Since Apple’s introduction of the iPad earlier this week, much speculation has naturally fallen on the subject of the Kindle. It seems that Amazon knew that the iPad was coming, and put some effort into moving units before the announcement. And sure enough, Steve Jobs demonstrated the iBookstore and its reader app on the iPad, which does indeed look better than reading on a Kindle.
But there’s a difference. Apple’s bookstore will not be the only one on the iPad, if only because the iPad can run iPhone applications unmodified. If I buy an iPad, I will be able to run my Kindle app on it, which means I can read any of my books from Amazon. And it stands to reason that Amazon will make a version that runs on the iPad (and Apple will allow it on the app store as well).
One weak point is the Kindle’s interface. It’s one of the uglier apps on my iPhone, and I don’t actually enjoy reading with it very much. If they wanted to improve it, they could take a cue from Shelfari, which Amazon owns. Looks familiar, doesn’t it? It looks just like the iPad’s bookshelf interface, actually. Even if Apple somehow rejected the Kindle app on the iPad, Amazon could do a Google-like end run around them, and combine Shelfari with your Kindle library, in a website optimized for the iPad. Adding a social aspect to your book shelf would put them a step ahead of Apple, in fact.
I think the real question is whether or not Amazon feels threatened by Apple. I don’t think so, at least not to the degree that I’ve been hearing. I can see being quite satisfied with having my Kindle library on my iPad, and adding some iBookstore titles over time. The truth is, Amazon will likely have a greater selection and lower prices, so I would be inclined to continue to buy most titles from them, even if I were reading them on a non-Kindle device.
What it boils down to is that Apple’s primary interest is selling the hardware, but Amazon’s is selling books. So while there might be a fight down the road, I don’t think we’re there yet.
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