Now that the much awaited iPad has finally been launched by Apple, industry watchers have been wondering how Kindle, Amazons most popular  e-reader device will get affected by it.

Steve Jobs, celebrity CEO of Apple claims that the iPad is better for book reading aiming at and naming Kindle specifically.  “We’re gonna stand on their shoulders and go farther” is what Mr. Jobs has to say about Kindle.

The iPad is slated to release in April. First looks suggest it to be the same as an oversize iTouch.  It has a touch screen that is  9.7 inches in size.  It seems like a larger version of the iPhone.

The iPad will allows online features like iBookstore.  This allows the user to download and purchase books, functioning in pretty much the same way as the iTunes store.  Five major publishing houses have already signed up for iBookstore.  These include Macmillan, Penguin, Harper-Collins, Hachette Book Group and Simon & Schuster. Although Random House, the biggest book publisher of the world was absent.  This means that many major titles will not be available at Apple’s e-book store for now at least.

Many e-Book readers will prefer the E-ink display of the Amazon Kindle in comparison to the LED back lit display of the iPad.  This is because it is easier to read for long periods of time since it is eye friendly.  Also, there are no other applications to distract you.  But the kindle does not have a touch screen and is unlike Apple iPad which supports multi-touch.

Another noticeable advantage that iPad has over Kindle is that iBooks allows a reader to flip pages.  It can support videos and other pictures.  This is quite a plus point in comparison to Kindle which is static.  Also, although Kindle allows users to subscribe to newspapers and magazines and has a PDF reader, 3G and a rudimentary web browser the iPad offers much more than an ordinary e-book reader.  The users of iPad can access email, iTunes App store, media players, Safari browser and games. It also has wifi and Bluetooth with 3G available in some models.

But the iPad stands to lose from Kindle owing to the fact that it has a battery life of just 10 hours whereas Kindle works for a week with wireless and for two weeks without it.

The iPad also has a serious flaw and this  is its lack of allowing multi tasking.  For a non-phone device not being able to run non current apps simultaneously seems to be a big limitation which needs to be rectified soon by Apple.

The Kindle is priced at $259 and Kindle DX at $489.  This includes 3G.  The iPad with Wi-fi is for only $499 for 16 GB, 32GB at $599 and 64GB at $699.  With  3G and WiFi  the iPad is priced at $629, $729, $829 for 16, 32 and 64 GB respectively.  You would also need to pay $15 for 250Mb & $30 for unlimited 3G data monthly.

In the midst of all this there are rumors floating that Amazon is exploring possibilities of providing free Kindles to its best customers to push up its sales.  Although the iPad seems promising it is really the consumers who will decide the fate of the Kindle. Hope you’d find this comparison of iPad vs Kindle useful in your buying decisions.