I doubt Apple’s iPad will steal significant market share from Amazon’s Kindle. The iPad is priced at $499 for its 16 gigabyte model with Wi-Fi only. Whereas the Kindle is priced at $489 for its 4 gigabyte model with free Wi-Fi and 3G access. If you want 3G access on the iPad you have to shell out $29.99 per month.

The iPad can’t compete with the Kindle’s battery life either. The Kindle can be used a full week on a single charge with its wireless turned on. Whereas the iPad can only used for 10 hours.

The Kindle appeals to a niche market that isn’t interested in mobile internet and multimedia. The only area where I think Amazon could improve the Kindle on is the how its relationship with its publishers. There are fears that some publishers could refuse to sell their books on the Kindle because Amazon is forcing them to price their books at $9.99 or lower. Also Amazon could win over students if it decided to offer more textbooks on the Kindle.