Bezos: Kindle and iPad are separate devices

I do own both. I have used the Kindle2 since it came out last year, and pretty much prefer not to read paperbacks anymore.

I got the iPad this April, and really like it for email, browsing, reading sometime, and all the other things you can do with it.

For serious reading, as the comments above show, the Kindle is just more comfortable on your eyes, your wrists, and the battery. If I turn off the 3G for my Kindle, I can read for a week or two at my schedule. (1-2 hours a night)

On the beach, the iPad is hard to read, while the Kindle works great. Only in dim light does the iPad become the easier read.

Don't get me wrong, the iPad is awesome, and if I could only have one, it would be the iPad. Fortunately I don't have to make that choice.

BTW, the Kindle app for the Android is out today, and works great.

I bought the iPad and wouldn't buy the Kindle. I really like iBooks.

Bezos: "My Volkswagen and my Mercedes are separate devices. Both come from Germany; both run on the road, both consume gasoline and both are made mostly of metal. End of story."

I own an iPhone ($200) and a Nook ($150) which I bought after the iPad came out. The iPhone has the flexibility to run countless apps, access the web, etc. The Nook has a great screen, size, weight, and battery life for reading. Between the two of them - for my uses - they make the iPad ($500) pretty much redundant. For other people the iPad might be the perfect "swiss army" device, but for others having individual best-of-breed devices will be a better choice.

It's funny how people are rushing to defend the Amazon Kindle the same way their forebears were rushing to protect printed books a few years ago. Especially ironic since they are using some of the same arguments.

The consumer tech category created by the iPad has put the Kindle and other dedicated single-purpose eReaders on a death watch. They aren't going to disappear tomorrow, but that product category is going to fall to just a niche before too long. (Fortunately for Amazon, they can still sell the books even if they don't sell the device that displays them.)

It's the same with Flip cameras. Wildly popular for a few years, they are going to be replaced with video-capable phones (like the iPhone 4) very soon.

It's the same with cheap point-and-shoot still cameras. As cellphone cameras improve (like the iPhone 4), people will find themselves carrying a separate camera less and less often.

Yes, all of those products (or similar ones) will still exist in five years, but they will be selling far, far fewer than they are now. They will evolve into cheap commodities, because their target market (tech-savvy consumers) will likely already have equivalent quality built into their smartphones or iPad-like tablets.

I have a Nook, and I've been reading on the iPad since I got it to try to consolidate my devices, but reading on a backlit screen is just not as nice as on the Nook. I'd rather read on the nook with a booklight than read on the iPad.

Apple is interested in selling *hardware*.

Amazon is interested in selling *books*. The Kindle is just one means to and end for Bezos, and he's apparently smart enough to know it.

You know, it really annoys me how TUAW editors just assume the Kindle is yesterdays news simply because the iPad is out.

The fact of the mater is the Kindle/Nook/whatever other eReader are FAR from irrelevant and will continue on their merry way just as well as they did before. The iPad is a high end media device that happens to read books too. Which is great. Anything that gets eBook traction going is a plus to me.

But it is not an eReader. For some people it works just fine for that purpose, yes...but it is not a great eReader when it comes down to it.

In my mind, they're not in competition.

I have a Kindle and an iPad, and prefer the Kindle for reading books. Thus far I'd say the iPad is for web browsing and other media. Yeah, the Pooh book is pretty, but most of what I read doesn't have pictures and the Kindle is easier to hold and easier on my eyes.

On a trip, I may just take the iPad to avoid device overload, and the Kindle app works fine. I also use the Kindle app on my iPhone, primarily for bedtime reading when I need the backlight.

Truth is, the iPad has too many other distractions on it pulling your focus away from reading.

1. Amazon dropped their price because B&N dropped the price on the nook, not because of Apple. If anything, the even higher difference in price between the two of them show the distinct uses of both.

2. I would much rather read a book on a Kindle. Not only is the screen obviously better for books but also it is less distracting. With the kindle I could focus on the task at hand but with the ipad, you'll be tempted to do everything else but read. Not to mention that there is a wider selection of Kindle books and than iBooks and they are cheaper.