By not competing, Jeff Bezos tells stockholders at Amazon’s annual meeting
In the same survey — fielded only a month or so after the iPad went on sale, Apple’s (AAPL) tablet computer was already in the hands of 16% of the 245 respondents who said they owned an e-reader. Moreover, reading books is only one of a dozen things people are doing with their iPads, from surfing the Web and checking e-mail to running apps and watching videos. How can the Kindle compete? A shareholder put the question to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Bezos had a ready answer: “The Kindle will compete with these LCD devices like the iPad by being a very focused product,” he said. “Serious readers are going to want a purpose-built device, because it’s an important activity for them.” “The Kindle will compete with these LCD devices like the iPad by being a very focused product,” he said. “Serious readers are going to want a purpose-built device, because it’s an important activity for them.” It’s like the difference between a camera built into a cell phone and a stand-alone camera, he said. “If an activity is important, you get dedicated devices.” The black-and-white Kindle may look like an iPad designed by the Amish, as one wag put it, but for reading books it does have many advantages, among them: A color Kindle is some ways off, Bezos said. But at the right price point — maybe $150 — his plain Amish black-and-while Kindle should do just fine. A webcast replay of the 2-hour shareholder meeting is available here. [Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]
Although Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle has the largest share of the U.S. e-reader market — 62%, according to a ChangeWave survey conducted in early May — the iPad is gaining fast.