Jun 23, 2010

Kindle App is Alive and Well; but the Kindle is Dead

I love the Kindle.

I love how I can download books in less than a minute.

I love how I can "carry" around hundreds and hundreds of books while carrying only my Kindle.

I love that I can travel with ease with all my books.

The Kindle is a great idea.

Then why is the Kindle dead?

Because I got the ipad.

And unfortunately for the Kindle, the ipad is all that the Kindle is and so much more. 

The ipad does everything that the Kindle does, and unfortunately for the Kindle, it does things that the Kindle could never do.
  • check and respond to emails
  • open up and work on office documents, spread sheets, power point, etc
  • surf the web
  • it's in brilliant COLOR!!!
  • play games
  • have access to the thousands upon thousands of apps through itunes app store
  • it plays music
  • it plays movies
  • it's like having a laptop without the laptop

Therefore, after getting my ipad, I no longer carry around my macbook, kindle, and an ipod. I just carry my ipad. 

As if that wasn't bad news for the Kindle, the ipad does what the Kindle does better. I find reading on the ipad easier on my eyes than on the Kindle. And the Kindle was dependent on there being a sufficient external light (just like a book) in order to read the Kindle, but the ipad is more like a computer screen.

What that means for my wife is that I can read in bed without bothering her as much (it still bothers her that I would read in bed and the ipad screen is still bright, but nothing like having my bed side lamp on).

So, Amazon, please forget the Kindle and just invest in supporting as best as you can the Kindle app through ipad. I have bought more than a 100 books through the Kindle in the last two years. I am an avid reader and will continue to be. But if the ibooks program ends up being a better program than the Kindle app, you better believe I will be using the ibooks app.

And I bet I am not alone.

So, if you have any marketing brains, I would get real busy improving and supporting the Kindle app on the ipad, and pretty much forget about the Kindle because who's going to pay a couple hundred bucks for a black and white Kindle reader when they can get the ipad for a few more hundred dollars?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor people would rather pay 90 for a kindle than 400 for an ipad.

Unknown said...

This blog was written when the Kindle was still $199. The recent cost slashes of the Kindle has changed the game as you mention. Also, I've found that I have returned to using the Kindle as my primary reader more than the iPad because it's easier on my eyes and on my hands.

Thanks for reading and thank you for posting your comment.