The iPad has been announced. But does it mean Kindle will be dead? No, not at all. Remeber, iPad is still a multimedia device. You can do a lot of things including reading ebooks; but it’s not focused on reading ebooks. Those who prefer to read a lot of fiction, and text-only non-fiction still need a reader like kindle. However, iPad might be more acceptable for technical ebooks and e-textbooks. It’s for sure that young generations will prefer iPad to Kindle, and if the e-textbook market takes off through iPad it’ll be widely acceptable. If amazon can sell ebooks on iPad as they are doing with iPhone/iPodTouch, there is no reason to believe that amazon’s kindle store will be gone forever. Kindle as a reading device will still be there. However, I suspect the Kindle DX will no longer be a viable device, and it will be dead. Remeber, amazon has already tried to experiment with Kindle DX for universitites, and sadly, it failed. I think 6” kindle will still be sold, and it’ll evolve to different level as a reading device as technology evolves.

The iPad is basically a larger screen iPodTouch with tweaks here and there. It doesn’t have many more features than a iPodTouch except the integration of iWork. That basically make it a productivity device. In other words, it’s a multimedia and productivity device. On the other hand, Kindle has many unique features as a reading device that you never heard of. I think, as long as, amazon try to keep Kindle as a reading device with some social networking capability (not facebook, rather book-related) it’ll be alive for long. I would rather say, all other eInk devices other than Kindle will be dead pretty soon.

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From FOX News:

From CNBC:

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Recently I got so much tired of reading so many stories of Apple’s iSlate anticipation I even didn’t write anything on this lately. According to mainstream media and blogs, the coming year will be a hot market for ebooks and ereaders. However, all the stories are centered around on Apple. Even there are speculation now that iSlate will be a dedicated ebook reader.According to quickpwn:

Our sources have told us that the rumor about Apple launching a product with the iSlate name is true, but the product won’t be an Apple tablet, it will be an eBook reader. The iSlate will be a competitor to the Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook and other e-readers that are out there. Our sources have also told us that the iSlate eBook reader will run on Apple’s upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 software and will include a seperate App Store for eBooks. Apple will be announcing the iSlate eBook reader at WWDC 2010, which our sources says is being held on June 7.

There is some speculation that Apple’s anticipated tablet will be named iGuide. If so,then we can definitely say we’re going to stuck with another DRMed version of ebooks. How many ereades we can afford to buy? It seems we’re getting into a critical zone where I can only read an ebook with a specific device, and if my device is broken or lost, all the ebooks I own also get lost. This is a false kind of ownership. If the digital content is intended to replace paper content it must provide something more that paper can’t provide. Now it seems digital content is taking away my rights. The social aspect is even more critical. We’re about to forget that reading has a social value. That’s why I can borrow a paper book form a library if I can’t afford to buy it. Now, with ebook DRMed with a dedicated device the social value is being compromised to such an extent that people who can’t afford to buy a dedicated device are being prohibited to read a book.This is a serious issue that I want to address in detail in a future post.

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Can you remember what Steve Jobs once said about book-reading?:

It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.

And the answer to Accoding to mobile application analytics company, flurry:

……the number of applications released to the App Store, by category, since its inception. From August 2008 to August 2009, more apps were released in the Games category than any other. This September, however, we observed another category, Books, usurping Games for the first time ever…….. In October, one out of every five new apps launching in the iPhone has been a book. Publishers of all kinds, from small ones like Your Mobile Apps to mega-publishers like Softbank, are porting existing IP into the App Store at record rates. Flurry first evaluated the iPhone as an eBook reader in its July Pulse (“You Trying to Swindle my kindle?”) where it looked at consumer demand for eBooks. In that report, we observed that during the month of August 1% of the entire U.S. population was already reading a book on the iPhone. Now, with books shipping in droves, we are seeing the supply-side explode. The sharp rise in eBook activity on the iPhone indicates that Apple is positioned take market share from the Amazon kindle as it did from the Nintendo DS. Despite the smaller form factor of the display, we predict that the iPhone will be a significant player in the book category of the Media & Entertainment space. Further, with Apple working on a larger tablet form factor, running on the iPhone OS, we believe Jeff Bezos and team will face significant competition.

Om Malik on GigaOM says:

Since its launch, the iPhone has quickly mutated from an Internet-enabled smartphone to a gaming device — and now an e-reader. It is only a matter of time before someone figures out a new role for the iPhone. Unless the Apple Tablet becomes a reality, I think there is going to continue to be a market for dedicated e-readers, mostly because it is impossible to read large amounts of text on a smaller screen.

Now I can only wait and see whether Apple really comes out with larger screen iPodTouch, or Apple Slate as indicated by NYTimes Executive editor Bill Keller. There is wide speculation that the Slate will be out in the first quarter of next year.

kindle Wireless Reading Device (6” Display, U.S. & International Wireless, Latest Generation)Amazon kindle Leather Cover (Fits 6” Display, Latest Generation kindle)kindle dx Wireless Reading Device (9.7” Display, U.S. Wireless, Latest Generation)

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