News Analysis: Apple's iPad is starting to gain serious ground on Amazon's Kindle in the e-reader market, a new survey has found, and it looks like Amazon will have a difficult time keeping the Apple device from wresting the market share lead from Kindle at some point.
A
new survey from ChangeWave Research has found that Apple's iPad is well on
its way to taking down the Amazon Kindle in the e-reader market. In fact, the
researchers found that Amazon currently has 47 percent market share in that
space, compared with Apple's 32 percent. In August 2010, Amazon had 62 percent
share, while Apple had just 16 percent of the market on its side.
ChangeWave's
survey proves all too well that Amazon's Kindle just doesn't have what it takes
right now to stand up against the iPad juggernaut. Yes, the e-reader might
still be leading the market, and there is always a chance that things will change,
but, based on ChangeWave's data, it's clear that the iPad has been beating the
Kindle in a big way over the past few months. There is every indication that
its success will only continue until, eventually, the iPad overtakes the Kindle's
market lead.
The
iPad is beating the Kindle in impressive fashion. Here's why:
1.
It does more
Let's
face it:
The
iPad does much more than the Kindle. Not only does it allow users to read
books, but it features an App Store, outstanding Web browsing, e-mail support,
and much more. It's a full-fledged computer in a tablet body. Consumers are
responding well to that. The same can't be said for Amazon's Kindle.
2.
It has Apple's name behind it
The
best part about being Apple is that it doesn't have to worry all that much
about consumer reaction to its products. The company has a solid reputation in
the tech space, so when it releases new devices it can be pretty sure that
millions of users will want one. Amazon doesn't have that reputation in the
hardware space, and that seems to be the issue that the company is dealing with
right now.
3.
More folks are satisfied with the iPad
Customer
satisfaction is integral to the success of a tech product. According to
ChangeWave Research, more iPad owners are satisfied with their tablet than Kindle
owners are satisfied with their e-reader. In fact, ChangeWave found that 75
percent of iPad owners are "very satisfied" with the tablet. About 54 percent
of respondents said that they were "very satisfied" with the Kindle. That's a
problem that could cause the Kindle's market share to continue to decline.
4.
More people want it
ChangeWave
also found that the
iPad
will one day
be
the most desired device in the e-reader space. About 42 percent of
respondents in the survey said they plan to buy the iPad in the next 90 days.
In contrast, 33 percent of folks said they want to buy a Kindle in that span.
If those figures hold up, it won't be long before Apple's iPad starts
dominating the e-reader market for good.
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