Wither Kindle?

Obituaries are already being written for the Amazon Kindle with today’s Apple announcement of iPad and iBooks. (At least Steve Jobs gave Amazon and the Kindle some props today.) Despite the iPad’s large color touch screen, I think the reports of the Kindle’s death are premature. The Kindle will still offer major cost savings and some significant advantages for serious readers of text:

• Price: A Kindle at $259 is a great deal cheaper than an iPad at $499-$829. Granted, the iPad does much, much more than the Kindle, but far more people can spend $259 on something than can spend $499+ on something.
• 3G Cost: The Kindle at $259 comes with free 3G connectivity and that 3G works internationally. An iPad with 3G costs $629-$829, you have to spend $14.99-$29.99 a month for 3G connectivity, and international support/pricing is unannounced.
• Screen: As my geeky friend Chris Fox just pointed out to me, the Kindle’s screen has more pixels per inch (167 ppi) than the iPad (132 ppi). The Kindle’s lack of backlighting, lower screen reflectivity, and higher ppi will likely make for a better long-form textual reading experience than the iPad.
• Battery Life: Apple is claiming 10 hours of battery life for the iPad using wifi. Amazon claims a Kindle can go up to a week with 3G on. The Kindle’s battery advantage grows even greater when wireless is turned off. Not having to take a charger on trips is awesome.
• Size: The Kindle is smaller, thinner, and lighter weight than the iPad.
• Selection: At this point, Amazon probably offers more eBook titles than Apple. (That could change.) Amazon may also be able to use its market power in the book/eBook space to undercut Apple on eBook prices. (Time will tell.)
• Flexibility: Kindle eBooks can also be read on the iPhone, on the BlackBerry, on a Windows PC, and soon on the Mac and the iPad (via the existing iPhone app). It is unclear if Apple iBooks can be read outside of the iPad. Also, an iPad requires a computer for many things while a Kindle doesn’t except for audiobook downloads.
• Text-to-Speech: The Kindle offers text-to-speech reading of books. It does not appear the iPad does.

Finally, I can’t wait to see what Amazon’s next moves are. Is a Kindle 3 announcement coming soon? Will we see Kindle for iPad in addition to Kindle for iPhone? Don’t count Amazon and the Kindle out yet.