

Three Reasons Why the iPad WON’T Kill Amazon’s Kindle - jv2222
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/three-reasons-the-ipad-wont-kill-amazons-kindle/

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Tiktaalik
If Amazon does two things, a) drops price and b) continues to rapidly improve
their product I think the Kindle could continue to have a very comfortable
niche and could in the end either split the book market with Apple or control
most of it.

Nintendo's massively underpowered Gameboy famously defeated waves upon waves
of highly advanced competitors by understanding what the market really wanted
(great games and great battery life) and doing that better than the
competition. It's much, much too early to say how the battle between the
Kindle and the iPad for the book market will play out, but I think if there is
indeed a clear differentiator in quality between the Kindle and iPad screen,
and the Kindle is truly better for reading, then there might be an opportunity
for Amazon to put their foot in the door and show that they have the better
product. For folks who are interested in an eBook Reader but already have an
iPhone and a Macbook a cheaper Kindle could be the better option than the
iPad.

At this point I do feel that Amazon may need to get some retail partners and
to set up Kindle Kiosks in electronics and drug stores across the world. It
doesn't matter if your screen is better if no one can see it first hand, and
they're dazzled by the iPad they see in their local Apple store.

The other issue that Amazon faces is while they may be able to lower their
price and keep a nice spacing between them and the iPad, eventually the price
of the iPad will come down and the Kindle will less attractive. Amazon will
need to continue to innovate on their technology and seek out relationships to
build content that Apple won't be able to get. The announcement of the Kindle
SDK is a good first start.

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ericd
I agree wholeheartedly about the need for lower pricing - Kindle seems like
something that should cost much, much less than it does. If it was priced at
$99, it would go from being an overpriced toy for well-off adults to being
something that every parent buys for their children. Not sure how easy that is
to make jibe with the prepaid cell data plan, though.

Also agree that seeing helps the Kindle a lot, as it does for most
electronics, but especially something as display-centric as the Kindle.

Disagree about the SDK, though. The Kindle screen is godawful slow at
refreshing, and I've not been impressed by the user interface - I can't
imagine wanting to develop on it. What do you see it being useful for besides
being able to say "We have an SDK!"?

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armandososa
I think Amazon should decouple those two prices. Like "Buy a Kindle for $99
and get 3G Access form $10/month".

If Apple priced the iPad bundled with the cost of the data plan into it may be
$1,000 with 1 year of "free" 3G.

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jrockway
If I were writing this article, it would have read: "1: E-Ink. 2: E-Ink. 3: E.
Ink."

Seriously though, you can't compare a device with two weeks of battery life
and an e-ink screen with a large iPod. They are completely different devices
for completely different purposes.

Sure, you _can_ read books on your iPad... but I doubt that is why people will
be buying them.

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icefox
Editors to staff: iPad is hot, write _something_

    
    
      The Kindle is for book lovers, and the iPad is not.

\- Book lovers love books and the iPad lets them buy books... And if I am
going to blow several hundred bucks buying one that looks nicer and also does
lots of other stuff.

    
    
      Amazon will continue to improve on the Kindle.

\- So will Apple...

    
    
      The Kindle store will continue to thrive.

\- This has nothing to do with how well the Kindle will do. iPad also wont
kill Amazon.com while we are at it.

~~~
krobertson
I agree. Its like "we got to write about the iPad, what do you got? Everyone
is saying it'll kill the Kindle, so lets say it won't... brilliant!" :)

I don't thin it'll kill the Kindle, I think it'll bring about a price drop,
and more innovation from Kindle. But this article is just sensationalism.

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truebosko
The Kindle takes the book/publishment you want to read and lets you focus
entirely on that. No flashy page curls, no notifications, hell not even a
clock to see what time it is. It's wonderful in that sense. The e-ink is also
a nice benefit, my eyes _never_ hurt from reading on my Kindle.

I think the iPad has a good idea going with iBooks and I hope they eventually
do magazines as magazines are very media-heavy but I don't see it taking over
the Kindles growing book environment.

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Flenser
Kindle will get the head (heavy readers), iPad will get the long tail (casual
readers). There's room for both.

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ugh
Blackberries still exist. The iPhone didn't kill them, and for many good
reasons. Apple doesn't need to kill RIM or Amazon. But just as Blackberries
won't be the definitive number one smartphone on the planet anytime soon, so
does Kindle's future beyond its three million market or so look bleak.

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Blasa
What about weight? For a paperback sized kindle it is about half the weight of
a ipad... (300g for the kindle and 680g for the ipad)

