The iPad Will Never Kill the Kindle
Will the tablet kill the e-reader? More specifically, will Apple's iPad mean death to Amazon's Kindle?
Not likely. Those who predict a future without e-readers miss the point. The Kindle does not aspire to be a computer tablet. The Kindle is simply an e-reader with e-ink meant to simulate a real life book. No glare, no fuss, and we bibliophiles like it that way.
I love that the pile of books on my nightstand has been minimized to a simple little black leather bound reader that fits in my purse and goes with me everywhere. If you've ever tried to read on your laptop or any back-lit screen in direct sunlight, you know that it is nearly impossible to discern anything on the screen. Not so with the Kindle. I can read most anything, at any time, anywhere - including sitting on a park bench basking in the brightest of Colorado's near daily sunshine.
Last week, Amazon announced two new models in the third generation of Kindle. The Kindle 3G and Kindle Wi-Fi will be sold at for $189 and $139, respectively. The original unit debuted in November 2007 at $399 and was reduced several times until June of this year when the price was slashed to $189.
The new price point has proven to be a successful move for Amazon. In a statement released June 19th, Amazon Founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos said that the growth rate of Kindle device unit sales has tripled since lowering the price. As the competition continues to drive down the price of e-readers and accompanying e-content, more and more self proclaimed "bookies" will jump at the chance to own a Kindle.
We have a saying in our house, "Books are our friends", and it has developed avid readers in our children. So much so that I often catch one of them late at night with a book in hand on the bathroom floor, stealing the light. It makes for a cranky next day but I can't help smiling to myself because I remember myself as a child doing the exact same thing.
The iPad is sheer awesomeness and will likely transform the world of computers in ways most people don't yet see, but it will never deliver the feel of a cold bathroom floor and the satisfaction of devouring simple black and white words.
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