iPad Versus Kindle
It’s official, Apple has just released the new hardware offering, the iPad a few minutes ago. It’s basically a big brother to the iTouch with some additional features and performance (at least as much as I can tell this far into Steve’s introductory presentation).
Although the price hasn’t yet been announced, I suspect this will be in direct competition with the Kindle, so it’s no wonder Amazon released their Kindle development kit early. But is it enough for Amazon?
I will bet that even if the Kindle is cheaper, and has a longer battery life, the iPad will trump the Kindle soon enough. Not only does it do a lot more (watch movies, etc.), IT’S IN FULL COLOR!! Being able to read a book in color is much more exciting than if it’s just in black and white. And Apple already has the iTunes store ready for distributing and selling digital media, including books. Never mind the hundred thousand plus applications in the App Store!
I hate to say it since I buy tons of books from Amazon, but watch out for digital media (digital books). It’s going to be hard for Amazon to compete with the iPad. Even if the iPad ends up costing significantly more than the Kindle, which I suspect it will.
Update: Apparently the battery life on the iPad is 10 hours of video or 1 month of standby time!
Update 2: I predict the demise of the Kindle if Amazon doesn’t do something very very soon. At a $499 entry price for the basic iPad, it’s a no brainer. The iPad $499 version has multiples more storage space, better processor, gaming, videos, tons of apps, books of course, and did I mention it’s FULL COLOR! The only benefit the Kindle has right now is the quantity of books and Amazon’s distribution channels. For now…
· January 27th, 2010 · 4:39 pm · Permalink
You forget; the Kindle app is likely one of the 140,000 apps that already works on the iPhone, so Amazon has a contingency plan in place: sell books to iPad owners.
People who want a dedicated reading device that’s easier on the eyes may buy a Kindle, but anyone with a Kindle library can ALREADY load all their books onto the iPad. (Personally I would prefer the iPad to the Kindle for all of your reasons and so many more—apps, “fun” interface, apps, etc.)
· January 27th, 2010 · 6:16 pm · Permalink
Hi Jared,
That’s very true. You can run a virtual Kindle on your iPad. The main reason I could someone wanting to do that is because they already have a library, or the options of books is better at Amazon.
You’re correct also that the display to read on the Kindle is easier on the eyes, but having full color and all the other benefits of the iPad is very very hard to beat.
What’s interesting is that most people are not as excited about the iPad as I am. Most people wanted something between the iPhone and the laptop, a netbook competitor or something very strong. My view is that Apple (aka Steve) wanted a direct competitor to the Kindle. It’s a Kindle replacement, so the price had to be on par with the Kindle. The features had to be better, but the price had to be close to the same (hence the most basic package is virtually priced the same as the Kindle). That’s also why you won’t see a built-in camera, SD card readers, etc. for at least a version or two (when they basically start to dominate the market over the Kindle) It’s not a tablet, it’s a digital book reader with tons of benefits!