I am impressed that you can present such reasoned and authoritative information when you have never even held either product in your hands.

"...only reads books"? Did you forget about the FREE 3G wireless capability that lets you instantly and seamlessly download new material anyplace in the world where there is cell phone service? Yes, the iPad can do that too... for an extra $130 for the 3G modem and a $30/month access fee. Hmmm... that $250 Kindle price is starting to look better and better.


Odd... many (if not most) analyses that I come across (after an admittedly cursory Google search) indicate sales are already in the millions.

Do I think the Kindle can compete with the iPad? Of course not. The iPad is twice the price, twice the weight, half again the size, has a tiny fraction of the battery life, is awkward to hold, and above all is not designed to be an e-book reader! It is a computer. It may well be a very nice and capable computer, I wouldn't know. But as an e-book reader, IT SUCKS! You might as well be saying that the iPad is going to put the Schwinn bicycle company out of business because the iPad is smaller, lighter, and lets you browse the internet. It's an Apples and Oranges [thank you, Dignan] comparison.

My wife traveled in Europe with her Kindle last summer, and every time she took it out of her purse (yes, her purse! It is that compact!) she was the center of a mob scene. Everyone who saw it, held it, read from it, wanted it. Particularly older people whose wrists and arms are not up to the task of holding a heavy book (or tablet computer!) for any length of time.

If there is a cost problem with the Kindle, it is not that the reader costs too much, but that the books for it are vastly overpriced. The iPad will have this problem too, until the publishing companies come around and face reality. It is absolutely preposterous to pay more for an electronic download of a book than the paper copy would cost at Costco or Barnes and Noble. Just as the MP3 revolution is changing the face of the music industry, e-books will change the publishing industry.

I won't be at all surprised if Apple sells more iPads than Amazon sells Kindles. There are lots of fanboys around willing to pay exorbitant prices for anything with an Apple logo, and e-book readers is a much smaller niche market than computers. However, iPad sales won't be at the expense of the Kindle. Yes, the iPad and the Kindle share a few capabilities (OK, one capability). The iPad is greatly superior to the Kindle as a computer. The Kindle is greatly superior to the iPad as an e-book reader.

Neither one is going to cause much concern to the folks at Schwinn.

tanstaafl.