Is Apple about to move on the Kindle?
Supposedly leaked photo of the Apple Media Pad, complete with side view -- according to Slashgear. But see the reader comment below.
Kindle owners may soon “end up wishing they had waited on their purchase,” says David Coursey. Why? He says rumors are growing about “a ready-to-release” Apple device that would do much, much more tha allow you to read a book — although it could do that, too.
In a report for PC World, Coursey says the device may be a “supersized iPod touch” and is “Described as having a larger touch-screen than the Kindle’s 6-inch display, while being physically smaller than the Amazon device, Apple’s baby has been dubbed a ‘mediapad.’”
But that’s not all: “The larger screen would be a more pleasant way to view movies or the Internet than an iPod or iPhone and the device could have decent speakers, too. By using a touch screen, Apple could save space necessary for Kindle’s keyboard, resulting in a smaller device.”
In short, says Coursey, “An Apple mediapad would doubtless do everything an iPod touch does, only larger. And it could do everything a Kindle does, too, only in color.”
And he’s not the only one saying this — reports abound (here’s one now!) that Apple is even going to team up with phone service providers on the new device, particularly Verizon.
In any event, the Apple device means one thing, says Coursey (repeating himself from here): “The Kindle is kindling.”
Um, that “Apple Media Pad” photo is widely-circulated photoshop mock-up that’s been floating around Gizmodo for months. It’s not anything Apple has made or released.
Well, as long as we’re just speculating: I wonder if I’d be convinced? I kind of hate touch screens (a lot) and I wouldn’t be surprised if they went with a fee-for-service model as opposed to the Kindle’s service-built-into-the-device price model. Which I like better. I hate being wedded to a company to pay them every month for forever.
But folks might understand that better. I don’t know… I have mixed feelings. i do know that I really want the new Kindle.
If this thing shows movies, then it doesn’t have an e-ink screen. I don’t want to watch movies on a small screen; I want to read books! Reading a book takes hours, and e-ink is easy on my eyes, which a backlit screen is not. This Apple device sounds like a upgrade to the iPod/iTouch, not a Kindle competitor.
Geeks don’t get it.
The lack of e-ink and the limited battery life would make such a device poor for reading anything of book-length.