# iPad release announcement - a pricing analysis vs Kindle



## artsandhistoryfan (Feb 7, 2009)

I thought I should post this in both forums I attend.

The iPad is looking to have quite an effect on dedicated e-reader interest and many who have Kindles are interested in it. 

Am posting it for Kindle owners and any wondering whether to buy a Kindle or an iPad or both.  I think the ramifications are larger than anticipated, but that may be because the advantages of the Kindle along with its pricing vs the iPad are not generally known.

Apple announced pre-ordering and sale dates.  The international community is not involved until late April.

I've done a little analysis of the actual cost for the several choices they offer. And global timing for various models.

They've made only one statement about the battery, and it's different from what they said during the launch.  I think this is a critical area.

If interested, that's at bit.ly/kwipad2

Hope it's clear enough.  My main focus is on its actual cost and capabilities vs the Kindle for those interested in dedicated e-readers and the Whispernet feature of Kindle.


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## fuzzy9uy (Feb 28, 2010)

artsandhistoryfan said:


> I thought I should post this in both forums I attend.
> 
> The iPad is looking to have quite an effect on dedicated e-reader interest and many who have Kindles are interested in it.
> 
> ...


Big Mac fan, and I was wondering the effect on Kindles, when it finally comes out. One plus, it's in color. However, after saying that, I believe it is sizably larger than a Kindle, and not sure about the weight difference. Whatever. I own 4 various models of Macs now, and if the Ipad is really nice, I'm sure that will be one in the future as well. However, I still think highly of the Kindle, and I don't think, for me at least, that will change. It is really enjoyable reading on it, and the size is perfect.

Fuzzy9uy


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## RamTheHammer (Apr 17, 2009)

My 2 cents - It's backlite! Big problem for me.


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## Magenta (Jun 6, 2009)

I decided to buy an iPad for my young niece.  She's good with the PC already.  I think the touch screen is going to be the wave of the future and this will give her an opportunity to play.  I think children's books will work much better with the iPad given the color pictures, etc.  I'm not worried about battery life as I feel few children under 10 don't sit still enough to read for hours.

I also have a selfish motive in that I want to play with it myself.  I'm not interested in it as an e-reader but rather for a future replacement for my laptop.  I'll wait though for the model to evolve more...

There are also a ton of new articles out today on this topic.  Just go to google news and type in Amazon for a list.


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

thanks


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## artsandhistoryfan (Feb 7, 2009)

fuzzy9uy said:


> Big Mac fan, and I was wondering the effect on Kindles, when it finally comes out. One plus, it's in color. However, after saying that, I believe it is sizably larger than a Kindle, and not sure about the weight difference. Whatever. I own 4 various models of Macs now, and if the Ipad is really nice, I'm sure that will be one in the future as well. However, I still think highly of the Kindle, and I don't think, for me at least, that will change. It is really enjoyable reading on it, and the size is perfect.
> 
> Fuzzy9uy


 I have only an iPod but I don't see why a tablet (and there'll be more) and e-readers can't co-exist, for different needs. So, I'm with you on this.


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## KindleChickie (Oct 24, 2009)

I am going to get an iPad, but not to replace my kindle.  Hopefully, it will replace my macbook pro for a daily carry.


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## artsandhistoryfan (Feb 7, 2009)

KindleChickie said:


> I am going to get an iPad, but not to replace my kindle. Hopefully, it will replace my macbook pro for a daily carry.


 It'll definitely be lighter and flatter.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

RamTheHammer said:


> My 2 cents - It's backlite! Big problem for me.


I'm gonna wait and actually see one before I decide if it's a problem. There are some transreflective LCD screens out there that are quite nice, so I wouldn't reject all LCD screens automatically.

Mike


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## Emily King (Jun 9, 2009)

I think battery life will be an issue.  My sister is on our account with her iPod Touch and is extremely annoyed with the life of the battery.  Now that she has had her tax return, she's talking about buying a kindle to use for reading books instead.

That being said, I'm an e-geek and would LOVE to have an iPad...


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## Adele (May 30, 2009)

RamTheHammer said:


> My 2 cents - It's backlite! Big problem for me.


Yup, that's one reason I love my Kindle NO BACKLITE! I spend too much time in front of a computer screen, I do not want to read my books there as well. I may consider it for other uses (later), but not for day to day reading of books.


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## Cardinal (Feb 24, 2010)

I decided to finally buy an e-reader after the iPad announcement and did a lot of research.  

At first I looked at the iPad but decided against it because it was too heavy to hold up for a long period of time (and I'm irked at the price of eBooks going up, and that books purchased in the iBook store will probably not work on an ePub reader).  I also didn't think I'd take a device I spent so much money on with me on a daily basis.

I then thought about an iPod Touch to read books on and called all my iPhone friends.  They all said they didn't think I'd be happy reading entire books on an iPod.

I then looked at the Nook and Kindle and bought the Kindle.  I have had it for a week and so far I am very happy with it.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I'm buying one, I don't even use my kindle anymore anyway. I read exclusively on my iphone now.


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## Eeyore (Jul 16, 2009)

I purchased one. Will use the Kindles for 90% of my book reading, the Ipad for magazines, cookbooks, photography, and in bed reading (has a back-light, lol!)

Best Wishes!


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

does anyone know if it will be able to read books from e-reader.com -- I have the ability to read my old books I got from there on my iTouch and it would be great to read them on an iPad too.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

rho said:


> does anyone know if it will be able to read books from e-reader.com -- I have the ability to read my old books I got from there on my iTouch and it would be great to read them on an iPad too.


If there's an app for the Touch there should be one for the iPad.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

the current apps work with the ipad, this was already announced and has been confirmed by developers


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Rasputina said:


> I'm buying one, I don't even use my kindle anymore anyway. I read exclusively on my iphone now.


I remember saying many times that I would never want to read for any real period of time on an iPhone or iPod Touch , due to it's size and then of course it being backlit. I am sooo eating those words now because I literally read for hours on my iPhone and really like it.

It's especially great in low light conditions, no need for a clip on light.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Rasputina said:


> the current apps work with the ipad, this was already announced and has been confirmed by developers


Some people don't seem to really understand that.
For instance the Kindle App. People are wondering when Amazon will come out with an Kindle App for the iPad , my information says that the current app will work on the iPad .


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

What I understood is that Apple has said that most iPhone/iPod touch apps will work on iPad. . . .presumably this means the Kindle app.  But no one will know for sure, of course, until they get an actual iPad in their hands and try it. . . . . . .


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## artsandhistoryfan (Feb 7, 2009)

The existing iPod apps will be in very small scale but are fully readable (most of them) on the iPad, they say.

However, as mentioned in my blog entry on the core apps that have been pulled from the iPad, the existing small-screen apps will be tiny on the 9.7" screen and you can opt to make them fill the screen. This will make for low resolution and some pixellation, so some will look just bad that way. The magazine article I referenced for one of the stories , says it stronger, using the word "ridiculous."

So the focus will be on revising these apps to scale them up to the iPad, which really shouldn't take long.

And Amazon is working on its app for the Ipad and has said it's coming.

People buying the iPad should also look at what other tablets are coming out. There are some amazing things coming. 
If interested in what they are, see my http://bit.ly/ipadcomp

I still say that my own minimum configuration for the iPad would be 32 gigs and the 3g, which adds $130 for the modem, $100 for the add'l 16 gigs, and $30/mo. for useful web data amount. People paying the add'l $130 for 3G are likely to want to use it so I project that first year as actual costs to consider.

With just 16 gigs (instead of 32 gigs), it's already $1,018 with the necessary but optional kit with the adapter that makes the one USB connection. WIth 32 gigs you have room to hoard photos and videos and that is a cost of $1,118.

As Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Tribune says (and he can't wait until he gets one), 16 G is nothing.
He's getting the 64 gig and says why at http://bit.ly/whichipad (I love his writing).

Others say, if you like to read in the car when someone's driving you won't be able to play with this on long drives, at least not on the Net, unless you have the 3G. Since I like to use the Kindle while waiting everywhere, and people are planning to use the iPad's e-reader, it makes sense (to me) to have the
3G option. I don't think I could spend that much money and go without being able to download stuff when out of the house.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> What I understood is that Apple has said that most iPhone/iPod touch apps will work on iPad. . . .presumably this means the Kindle app. But no one will know for sure, of course, until they get an actual iPad in their hands and try it. . . . . . .


actually the developers do know, because they already have access to the ipad sdk. I got an email a few weeks ago from the developers of an app I use that said they had tested their current iphone app on the ipad simulator that and it works.


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## tlrowley (Oct 29, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> What I understood is that Apple has said that most iPhone/iPod touch apps will work on iPad. . . .presumably this means the Kindle app. But no one will know for sure, of course, until they get an actual iPad in their hands and try it. . . . . . .


My theory (and it's only my theory) is that Apple was specific about "most" apps because if they said "all" apps, the idiots of the world would jump up and down and whine when the camera apps didn't work (duh, there's no camera) or the GPS apps didn't work (there's no GPS in the wifi version) and so on. You get the idea.

We ordered 2 wifi 32 GB yesterday. Wonder when they'll be jailbroken? Any bets on "by the end of April?"


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

tlrowley said:


> My theory (and it's only my theory) is that Apple was specific about "most" apps because if they said "all" apps, the idiots of the world would jump up and down and whine when the camera apps didn't work (duh, there's no camera) or the GPS apps didn't work (there's no GPS in the wifi version) and so on. You get the idea.


So true!!


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