Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Will the iPad Kill the Kindle?
The price and specs suggest that Apple's device will offer stiff competition.
By Erica Naone
It's
not yet clear whether the iPad will live up to the breathless excitement that
surrounded its launch. But, from the specs alone, it clearly spells trouble
for dedicated e-readers, particularly Amazon's larger version of the Kindle.
The
Kindle DX is the same size as the iPad. It has a black and white E-Ink screen, four gigabytes of internal storage, 3G access and costs $489. Meanwhile, the cheapest version
of the iPad has a full-color touch screen, a powerful processor and graphics chip, 16 gigabytes of flash storage, Wi-Fi and sells for $499.
The cheaper iPad might not have 3G or the same battery life as the Kindle DX (up to
four days), but on every other count it wins. It has both a gorgeous screen and vastly
more functionality. And, while Amazon
has established an excellent, easy way to buy books, iTunes, which already
has some 125 million customers, will give it a run for its money.
During
today's launch, Apple played down its move into the e-reader market--the iBooks
demo was buried in-between game demonstrations and a long explanation of the
company's productivity software. But the iPad price point means that those considering
a dedicated e-reader will be sorely tempted by an iPad. In addition, because an
iTunes account can be used to purchase e-books, Apple stands to capture a large
audience of users readers who want to read a few e-books but would never buy a
dedicated device.
The iBooks app also has access to the full catalogs of five major publishers: Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hachette Book Group. It also uses the standard ePub format, meaning that books purchased on this device will be compatible with other readers.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Comments
Umm, no, epub specifies the format but not the DRM standard. Good luck on a sony bookstore purchase working on this.
rturpen
01/27/2010
Posts:1
Erica Naone
01/27/2010
Posts:49
Matthew Putm...
01/27/2010
Posts:24
markadams44
01/27/2010
Posts:1
Erica Naone
01/28/2010
Posts:49
Look for Pixel Qi displays to show up in an eReader. This is a more flexible display and should have better battery life. I consider 20 hours battery life a minimum standard. Two hours of reading a day gives you 10 days. I get that with 15 year old lcd, gray-scale technology and I find it adequate. Plus Pixel Qi screens give you an LCD eInk mode and the choice of a backlit LCD mode for people such as myself who read quite a bit in a low light environment where eInk just does not cut it. Asus is looking at an OLED display that may show promise, but I have yet to see it.
dhartsoc
01/28/2010
Posts:2
The Kindle is a single purpose device and it performs that purpose well. The i-pad weighs too much and does not have the battery life for me to consider it as a book reader. With the built in cell connection it also costs three times the cost of a Kindle.
parkbn
01/28/2010
Posts:1
Users cannot access the battery, and the cost of replacement is around $100 or more.
There are less hyped, but much better computers and tablets out there. Do your homework!
gabrielg01
01/28/2010
Posts:433
I've already got an iPhone 3GS and frankly, don't want another phone line. I'd gladly opt for a color Kindle at under $300 if it added a color touch screen of iPad's HD quality, allowed easy memory expansion and bluetooth communication to computers and PDAs, kept its cellular connection to download eBooks, and added a bunch of PDA presentation features (like the ability to project PowerPoint presentations to a wall or screen).
Actually come to think of it, Kindle could turn the iPad into iToast if it launched an all-out iWar against Apple.
Netizen
01/28/2010
Posts:22
Is it even worth mentioning all the iPhone apps that can not only work as is on the iPad but can also be easily converted for the larger screen by their developers? The Kindle is great if you're camping out in the woods and you won't be near an electrical outlet for a long time. And how often does that happen?
In conclusion, let me say that the future of the iPad and similar competing products is very bright. As they increase in performance and functionality, they may become the primary computing devices for most people.
Mapou
01/29/2010
Posts:94