An iPad tablet runs $629 with 3G; a Kindle for less than half that. An iPad tablet runs $499 with just WiFi; a Kobo for a third of that. Plus most people I've talked to are opting for the 32 GB model iPad (it is for multimedia playback primarily); so add at least $100 to the price above. And, in the medium term, the gap will grow.
Hands-up anyone who believe next year's iPad will be cheaper? Hands up everyone who believes next year's e-readers will be cheaper?
I'm not predicting it, but I will suggest it: the tablet market is trying to occupy the space between fully functional netbooks at half the cost and mid-range laptops at about the same cost as tablets. Only the tablets are "crippled" in terms of input; they are optimised for output / playback only. E-readers are "optimised" for playback too -- single-purpose playback. I think there is a much brighter future for Kobo-like readers pushing the $99 envelope, and "affordable" full feature readers like the Kindle 2 drifting down to $199, than there is for the tablet category overall.
Anyone who believes Apple always gets it right has forgotten about the Newton and the Lisa. But who knows what will come NeXT?
