Apple iPad Versus The Amazon Kindle

It’s been a long time coming, but Apple have finally unveiled their long anticipated tablet computer. The name is confirmed as the iPad and it has received, quite predictably perhaps, a bit of a mixed reception. There are those who maintain that it’s nothing more than a bigger version of Apple’s iPod Touch, whilst others are already predicting that it will sound the death knell for netbooks, notebooks and e-book readers.

For a long time now, since before we even knew what it was going to be called, the iPad has been given the title of the “Kindle Killer”. In one way that is just a little odd. After all, the two devices are very different and you might think that they were targeting different market segments. On the other hand, when the iPad starts shipping in March, the Kindle and the iPad will be the two hottest gadgets available. The fact that both Amazon and Apple are very successful corporate giants – both with impressive track records for changing the rules of the game in their market sectors – only feeds the flames.

Simply put, the Kindle is a very specialized piece of kit. It concentrates on doing one job extremely well – reading e-books. In addition to being a great e-book reader it also makes the sales process for books fast, simple and efficient. Good for both the customer and Amazon. The iPad is a jack of all trades. It performs a number of different functions and is very versatile. It’s color display makes it a good browser, you can play games on it, listen to music on it and use the huge Apple “Apps” library. You can even play music on it.

The Kindle is such a great e-book reader for a number of reasons. One of the most important is its e-ink technology display. This produces a reading experience which is very similar to reading printed text on paper and is much more comfortable than reading on a back-lit PC screen. It also has a very low power usage requirement – so it can go for a long time in between charging. However, the e-ink display, which is a great strength for an e-book reader, is monochrome and relatively slow to refresh – which means that it’s pretty poor, or completely non-functional, for use as a web browser or video player.

The iPad’s great color display makes it ideal for use as a web browser, watching video or playing games. On the other hand, the back-lit screen produces more eye strain than the Kindle display and it has a relatively short battery life of only ten hours.

Simply put, the Kindle is a very much better e-book reader than the iPad – but even after its next upgrade (rumoured to be soon) it’s not likely to be suitable for anything more than basic surfing. The iPad is a versatile multi-function device. Putting aside the e-book reader aspects of the analysis, it’s quite likely that some of its other functions may be performed better by other specialist devices. Which device you decide to go for will probably be determined by whether or not you’re prepared to sacrifice a little performance for all round versatility.

Discover the Amazon Kindle for yourself – and have a look at the huge range of Kindle accessories available.