I love nearly everything Seth Godin writes, and how he writes it. But I disagree with him on his take on what massive iPad sales mean for the Amazon Kindle.
Godin lays out the marketing game plan for Amazon in the face of Steve Jobs’ announcement that Apple is selling one iPad every three seconds.
He said it’s an urgent moment for the people marketing the Kindle, and lays out some pretty dramatic steps for Amazon to consider in order to overtake the iPad and become “the only book reader in town.”
Here’s my take:
- Amazon is the only book reader in town. The iPad is not a book reader, it’s a tablet computer with a book app. There are countless people who own a Kindle who have no need, and therefore little interest, in owning an iPad.
- Amazon should not be panicking. Instead, it should be doing exactly what it’s doing: innovating new Kindles, and smartly marketing them to its base of evangelistic consumers. Panic is desperate. Innovation is smart. Requisite, and smart.
- A growing iPad market does not automatically imply a shrinking Kindle market. The two devices go after different kinds of people. The Kindle targets people who love to read. The iPad targets people who love Apple, gadgets, and shiny toys. They may also read, but that’s not their first priority. Kindle users want a great reader. iPad users want a great gadget.
- I’ve easily talked to more than 100 Kindle consumers, and every one of them loves their Kindle. The Kindle has a loyal and passionate user base. Which means the Kindle has been a lot right. Now is not the time to abandon that.
As usual, Godin’s ideas are good. But if implemented, they’d be the actions of a company playing from behind. But the Kindle can still control its own destiny. The people marketing it should continue to innovate their product, their communication and their consumer education aggressively. But not desperately.
The one thing about an iPad that tempts me from the Kindle is the touch screen. That little joystick on the Kindle is ok but it makes it quite a chore to click footnotes, highlight text, etc. Being able to interact directly with the text on the screen would be a huge improvement.
Hi David,
As long as your prime objective is reading, PRS-600 or a few other models would do the trick of touch. I agree with you on the kindle joy stick, its not as smooth as we would want it to be (If Amazon is listening, we surely would love to see a optical joystick with a click ‘n hold function, similar to the one Blackberry used to replace the trackball)
When I decided to buy an eReader, Kindle2 joystick issue appeared manageable – Touch surface causes quite a bit of reflection and creates quite a bit of distraction while reading – As far as iPad goes, the impact of reflection only gets amplified with iPad’s LED Backlit screen causing quite a bit of strain.
I love the iPad, its a neat gadget! But its way too wild to think it as a replacement for an eReader, at least in its present form – If Apple figures a wayout to switch from LED Backlit to eINK display depending on the type of doc/material opens on the fly.. Aaah. well!!
Cheers!
Arun