At 1.5 pounds and half an inch thickness, the 9.7-inch LED-backlit display has a Multi-touch screen and can do just about anything. And as such, rumors are circulating that the iPad will effectively kill the Kindle. Blogger Scopique over at Cedarstreet discusses:
Now that the iPad is out of the iBag, some people are talking about how the iPad’s iBook e-book reader will deep-six the Kindle.
I’m not so sure about that.
First, the price. A friend of mine just paid $259 for a Kindle. Compare that with $499 for the iPad’s basic model. This is kind of a throw-away point, because anyone who wants to boost the iPad will tell you that it’s more then just an e-book reader, so the price is justified. I suppose on some level, yes, this is true, but for people like my father, who just want to read a book, $499 is a bit steep.
[...]
Still not sold? Consider the late Ted Kennedy. Sen. Kennedy’s book True Compass was used as an example during Apple’s presentation of iBook. On the display, the book was seen as listing for $14.99. I immediately jumped over to the Kindle store to check on Amazon’s e-book price for the same tome: $9.99. It’s good to see the Apple Tax is still in effect.
Read more HERE
Scopique has some excellent points, all of which are related to the big green (aka $$$), something our society deems most imperative. So will the lay person spend more on an iPad, when they can do basically the same things with a Kindle? Unless they're technologically obsessed, I doubt it, too.
The New York Times, however, discusses how the upricing could effect the publishing industry positively, despite its disgruntled customers (as well as other things):
With a few notable exceptions, the print world welcomed Apple’s new iPad on Wednesday, eager to tap into the 125 million customers who already have iTunes accounts and are predisposed to buying more content from Apple.
“We have learned that it is never wise to stand between a consumer and a preference” for how they get their content, said John Makinson, chief executive of Penguin Group, the book publisher.
The iPad may offer an even more attractive prospect: the chance to reset the downward spiral in e-book prices.
[...]
“We have learned that it is never wise to stand between a consumer and a preference” for how they get their content, said John Makinson, chief executive of Penguin Group, the book publisher.
The iPad may offer an even more attractive prospect: the chance to reset the downward spiral in e-book prices.
Read the rest of the article HERE
What do you think of the iPad?
It's definitely a pricey little item, but you can bet your boots that I'm getting the 64gb someday when the prices come down. That thing is freaking awesome!!!!
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