Advancing Marketing

Apple iPad To Launch In March 2010 - Is It A Kindle Killer?

Apple has finally unveiled their much anticipated tablet computer. The name is confirmed as the iPad, which took some pundits by surprise - earlier guesses included iSlate, iTablet etc. - and it’s fair to say that it has had a mixed reception so far. There is always a certain amount of polarisation where Apple is concerned and that’s pretty much the case here.

It seems to be the opinion of a fair number of reviewers that the iPad is no more than an outsize iPod Touch. An approximately equal number are very much more in favor of the device and are forecasting that it will sound the death knell for notebooks, netbooks and, of course, the Amazon Kindle reader. The true test will come in March, when the iPad starts shipping. On the face of it, it looks like another huge success for Apple seems the most probable outcome.

Currently, the device is being compared to the Kindle reader quite a lot. These are two very different devices - so a comparison of the two doesn’t make a lot of sense at first glance. However, since the Kindle has been the hottest gadget on the market for some months now - and not forgetting that it was frequently given the title of the “iPod of reading” - it may be that the comparison is inevitable. It may also be that the iPad is the iPod of reading.

Of course, the Kindle is a specialised device. It performs its primary function - allowing users to read books - very well and has a few supplementary functions, a basic web browser, a dictionary, receipt of newspapers and magazines etc., which it performs, quite frankly, less well. The iPad, on the other hand, is an extremely versatile device which performs many different functions. Unlike the Kindle it has a color display, which features touch screen control functionality and incorporates an accelerometer. It is therefore a great web browser, good for watching video, an mp3 player, an e-book reader and all of the huge library of “apps” developed for the iPod Touch will function on it. Expect to see some pretty radical games appearing soon.

So - are Amazon concerned that Apple is about to “eat their lunch” and kill off the Kindle reader (which is now their best selling product don’t forget)? Probably not. Once all the dust settles, and the launch excitement dies down a little, it should become obvious that there is a fairly big difference in pricing. The base model iPad is only $10 higher than the Kindle DX price of $ 489. However, it doesn’t incorporate 3G connectivity. Also there is a different pricing model in operation. The iPad has a charge of $ 15 per month for connection. Depending upon the amount of downloads you perform each month this could be as high as $ 30. The Kindle has 3G included in the price and there’s no monthly fee. Certainly, it’s possible that the appearance of the iPad could drive the Kindle DX price down - but that was always going to happen anyway. The only question was when.

Of course, one of the popular apps that will be used on the iPad will be the “Kindle app” - which allows users to use their iPod or iPad to read Kindle books. It could well be a good opportunity for Amazon to grow the size of the Kindle book market that they can access. Users of the iPad will also have access to an Apple book market - which could prompt some price competition in future. That will all be to the good as far as the end users are concerned.

When the iPad starts shipping in March, it’s a fair bet that a lot of enthusiastic customers will be making their purchases via the Amazon website. It will probably be a very nice sales spike for them.

So - Amazon will have the potential to increase the sales of Kindle books. It will also do very nicely as a merchant considering that the Amazon site will be the first port of call for many iPad buyers. The price of the Kindle DX will fall, which it would have anyway, but they will continue to sell in volume and Amazon will continue to profit. It just serves to underline how robust the Amazon business model is.

Learn more about the Amazon Kindle and cast your eye over the wide range of Kindle covers available to help you personalise, protect and enhance your reader.