Overall tablet use in the U.S. has skyrocketed up from 3.4 million devices in Q2-2010 to 13.6 million devices in the same period in 2011, a growth of 303% (see chart below). Just walk up and down the aisle on a plane ride and you’ll see how ubiquitous these tablets—and in particular the iPad—are becoming.
I feel as though we are about to break through to the next frontier of multimedia. The infrastructure is being put in place but we’re not quite there yet. I love the fact that with a tablet you can read and listen to books, watch instant movies and TV shows (and mirror those programs onto your TV), view photos, browse and shop online, email, and a whole host of miscellaneous activities through 3rd party apps. Add to that the fact that the cloud solution for remote data storage is becoming more and more practical and you’ve got a very compelling option for multimedia consumption.
My gripes with the above are the following:
• e-reading is still too expensive relative to paperback and library (new books should cost closer to $5 not $10, and physical purchases should come with a free e-copy)
• Netflix and Amazon Instant Video are missing way too many movies for their streaming format offering, and purchasing movies/shows through iTunes is far too expensive, and renting is too restrictive with its viewing windows.
• The standard Amazon Kindle has excellent screen resolution for reading text but not for viewing photos or video. The iPad has excellent screen resolution for viewing photos or video but not for reading text.
While I don’t yet personally own a tablet device of any kind I believe these general issues discussed above will be resolved soon and I am therefore on the cusp of jumping into the market and changing the way I consume multimedia. Is the $300 savings worth it to go with the Kindle Fire and not the iPad? Here are what I view as the biggest considerations when making that decision:
• The Kindle Fire has a surprisingly small screen (7’’ compared to 9.7’’)
• The Kindle Fire lacks a camera and video camera (not a big deal most of the time unless you are hoping to do video chats)
• A purchase of the Kindle Fire is an implicit commitment to Amazon’s online media store and its cloud storage system. A purchase of the iPad is an implicit commitment to Apple’s online media store and its cloud storage system. Both products have some crossover content but both companies are pushing to get you to fully commit to their online media stores by offering free cloud storage, and potentially instant access to files not physically stored on your device.
For me, I have to wait and see how the cloud systems work out and whether the iPad 3 (supposedly coming in Q1 2012) will have Kindle-like screen resolution for reading.
