4 Reasons the Kindle Fire and iPad Are Not Even Competitors
By: Hillel Fuld
Since the original iPad was introduced a year and a half ago, there have been endless attempts at an “iPad Killer”, and it is safe to say, they all failed miserably. The Motorola Xoon, the Samsung Galaxy Tabs, the BlackBerry Playbook, none of them or any other made the iPad even flinch.
Then came the Amazon Kindle Fire and all of a sudden, everyone is sure this will be the one (to be fair, the same people said that about previous tablets too). They are wrong but not for the reason you think. The Fire is not a Xoom or a Tab, it is a device worth praising, but it will never compete with the iPad. The reason is because, it is not meant to compete with the iPad, it is a different type of device that fills a different need for different people. Erick Schonfeld, the new Editor of TechCrunch seems to think the Fire is making Apple sweat and I think he is nuts.
The following are five reasons the Kindle Fire is not even intended to compete head to head with the iPad:
1: Price Point: By comparing the $199 tablet to a device starting at $499, you can in essence comparing a Toyota Camry to a top of the line Porsche 911. Amazon is going after the consumer that cannot afford the iPad and needs a cheaper alternative to surf the Web, read books, play games, and update their social networks.
Will some people buy a Fire when they would have otherwise bought an iPad and vice versa? Absolutely, but there are also three people in the world trying to decide whether to go all out and buy a Porsche for their midlife crisis or just stick with the reliable Toyota Camry. The majority of people don’t have to decide between the two.
2: Form Factor: Steve Jobs has made it very clear that smaller tablets will not succeed. He was right that they will not succeed at beating the iPad, but that does not mean there is not a serious need for a tablet that can be held in one hand, typed on like one would type on a smartphone, and put away in the pocket of a standard pair of jeans. That need is very real and very widespread.
A person who wants a 10′ iPad is not going to be impressed with a 7′ Kindle Fire. However, if you have an iPad, one of its shortcomings, which Apple just solved in iOS5 is typing. Even with the new keyboard, holding a 10′ device in your hand while on the go and typing can get awkward. 7′ is a lot more practical when it comes to text input and portability. Again, not the same audience.
3: Amazon VS Apple: If there is one thing the mobile space has taught us over the last few years, it is that hardware is not as important as it once was. Today, it is about the ecosystem and that is why Apple has such a serious lead. But Apple and Amazon, both with very developed ecosystems, clearly focus on different aspects.Take for example the apps. While the iPad has well over 100,000 apps in the App Store, the Amazon appstore has around 16,000.
If you are a person interested in having an app for everything, the iPad is for you. If, however, you are like millions of people who use Amazon services, have issues with the way Apple does things (do I really need to explain this?), the Fire is a solid alternative. Again, different strokes for different folks.
Suffice to say, if you are a die hard Apple fanboy, the Fire will never replace the iPad and its neat and closed ecosystem. On the flip side, if you are one of many people who were considering an iPad as the only real option to a tablet device, but are not a fan of the closed ecosystem, the dependency on iTunes and wires (iOS5 is going to solve the wires thing), the Kindle Fire is here for you.
4: Android VS Apple: This point is highly debatable, but I do believe, even today, with Android’s market share growing rapidly, that iOS and Android appeal to different audiences. To some extent, and I use both Android and iOS on a regular basis, I feel like Android is a work in progress, while iOS is a polished and finished product. Android has come extremely far since 1.5, that is true, but there are still some major issues that Google has to address. Whether it is the fragmentation, the minor UI inconsistencies, or the mess that is the Market, one of the advantages of Apple’s walled garden, is that everything just works.
I am not talking hypothetically here. Last week, I had to help a family member decide between the Galaxy S2, which many would say is the flagship Android device and an iPhone 4. I have to admit, I was on the fence for a few days and the pros and cons were clear to me. At the end of the day, the person I was helping is not a geek and the prevailing factor was the ease of use on iOS over Android . There really is no comparing. As I write this, I am fully aware that many of the people reading this will turn to the comments to call me all kinds of fun names, but that does not change the fact that I believe whole heartedly that as of today, iOS is significantly more intuitive than Android.
I am not saying that Android does not appeal to anyone in its current state, its market share clearly says otherwise. It appeals to many different types of consumers, but not the type that would and buy an iOS device. Whether it is the super geeky type who swears by anything open source, the political type who wants to make a statement against Apple’s policies by buying any product as long as it’s not Apple, or the creative type that loves to customize devices and make it their own. All this was possible on Android before, but the problem was, there was no tablet out there that provided a solid alternative, now there is.
To be up front, I have not seen or laid my hands on the Fire yet, but these are my impressions based on what I have experienced with other Android tablets combined with the many initial reviews of Amazon’s debut into the tablet market. The bottom line is, these two devices are not going head to head and both will succeed. In fact, I don’t think it is too far fetched to say that in a matter of two to three years, many consumers will own a 10′ tablet, most likely an iPad, and a smaller tablet, probably 7′, and probably one made by Amazon.
