Howdy,
I have not kept in place on the tablets, aside from a few stories now and then on tv.
I understand that the Ipad is more than a reader; as was the initial Kindle, which has
the new version coming forth as the "Fire". I also know about the size and price
difference.
Anyhoo; the question came to this house about such a device as a holiday gift.
I used to use a laptop that I could connect securely to the net via Verizon; so if there
was a cell signal, everything was fine. A most handy and valued feature/function using
a go just about anywhere laptop with full online.
Two main, initial questions regard online use for each device and the ability for me/we
to have a secure connection; to say, Fidelity. It appears Amazon has a network function,
but I have not discovered if it is secure; or whether the Kindle even has a typical browser
program that would allow a secure connetion to Fidelity or other similar sites.
I am aware that the Ipad, at least the initial series required an AT&T online contract, of which
I would not be a big fan. Don't need more providers of such things at this house.
No smart phone here yet, either. Still using a simple/handy-dandy Verizon RAZR that does
the job. Side note: was doing texting before many of today's users were born.....:)
The tilt is towards the new Kindle, for the books, movies, tv stuff; but my use would always
lean to investment sites, and especially concern about security using passwords, etc.
So, we generally have a husband/wife debate in place.
Any plus or minus for either of these you would be kind enough to present? We're not
expecting a time consuming report....but, perhaps a few thoughts.
We thank you.
Regards,
Catch
Comments
The older Kindles (B&W) sold for about $100 with just wi-fi or about $170 with 3G which also allows downloading off AT&Ts network - all free of charge. Check Amazon's site, but guessin most e-books sell for about $8 - $20, also delivered free. Yes, the more recent Kindle models had Internet capability, but it's primitive. I think they were using it for training, getting ready to launch the new Fire. While Fire will likely be a good tool for surfing, be aware the early edition which starts shipping Nov 15, will not be available with 3G, only wi-fi. If ya live in the boonies like we do, you may not have wi-fi, hence our love affair with 3G.
IPads's a slick product. Once get your hands on it you'll love surfing the net and there's thousands of apps available thru ITunes at little or no cost. Again, ya pay about $100 additional to get the 3G equipped model, which is what we have. Hell, with 3G ya can be out in the boat, golfing, almost anywhere and trade them funds if a mind to. (-: Reharges in a few hours, then can easily surf for 8 hours or more on a charge. Build quality is awesome. I doubt the Fire will match that. The Fire is a bit smaller too, but in terms of functionality, expectin it to be a sizzler. Both have touch screen technology, which is nice. Our older Kindle doesn't have touch screen. Still fine for a reading device.
Ok, Re security. IPad & Fire are likely as secure using wi-fi as a laptop would be. Like you, I prefer a cellular connection for secure transactions, another reason to get 3G. BTW, we pay $25 per month for 2 gigs of 3G from AT&T. Unless planning on streaming videos, it meets the needs nicely.
Now, there are two ways to connect to internet assets over these devices. Browser and Apps.
Through the web browser would be subject to same issues as any other internet connected device. If you are using https to connect to Financial sites you have minimal worry.
Second scheme is through custom App created by various entities. I believe most major Financial institutions have their own App. Fidelity, Vanguard etc. all have one. I do not know how secure these apps are themselves. Is there any data leak? Is it all encrypted? One just hopes so. But, I am almost sure that the companies have you accept terms and conditions that might hold them harmless if there is a way hackers can exploit.
Assuming both (browser and app) are using secure connections to the server, there is minimal to worry. The risk is never zero.
If you have a device that uses 3G phone wireless network, the risk of someone nearby trying to snoop in is much less. But it costs more.
If you are worried, you can subscribe to a public VPN service (or setup VPN server at home if you are tech savvy) and use a VPN client software like Cisco AnyConnect for iPhone/iPad etc.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cisco-anyconnect/id392790924?mt=8
This is very nice piece of software. This will make sure your data is protected and your internet activity will tunnel in an encrypted connected to the location where the VPN server so you do not have to worry about someone snooping in your data at the cafe.
As for Kindle, Kindle with B&W displays are great for reading books. They come with an experimental browser but there main function is consumption of books, magazines etc. These are not really suitable for everyday browsing etc. Now, the old non-touch screen Wi-Fi version is down to $80. Touch-screen version is $100. I think these are great for the purpose. The screen on these Kindles does not require periodic refreshes so it requires very very minimal energy as long as the image is static which is what happens when you are reading a book. So, these units last much much longer on a single charge. Great devices for book worms.
Kindle Fire is a different animal. It is designed to compete a bit with iPad. It has a color screen and does not enjoy the reading under direct sun-light capability of older Kindles. Much cheaper than iPad but comes with underpowered hardware. I would wait for second generation Fire. To accelerate browsing, Amazon has designed capability so that part of the browsing is done on the Amazon Cloud servers.
It is based on Android platform but Amazon has changed the user interface. I personally consider Android less secure. Apple has some minimal screening of Apps. Android on the other hand does not have much App screening and you need to understand why App X needs certain capabilities. It is beyond most everyone and people are more inclined to accept the permissions that App requests. Now, Amazon might be doing some screening of apps through its store. I do not know.
At this moment, I would go with iPhone or iPad. There is better software support and iPad2 and iPhone 4S with A5 processor is great! I would use Kindle B&W reader tablets for general purpose e-book reading though.
I would definitely be OK with non-financial stuff; web browsing, reading, listening music, watching videos, maps, etc.
I would be cautious with financial stuff on any platform, not just tablets. I am OK with online shopping with credit cards since credit cards come with its own protection (debit cards don't, don't use debit cards for shopping).
I would be more careful with banking, brokerage accounts etc. Interacting with a bank through your browser is no different than doing it on your laptop. However, I am most worried about apps that leak data (intentionally or unintentionally), or rouge apps. I do not think there is enough scrutiny of these apps by anti-virus vendors etc. yet. Assuming that you rule out app based attacks by being very selective on what you load on your tablet, you should probably be OK. I have seen a lot of people load free applications on their computer without questioning the reliability and security. So, for those tablet is probably not much different than a PC.
So, in the end, I probably cannot give you a definite yes or no.
OJ
I thank you for the note about this; and I will take a visit to the nearby library for a read.
Take care,
Catch