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So what about the Kindle and the Nook? They seem to be doing okay, and would anyone really call them a different market? I mean, they're obviously specialized a

So what about the Kindle and the Nook? They seem to be doing okay, and would anyone really call them a different market? I mean, they're obviously specialized as e-readers while the iPad is more general-purpose, but I don't see why Kindles and Nooks won't morph into more general-purpose devices as well (the Nooks already are fairly general-purpose)? That is to say, are Kindles and Nooks fundamentally different from iPads, and therefore would be considered to serve different markets, or is it much more like Apple computers vs. PC's in the 80's? One had a much larger market share than the other, and they were different enough that we had a divide between "Apple Computers" and "Personal Computers", even though they largely did the same stuff?

acabal 15y ago
I like the Kindle (and the new Nook, not the old ones) for two reason: 1. the e-ink is easy on my eyes when reading for hours; I would never seriously read on a backlit tablet device. 2. The devices really are ONLY for reading. I spend my entire day in front of a full-blown computer, so when I have a break I don't want another full-blown computer in front of me. I want a book or a reading device. This is the same reason why I don't own a smartphone. I think I'm in the minority of geeks, but in the majority of regular people when I say this. I think most people would say, "Why would I want to check my email on my book?" From that perspective I think they're hugely different markets than the iPad. It bummed me out to hear that Amazon is jumping on the tablet bandwagon with their unreleased Kindle, because like I said in another thread (and like this article says), people don't care about tablets, they care about iPads. I'd bet that any tablet not made by Apple is doomed to failure for at least the next 5 years, because only Apple knows how to put together such a slick and seamless user experience.

acabal 15y ago

I like the Kindle (and the new Nook, not the old ones) for two reason: 1. the e-ink is easy on my eyes when reading for hours; I would never seriously read on a backlit tablet device. 2. The devices really are ONLY for reading. I spend my entire day in front of a full-blown computer, so when I have a break I don't want another full-blown computer in front of me. I want a book or a reading device. This is the same reason why I don't own a smartphone. I think I'm in the minority of geeks, but in the majority of regular people when I say this. I think most people would say, "Why would I want to check my email on my book?" From that perspective I think they're hugely different markets than the iPad. It bummed me out to hear that Amazon is jumping on the tablet bandwagon with their unreleased Kindle, because like I said in another thread (and like this article says), people don't care about tablets, they care about iPads. I'd bet that any tablet not made by Apple is doomed to failure for at least the next 5 years, because only Apple knows how to put together such a slick and seamless user experience.