Judging by the
initial round of reviews for the iPad, it looks like the Kindle could be the first casualty of the Apple tablet's arrival. The iPad is getting high marks as an e-reader, making its threat to the
Amazon device seem less abstract than it's been up to now. Since the Kindle has been the yardstick for evaluating other e-readers to date, reviewers often mentioned how the iPad stacks up against it
in that regard.
The dean of consumer tech gurus, The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, found
the iBooks, Apple's book reader and store, "easy to use" after reading a couple of books on the iPad. "I consider the larger color screen superior to the Kindle's, and encountered no eye strain," he
wrote. USA Today's tech columnist Edward C. Baig, called the iPad a "formidable electronic-reader
rival" to the Kindle. PC Magazine's Tim Gideon likewise gushed iBooks "look fantastic and titles are easy to purchase and download."
That isn't to say the critics didn't find fault. They pointed out that the iPad is heavier than the Kindle, has a smaller catalog than the Kindle at launch (60,000 compared to 400,000), shorter
battery life, and is nearly twice as expensive ($499 versus $259 for the cheapest models of each device). But the iPad's biggest trump card is that it's a multi-purpose device compared to the
single-use Kindle.
So while Amazon might upgraded the Kindle to include a color screen or drop the price further, it can't change that fundamental difference. If someone gets an iPad, they're
not likely to want a dedicated e-reader as well. And someone in the market for an e-reader is now more likely to consider coughing up more for an iPad they can also use to watch TV and movies, go
online and play games.
But Amazon did Apple the favor of establishing a consumer market for e-readers and e-books and now Apple is swooping in with the iPad to take it away. Steve Jobs should
send Jeff Bezos a thank-you note.