If you (like me) don’t own and haven’t used an iPad, you may enjoy John Gruber’s lengthy review.
I think this bit is exactly right:
Kindle has a better chance of long-term success as a software platform than a hardware one.
From day one I have wondered whether Amazon.com intended to make money on the Kindle or whether it was a proof-of-concept designed to spur the market for e-books. They’ve been aggressive about porting the Kindle reader to other platforms, and Amazon.com seems to be doing quite well selling digital music even though they don’t sell a music player. I imagine their margins are very good on e-books, regardless of whether or not the buyer purchased a Kindle.
April 8, 2010 at 12:48 pm
It has always seemed to me that the Kindle device was likely a loss-leader to drive uptake of the service. (Similar to the way Xboxes and PlayStations are sold at a loss, and the difference made up in software sales.)
April 8, 2010 at 12:49 pm
That’s what I’ve always thought, but sometimes Amazon.com doesn’t behave as though that’s the case.