Although Apple’s new toy, the iPad touch tablet, is not designed mainly for reading books, surveys show that around 40% of potential buyers plan to use it for this activity. Also, with the hype around the product growing bigger and bigger, we have to expect the iPad to become quite popular and sell in millions over the next years. Thus, I can’t stop wondering what will be the impact of this gadget over regular ebook readers.
When compared, these devices are very much different. The iPad comes with an LCD display and can be used for a lot more things than reading books, like websurfing, watching movies, listening to music, playing games, etc. On the other hand, the standard ebook reader is safer for your eyes and comes with way superior battery life, but has many lacks, including the fact that current digital readers don’t offer touch-interfaces or color reproductions.
Apple's iPad hoes some major advantages over standard ereaders, although how comfotable it is to actually read on it is yet undecided
Digital readers might change fundamentally during the last years, but for now, when having to choose between a Kindle DX and an Apple iPad, i’m pretty sure many will choose the second, as both cost around $500.
Thus, Amazon, Sony or Barnes&Nobles, nowadays leaders in the ereaders segment should really fear the iPad, as it will surely take lots of potential customers away from them. Still, i can’t pronounce over how comfortable it is to read on the iPad, my main concerns being weight (even the DX is painful to use for a longer time, as it’s pretty heavy) and display (LCDs might be harmful for your eyes and difficult to use outside, in strong light conditions).
Anyway, for now the balance seems to tilt towards the iPad. But wait for the next moves from digital readers. With devices like the Adam Ink or the Skiff eReader to come, the battle for supremacy in this still your segment is only in its early days.