When you go on a trip around the world you carefully think about what you’re going to take with you. As I’m an avid reader there are I’ve got to chose between three options: physical books, iPad or Kindle(I don’t consider the iPhone a real option).

Books have a couple of big disadvantages: they’re big, heavy and I therefore can only take a couple them. I can mitigate some of those disadvantages by having people send me books during my trip, but I then have to collect them and they tend to get lost in the mail which would be a real pain. The advantages of books are obvious (ease of use) and I can give them to people after I’ve read them.

The iPad’s main advantage lies in what it can do beyond reading: monitor my RSS and Twitter feeds, e-mail, watch movies and play games. Its disadvantages are obvious as well: due to its fancy design it’s much more prone to theft. Its functionalities distract me from the places and people around me. And its screen is very hard to read in the sun (which I hope to encounter frequently during me trip).

I’ve chosen to take a Kindle with me. It does one thing really well and that’s let people read many books with ease. I don’t think it will get stolen as quickly as an iPad and it’s lighter than an iPad and a book. Unfortunately it’s sold out at Amazon, so I have to order it quickly.

Unless you’ve got better ideas. Please let me know in the comments.