I admit it. When the iPad launched, I thought its stunning interface and rich features would crush anything else within the market that merely resembled a tablet device – namely the Amazon Kindle as its first victim.
And while I love my iPad, I’ve quickly come to realize that it falls short of my active, outdoor lifestyle. More often than not, the times when I want to use my iPad to access information, read, or use it to navigate is when I am outside – in sunlight. And that’s where the product is at its worse. Not only is it very hard to see the screen outside, but it also doesn’t like the heat and will go into a sort of “protect mode” until it cools down.
I’ve often said there is elegance in simplicity. And, while not nearly as sexy, the Kindle has clearly found its niche. The brilliance behind the product’s latest campaign is that it plays so strongly to the gap that the iPad clearly has: “Easy to read. Even in bright sunlight.”
That’s what happens when a product knows itself (strengths and weaknesses) so well.
