Is iPad a Kindle Killer?

TechFlash reports: Shortly after Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage in San Francisco this morning to announce the new iPad, the Twittersphere started filling up with thousands of messages proclaiming that Amazon.com's electronic book reader, the Kindle, was toast.

"RIP Amazon Kindle 2007-2010. Cause of death: The iPad," wrote one Twitter user. But does Apple's release of the iPad—a touchscreen tablet computer—really portend the demise of Amazon.com's highly touted electronic-book reader? Possibly, since Jobs himself reportedly referenced the Kindle on stage by saying, "We are going to stand on their shoulders and go a bit farther."

Of course, the iPad is a multipurpose computing device, and the Kindle is a reading device. Nonetheless, we'll be interested to hear what you think after taking a look at the technical specs below.

THE KINDLE DX:

Device: Specialized wireless digital electronic-book reader

Price: $489 (Original 6-inch Kindle sells for $259)

Display: 9.7 inches diagonal black-and-white display

Size: 10.4 x 7.2 inches

Thickness: 0.38 inches

Weight: 18.9 ounces

Third -arty app store: Yes (Introduced last week)

Electronic books: More than 400,000 books, magazines, and blogs available for download

Storage: 4 GB

Battery Life: One week with wireless on, and up to two weeks with wireless disabled

Charge Time: 4 hours

Connectivity: HSDPA modem (3G) with a fallback to EDGE/GPRS; utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide wireless coverage via AT&T's 3G high-speed data network in the U.S.

Video: No

Keyboard: Physical keyboard

Keyboard dock: No

Included Accessories: U.S. power adapter (supports 100V-240V), USB 2.0 cable, rechargeable battery (Book cover sold separately)

Source: Amazon.com

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THE IPAD:

Device: Multipurpose computing device for reading, sending email, watching video, playing games, listening to music, and browsing the Internet

Price: $499 to $829

Display: 9.7-inch color display

Thickness: 0.5 inches

Battery life: 10 hours

Weight: 24 ounces

Third-party app store: Yes. Nearly all of the 140,000 iPhone and iPod Touch applications will run on the device. The new iBooks electronic-books app includes titles from five of the largest book publishers.

Storage: 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB

Connectivity: 802.11n WiFi, and option for 3G coverage from AT&T

Keyboard: Software keyboard

Keyboard dock: Yes

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Eric Engleman writes for TechFlash, the Puget Sound Business Journal's technology blog.