Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Kindle killer? Netbook nullifier? Does the iPad have a market?

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the wraps off of the iPad today.

It’s a half-inch-thick tablet computer with a 9.7-inch touch screen that comes with 16GB ($499), 32GB ($599) or 64GB ($699) flash memory. It has Wifi and 3G wireless capability.ipad02

Like the iPhone and iTouch version of the iPod, it can be held vertically or horizontally. It does not function as a telephone, but will run applications like the iPhone and iTouch do.

It costs about twice as much as Amazon.com’s Kindle ($259) but does much more than the Kindle and does it in color.

But if all you want is an e-book reader, the Kindle is probably still the best choice because it doesn’t have a backlit screen that can wash out in bright sunlight. Text on the Kindle looks very much like text on paper.

I guess the iPad is aimed at two markets – the e-readers and netbooks. I realize it’s very early in the game, but I haven’t seen anything in the iPad that makes me want one to replace my Dell Mini 9 netbook.


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