Watch Out Amazon! The iPad Might Just be a Kindle Killer

[Hooch Tan]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/48731-report-apple-ipad-could-threaten-e-reader-market' target='_blank'>http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-fea...e-reader-market</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"&ldquo;We took a close-up look at the budding e-Reader market and found the iPad is all but certain to have a transformational impact on it going forward.&nbsp; While a handful of e-Reader manufacturers - most prominently Amazon - clearly have a major head start, the survey findings show the iPad is poised to profoundly shake up this market,&rdquo; explained Paul Carton, Director of Research at ChangeWave."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//dht/auto/1267991142.usr20447.gif" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>I for one hope that the iPad is able to put a good dent in Kindle's market.&nbsp; While I am not personally thrilled about the walled garden nature that the iPad offers, the Kindle really is no different.&nbsp; What is more important to me is that there are more large competitors in the ebook market.&nbsp; The problem I see with a single large distributor of ebooks, as convenient as it may be, is that that distributor would have a significant amount of say in what gets published.&nbsp; I recall hearing rumors of how Walmart, what was one of the largest CD distributors in the United States, could have lyrics or the content of CDs changed.&nbsp; Under the guise of being "family friendly" I can understand their rationale, but it means there's a controlling interest in what we are able to access.&nbsp; Sure, we have the Internet to access most anything we want, but when a publisher will only publish a certain version of an ebook because Amazon, or Apple, or whomever says so, I shudder.</p>

[Chris Gohlke]

Since there is a Kindle app for the iPhone/Touch, I'm assuming the same app should work on the iPad. This gives you the ability to have one device that will work for both the Apple store and the Kindle store.

[Sven Johannsen]

Wonder what would happen if you threw the MS Courier into the poll. Personally I'm waiting to see how the HP Slate turns out. I know that is a totally different genre, but the iPad and Courier aren't really just eReaders either. Kind of like pitting an MP3 player, against an MP3 Player/GPS/PDA/Radio.

[Hooch Tan]

Wonder what would happen if you threw the MS Courier into the poll. Personally I'm waiting to see how the HP Slate turns out. I know that is a totally different genre, but the iPad and Courier aren't really just eReaders either. Kind of like pitting an MP3 player, against an MP3 Player/GPS/PDA/Radio.

That just raises the question of how many gadgets a typical consumer will tolerate. The Kindle does offer generally superior battery life, depending on the model you have, and arguably a better screen. However, the iPad had more flexibility, and the Courier and HP Slate offer even more flexibility. Is someone really going to go out and buy all of them, or pick one or two. I can see someone not settling for a phone form factor alone, as reading on an iPhone or Android device is not ideal, but one for light web surfing and one for ebook reading?