for AT&T, but probably jailbroken) with your GoPhone SIM. The only thing you lose is visual voicemail. When I was using their GoPhone service like 5 months ago they had an unlimited MediaNet package for $20/mo for 3G internet all the time.
posted by floam at 1:03 AM on March 26

I have an Eee PC and a touch. I was thisclose to buying a Kindle when Amazon came out with the Kindle App for the iPhone/touch. I love it, it's great, and I no longer want or need a Kindle.

If I had to choose between the Eee PC and the touch, the touch wins hands down. The Eee PC is okay, but typing on it is a drag and listening to music or watching DVDs on it isn't too much fun either. The touch rocks at music and video of course, and you can hop on free WiFi wherever you find it.
posted by _Mona_ at 2:38 AM on March 26

Go to Best Buy or somewhere and try out typing on the Touch. Some people hate it, some love it, so you need to know which one you are. I have a Touch and find it indespensible. The ability to add applications of your choice is priceless. Just the other day I actually read the Roe v Wade decision, courtesy of a free app called US History which has all the major US historical documents, back to the 17th century in my pocket. There's bound to be other useful apps for college students.

Be aware that the browser on the Touch doesn't have spell check.

--typed on a Touch
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:40 AM on March 26

Check Amazon to see what books are available on the Kindle. Depending on your major, you might find a slew of your textbooks there. When I was testing Kindles for my academic library, I saw mixed results for History, English, and Government, which I had thought would be the best represented subjects, but last night while reading my own Kindle at a bar, the bartender remarked that she was looking into getting one because all her Organic Chemistry books were available for it.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:17 AM on March 26

Definitely go play with a Touch at a store if you can. I was thinking about getting one, until I actually tried one and realized it would drive me batshit crazy to use. Which may not be the case to you, but better to know before dropping the wad of cash.

I love my Kindle dearly and highly recommend it, but I rarely bother with the web browser - it's likely not something you're going to use in place of your laptop unless your web needs are very minimal.
posted by Stacey at 5:40 AM on March 26

Left-field suggestion - Try a tablet pc like a Fujitsu-Siemens ST5020; Sell the laptop & Nano and also get an iPhone...
posted by DrtyBlvd at 6:48 AM on March 26

EVERYBODY has a laptop and a music player - so get the Kindle.

It's the only option, of the 3 you gave us, that that has any chance (very small chance) of improving your sex life (which is the goal in college right?).
posted by Xhris at 7:10 AM on March 26

I got a new EEE 1000HE and it's awesome. I'm not using my 15 inch laptop at all. I highly recommend it. So much easier to carry around.
posted by sully75 at 7:15 AM on March 26

EVERYBODY has a laptop and a music player - so get the Kindle.

It's the only option, of the 3 you gave us, that that has any chance (very small chance) of improving your sex life (which is the goal in college right?)

No, you go to college to expand your mind, which is the very definition of sexy.

And you can get your Kindle stuff on a Touch, along with maps, photos, YouTube, videos, weather, a calculator, calendar, contacts, internet, movie times, sexy time music and any number of 15,000+ apps that are great conversation pieces.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:30 AM on March 26

True, but you lose out on internet everywhere all of the time. Perhaps option C: buy an iPhone by itself (not unlocked for AT&T, but probably jailbroken) with your GoPhone SIM. The only thing you lose is visual voicemail. When I was using their GoPhone service like 5 months ago they had an unlimited MediaNet package for $20/mo for 3G internet all the time.

AT&T closed that loophole in December. Now it costs $20/100 MB - so it would cost $200 for my average usage of 1GB/month.

I honestly don't believe any of these three will add much to your life, since you already have and carry a laptop. The only real benefit will be if you replace the laptop with either the Touch or the EEE, and the difference is just a matter of degrees (size/usability). As for the Kindle - if you don't already read eBooks on your laptop, buying a new gadget is not going to change you.
posted by meowzilla at 7:51 AM on March 26 [1 favorite]

I LOVE my Asus 901 EEE PC. Because:

1. It does everything a bigger laptop can do, but it fits in my bag and has a battery of 6-->8 hours. With an upgrade to 2GB ram (under $30/£20) it can do even more.

2. It doubles as an e-reader when rotated on its side. If you press CTRL+ALT+UP (in Windows XP) the screen rotates and the EEE PC is a book. I have the user buttons on my eee pc set to run this command and also rotate the mousepad at the same time.

4. Movies and music run just fine. I don't really understand the problem other people on this page seem to have. I even use my eee to stream music through my house. I have iTunes installed on my main machine and my eee and then simply stream the music through the eee to the stereo downstairs, miles away from my hard-drive of music.

5. I sync all my documents between my main PC and my eee (using program Allway Sync and a 16GB SDHC card). This means that wherever I go I can work - everything is updated as I work on it. I also use Firefox and Scrapbook to save online articles to my SD card. When I see something I want to read I save it with scrapbook. Then WHEREVER me and my eee pc go I can call the article back up in my browser and read it like a book.

6. I recently finished a writing MA and carrying the eee pc to the library is so much easier than a normal sized laptop. Typing is absolutely fine - if you are used to a normal laptop keyboard you won't find it a problem. Plus, when I have finished at the library I can throw the eee pc into my shoulder bag and go to the pub without noticing it is there.

7. Did I mention the helpful and always dynamic user-community for the Asus eee pc?
posted by 0bvious at 7:59 AM on March 26 [1 favorite]

8. Oh yeah, and I recently put the FULL, 8gb English version of Wikipedia on my SDHC card (thanks to WikiTaxi). Now I take it wherever I go, whether I am online or not. Kindles can't do this, and iPod/iPhones can only wikipedia in a wifi zone.
posted by 0bvious at 8:03 AM on March 26 [1 favorite]

I absolutely love my Kindle, but I would only recommend it if your really into reading. They don't really have many textbooks, so it's pretty much just a recreational reader. The ipod touch is great for music (obviously) but also you can get quite a few fun games and what not. I hear that now they even have a way to read kindle books on an ipod, so you might kill two birds with one stone by getting the ipod.

Personally though I would pick the Kindle overwhelmingly, but that's just me.
posted by gibbsjd77 at 1:10 PM on March 26

Just bought a book via the iTouch Kindle app. The device is small, but you can change the text size. It's not as handy as a book, but there's a ton of human knowledge in my pocket.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:51 PM on March 26

I have an iPod touch and I love it. For reading, Classics, Stanza, Kindle, and Shakespeare are all great. There are apps for pretty much everything. The only thing I don't like about it is I get spoiled by it and then frustrated when I don't have WiFi (which makes me lust the iPhone). But that doesn't seem to be an issue for you.

I've played with a Kindle, and the reading experience on an iPod isn't going to touch that, but the functionality of the iPod touch and its form factor are huge selling points. It's just a great device.
posted by wheat at 7:08 AM on March 27

I recently did some research into this myself -- I'm also a college student looking to acquire new gadgets -- and looked into ebooks on iPod Touch. I definitely recommend reading the reviews of the Kindle App for iPhone/Touch on the iTunes Music Store because it does NOT have the same functionality. Basically, it is much less feature-rich than the actual Kindle. As others have mentioned, Stanza is great, but that will not read Amazon's vast selection of current books.

Still, I think the iPod Touch is the best all-around device, so I would recommend that first and foremost, with a Kindle coming in a close second (especially since you like to read).
posted by fantine at 2:25 AM on April 1