Well, the internet is abuzz today with talk of a recent report by a Citi analyst declaring the Kindle effectively dead in the water in the long haul. Now, if you accept the validity of the analysis of where things stand today, and let’s say for the sake of argument that we do for the moment, there’re still some problems to be addressed. Here’s some details in the wording that a lot of people aren’t looking at very clearly.
The analyst observes that the “Kindle currently enjoys a price and selection advantage over the iBook platform” but ominously follows it with “it’s hard to see why the gap won’t narrow over time.” It’s difficult to see where the negativity is coming from here. He states that Kindle is in the lead and then adds some doomsaying to the end of the sentence.
The same basic theory ends up applying to the point by point comparison. The analyst’s argument seems to hinge on the idea that Amazon(NASDAQ:AMZN), clearly a front runner in the mainstream ebook market and a fairly innovative company in general, is going to leave what systems it has in place as they are now and hope for the best. I get that Apple(NASDAQ:AAPL) is a great company and that many people feel they’re inevitably going to take over whatever market they approach. If that’s really the case though, we can do without the spins on the facts in the meantime, don’t you think?
The iPad is a Kindle killer just like the laptop was a desktop killer. It ain’t gonna happen.
It looks like Kindle is fighting back with a $189 price tag. I hope they keep this price drop up all the way to $100. I could finally get one for everyone in the family, that is a total of 5.
The Kindle price drop is not meant to fight the iPad. The kindle dropped to $189 because the nook dropped to $200.
I remember when the iPhone 3G came out and everybody was predicting it would kill the Nintendo DS because it had games…
And these analyst forget that there is a kindle app for iPad.
The iPad will kill the Kindle the way that a fancy handle
http://www.classicshaving.com/Cartridge_Razors.html
will kill off Gillette.
The real money is in selling the blades.
“The iPad is a Kindle killer just like the laptop was a desktop killer.” Better analogy: The iPad is a better e-reader than the Kindle the way a laptop is a better MP3 player than an iPod.
They’re two completely different things. That’s the real problem with the comparison. I don’t see how all these tech writers are getting away with making the comparison. The iPad should be a non-issue to the e-reader market.
A complaint I’ve heard since the Kindle came out is that it is a single use device. Many of the people making that complaint like the iPad because they can do other things with it than read eBooks. Great, it is multi-functional, but it ends up compromised as an eBook reader in some ways. It is heavier, more expensive, and harder on the eyes. However, I will say that the touch screen and faster display do offer some user interface advantages to the eBook reading experience. I wouldn’t mind seeing a capacitive touch screen on the Kindle, and I wish that e-ink was more responsive. The Kindle is just fine for reading a novel, but I’m also using it for scholarly work where I’m jumping around, highlighting, and adding notes. The iBooks interface has some advantages there, although neither is perfect.
So, I think there is some measure of competition between the devices, but the Kindle today has advantages over the iPad, and the concept of a device optimized for eBooks as opposed to a multi-function media-pad/portable-computer is viable for many years in my opinion.
As a “single purpose” device the selection offered by the Kindle, along with the low price makes it attractive. My reason for staying with the Kindle is the fact that the 3G coverage does not require a monthly plan. That makes the delivery of content the best in the industry (for e-reading anyway). Interestingly enough it was Apple that taught us that content delivery is often king.
I have both a Kindle 2 and an iPad and love them both. Which device I use depends on where I am and what I want to do. Both are amazing. It isn’t a one or the other choice.