Once again Apple has created another technological device to add to its list of iPods, iphones, and itouches. The iPad is just the latest of Apple’s long list of technological devices to be found on the market today. The iPad is already caused much controversy and competition prior to its April 3rd release date. One of the iPad’s fiercest competitors is Amazon’s Kindle. The Kindle is a handheld device that is designed mainly for reading. The Kindle is a black and white screen and starts around $259, compared to the iPad which has a colored screen and runs about $499. Besides the obvious differences in price and color quality, what are the real differences between the iPad and the Kindle?
The iPad contains an LED-backlit touch screen that contains incredible high resolution and picture quality. The screen is about 9.7 inches in length and width and uses technology similar to that of the iphone. The weight of the iPad is only about 1.5 pounds and its size is equal to that of a small magazine. It is extremely portable and easy to handle and carry around. The iPad has excellent battery life that can last up to 10 hours of exploring the internet, watching movies, or various other activities. Wireless internet with 3G capabilities is just one of the many perks to the iPad. The iPad includes an A4 chip which makes it better for games, movies, and saving pictures. These are just a couple of the perks and capabilities to the brand new iPad.
The Amazon Kindle is a much more simplified version of the iPad with fewer capabilities and less features. The main purpose behind the Kindle is for reading books electronically as well as newspapers, magazines, and other online journals. Similar to the iPad, the Kindle is very light in weight, only weighing 10.3 ounces and is 7.5 inches by 5.3 inches. The Kindle has a high resolution 6 inch screen that makes reading very easy and enjoyable. In addition, the Kindle has a built in dictionary as well as wireless capabilities and an extended battery life. The Kindle also includes a keyboard which creates easy access for searching and typing.
In Rachel Metz’s article “iPad could be Kindle’s first big threat in e-books”, she compares the differences between Apple’s new iPad and Amazon’s older Kindle. Metz describes the iPad as being the Kindle’s biggest threat due to its ability to read electronic books as many other different functions. Metz believes that the iPad may force the Kindle “out of existence” and soon replace it as the next tool used for reading books electronically. As Metz points out there are several setbacks to the iPad that may keep buyers away for the time being. For example, the average price for books for the Kindle is around $9.99 compared to $14.99 for the iPad. The Kindle also has a longer battery life and can download books from anywhere, something that the iPad is not capable of doing. Ultimately it will come down to the buyer who must decide whether the extra $250 dollars is really worth it.
After reading through Metz’s article and doing some research on both the Kindle and the iPad I have come to some conclusions. First, I don’t believe that the iPad is worth the extra $250 dollars just for the extra applications or more advanced touch screen. If a person simply wants to read electronic books then the Kindle is clearly the better choice. It has a longer batter life, lighter, and is a lot cheaper then the iPad. There are many things a person can do on a laptop, itouch, or even iphone that one can do on an iPad. It seems like a better investment to buy the Kindle then the iPad. In addition to the reasons stated above, the iPad is a brand new device with many kinks still to be worked out. That is why I believe that the Kindle is the better and more economical choice for the person looking for an electronic book reader.
Samantha <3
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