Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

Please note that this is a preliminary Kindle DX vs Asus 950 comparison.

While the Kindle DX is lying on my desk 1 foot away the DR 950 is presumably being made in a factory in China as you read this and its arrival date in the US is still unknown. Additionally, we might have a Kindle DX 2 by the time the Asus arrives.

It is nonetheless worth comparing them because the latter part of this post will argue that Asus are a much more dangerous competitor to dedicated eReaders (like the Kindle) than the iPad.

Kindle DX vs Asus 950 – Asus might have these advantages

Here are the areas where the Asus DR 950 will probably outshine the Kindle DX -

1. It has a touch screen. While the screen is smaller at 9″ it is a touchscreen and it has a 1024 by 758 resolution. 
2. It’ll have handwriting recognition. That means it’ll be usable as an electronic notebook/journal.
3. It’ll support Chinese and Japanese.
4. It’ll weigh just 370 grams. That’s 13.05 ounces. The Kindle DX weighs 18.9 ounces.
5. It’ll have WiFi and HSDPA (or perhaps WiMax). AT&T supports HSDPA and T-Mobile is deploying it.
6. It’ll support translation. Something missing from the Kindle DX.
7. It also has text to speech in more languages (Kindle supports just English) – Asus uses the SVOX engine to support 26 languages.
8. There’s no physical keyboard so it’s more compact at 222 mm by 161 mm by 9 mm.
9. It’ll support ePub. It also supports PDF, txt, Audible, MP3, html and 4 image formats – JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP.
10. The home screen shows time, date, and a quote by default. It also shows what book you were last reading and the option to continue it. 
11. The home page also shows a link to Applications so it presumably supports apps.

It’s a well-rounded offering and a definite threat.

Kindle DX vs Asus 950 – Kindle DX might have these advantages

Here are the areas the Kindle DX will probably have an advantage -

1. The Kindle Store has over 450,000 books and the best prices (for Agency Model Publishers it has the same price as everyone else, for other publishers it has better prices). 
2. Kindle uses eInk which is a proven ePaper technology. Asus will use Sipix and we have no idea how good it’ll be.
3. The screen is a little bigger (9.7″ vs 9″) and the resolution is a bit better (1200 by 824 pixels vs 1024 by 758).
4. HSDPA 3G connection that’s free and includes Wikipedia access and basic Internet Browser. Asus probably won’t have free Internet browsing though the browser looks to be better.
5. Works in over 100 countries though book downloads outside the US cost $2 per download (for users who have US as their home country).
6. Kindle has apps for iPhone, PC, Mac, Blackberry, and iPad. Your notes and position in a book are synced across all devices. 
7. Kindles are a known quantity and Amazon’s experience with the first Kindle played into making the Kindle DX a more polished product. Kindles also have good resale value.
8. The Kindle App Store is going to debut sometime in the next few months.

Writing this list highlights three things -

1. The Kindle platform is formidable – support across various devices, the Kindle Store, Whispernet, and syncing across devices are all features that are hard to match.
2. Amazon need to release Kindle DX 2 and catch up with features like touch and handwriting recognition. Perhaps even unbreakable screens.
3. The price of the Kindle DX needs to come down and Kindle DX 2 needs to be priced competitively.

Asus as the most dangerous Kindle competitor

Sampan, a New England publication, has an article on Asus founder and chairman Jonney Shih and there were two parts that really stood out -

When Asus notebook computers finally hit the shelves in Taiwanese stores, only three units were sold during the first month, much to Shih’s surprise.

It’s amazing to think that Asus stayed in the notebook market after that and ended up actually creating the entire netbook market.

The other part is Asus’ Silver Leopard Strategy which they actually don’t seem to be using to attack the eReader market -

 As Asus grew and decided to tap into the notebook computer market in the late 1990s, it was already considered a late comer to the game.

This time around, Asus employed the “Silver Leopard strategy,”setting apart its notebook through pursuing architectural, system and design excellence.

How will Asus attack the eReader market?

Asus seem to be trying a different strategy from their Silver Leopard Strategy for the eReader market -

1. The first pillar seems to be new value-add features. For Asus 950 it includes touchscreen, handwriting recognition, support for Chinese and Japanese, and text to speech in 26 languages.
2. The second pillar seems to be price. The various prices quoted so far seem to almost be too low. We’ll have to see what the prices are when the DR 950 is launched in America. 
3. The third pillar seems to be openness. The Apps, support for ePub, the WiFi, and the more functional Browser seem to indicate this.

It’s a very strong strategy and very dangerous.

Apple, when they position the iPad as an eReader, have a completely different strategy -

1. Multiple Purposes – We do more than just read.
2. Making You Feel and Look Good – We’re exclusive and make you look cool and sexy. That, unfortunately, rules out competing on price.
3. Looking and Feeling Good – We’re very pretty and flashy. Look, we have animated page turns, and Winnie the Pooh in color.

Everyone will have a different opinion of who’s more dangerous – Apple or Asus. However, Apple are focused on people who can afford $500 or more and that leaves out the majority of people. They also aren’t making any dedicated eReaders and are closed enough to scare away a lot of people.

Asus are specifically going after the dedicated eReader market and competing on price. They also have a lot of manufacturing and motherboard expertise and it puts them in position to be a huge threat.

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