If anyone should fear the iPad, it's definitely Amazon with its Kindle eBook business.
Despite the hype, the "magical" iPad is really just an overgrown iPod touch. Apart from a few interface changes to take advantage of the extra screen real estate, it doesn't seem to do anything my iPhone can't do. The only feature that's really caught my eye is the new eBook reader app, which will be supported by a new iBookstore section in the iTunes store. It's a fair assumption that the iPhone and iPod touch will also get access to the iBookstore, although Apple might hold out to drive iPad sales (as it did with HD movies in iTunes to drive Apple TV sales). http://minwon-
Of course talk of the iPad as an eBook reader is all theoretical for Australians, because it looks like we won't have access to the iBookstore when it launches in the US - following the trend of most new forms of content introduced to the iTunes store. It's not too hard to get yourself a US iTunes account and load US apps onto an iPhone alongside Australian apps, so hopefully the same will apply to the iPad with books.
Putting aside the fact Australians will probably have to wait for access to the iBookstore, how much of a threat does the iPad pose to the Kindle? I'd say it's a huge threat, especially outside the US. http://seoprofessional24.wordpress.com/
I've been testing out a 6-inch Kindle for a few weeks and I have to say it's a rather impressive device - especially for the US$259 price tag. At the current exchange rate I could get a 6-inch Kindle delivered to my door for AU$310, and then not have to pay extra for the Whispernet mobile broadband service. Actually that's not quite true, because Amazon seems to tack US$2 onto the price of Kindle books for Australians to cover mobile broadband access, plus it charges 99 US cents per MB if you email files to your Kindle. Even with the US$2 surcharge on each book, by the time you allow for the strong Australian dollar and the lack of postage fees on eBooks, a 6-inch Kindle wouldn't take long to pay for itself.
While testing the Kindle, I decided to play around with Amazon's Kindle iPhone app and I was quite surprised by how good it is. The default font size on the two is the same, although you only get half as much text per page on the iPhone. The iPhone's redeeming feature is the ability to tap or flick to smoothly turn pages. This is much less intrusive on the reading experience than the firm click of the Kindle's Next Page button, which is followed by a one second wait as the screen flashes black and refreshes. I read a novel on each and, despite its smaller screen size, I'd say the iPhone actually makes it easier to get engrossed in the story.
I haven't played with an iPad yet, but it's a safe bet that the iBook interface will be just as slick as the Kindle iPhone app. You should be able to run the Kindle iPhone app on the iPad as well. Assuming the Kindle app's font upscales smoothly, you'd have the best of both worlds.
Amazon's latest effort is the larger 9.7-inch Kindle DX, which features a similar screen size and price tag to the iPad. Even though the Kindle DX only has a monochrome display, Amazon is using it to push newspaper and magazine subscriptions - with two big catches. Firstly, there are no Australian publications available. Secondly, if you live outside the US, Amazon only sends you the text - not the images. This might not matter so much if you're reading the The New York Times or Newsweek for the informative articles, but it kinda sucks if you're reading PC Magazine or Sports Illustrated. I imagine Playboy and Hustler aren't all that excited about the monochrome Kindle DX, even inside the US.
Outside the US, I don't see why anyone would buy the Kindle DX over the iPad - even though it actually works out cheaper once you allow for an iPad 3G model. The cheapest iPad with 3G is US$629 - probably AU$820 in Australian stores. The cheapest wifi-only US$499 iPad should sell for around AU$650. Meanwhile I could get the US$489 Kindle DX delivered for AU$600. Eventually Amazon might strike a better mobile data deal with an Australian telco, but until then Australians should save their money and buy a 6-inch Kindle rather than a 9.7-inch Kindle DX.
Looking at the 6-inch Kindle, it's got three main advantages over the iPad. First is the price of the Kindle, which is helped by the strong Australian dollar. Second is the price of the Kindle books - I doubt Apple will sell eBooks in the Australian iTunes store as cheaply as you can buy them from Amazon's Kindle store in US dollars. Third is battery life - the iPad will go for 10 hours between the charges, while the 6-inch Kindle will go for two weeks.
So if you're a serious reader - who buys lots of novels, wants a small eBook reader to fit in their bag and needs a long battery life for travel - the 6-inch Kindle is probably the best option for you. If you opt for an iPad in the future, you can always access your Kindle books via the Kindle iPhone app. If you're just looking for a general purpose multimedia slate which happens to be a book reader, it's probably worth waiting to see if the iPad lives up to the hype.
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