A recent survey, published by ChangeWave research, asked the question “which of the following e-book readers are you likely to buy?” They found that the iPad got a 44% positive response while the Kindle received a 33% positive response. Their conclusion was that the iPad is gaining ground on the Kindle in the increasingly 2 horse race that is e-book readers.
Well, not so fast… While ChangeWave’s survey did indeed ask a few other questions, many media outlets that picked up the story focused on this one issue and it was widely reported by many sites. Of course, since the iPad was announced, many have been predicting doom and gloom for the lowly Kindle. While there is no doubt that the tablets are going to take some market share, it doesn’t seem out of the question that they can happily coexist, particularly with Amazon releasing Kindle software apps for every platform imaginable.
One of the interesting facts was that iPad owners seem to be more satisfied overall than Kindle owners, but we don’t know where they got their sample. Nor do we know about the likelihood of these people to actually buy anything, e-reader or not. And of course, the other question is whether or not those who do buy them will use iPads for e-readers, since one of the questions asked about what type of things you would read, but left out all the other stuff you can do with an iPad!
Another interesting fact, that is probably above suspicion, is that Kindle owners are more likely to read books (93%) than iPad owners (76%). However, IPad owners are more likely to read other types of content including news feeds, blogs and magazines.
One other possibility that occurs to me is how about both? Many iPad owners I know are Kindle owners, too. The iPad is just so much more than an e-book reader that it hardly seems fair to even make the comparison.
via PC World via InvestorPlace.com
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.