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The much anticipated Apple tablet computer has finally been revealed. It's going to be called the iPad, which took some industry watchers by surprise, and it's received a mixed reception thus far. That's not too surprising - where Apple is concerned there always seems to be a fair bit of polarisation - and that's certainly what's in evidence at the moment.

It seems to be the opinion of a fair number of reviewers that the iPad is no more than an outsize iPod Touch. An approximately equal number are very much more in favor of the device and are forecasting that it will sound the death knell for notebooks, netbooks and, of course, the Amazon Kindle reader. The true test will come in March, when the iPad starts shipping. On the face of it, it looks like another huge success for Apple seems the most probable outcome.

At the moment, the most commonly drawn comparison seems to be with the Amazon Kindle e-book reader. The two devices are very different - so it's not necessarily a sensible comparison to draw. However, the comparison is pretty much inevitable considering that the Kindle reader has been the hot "must have" gadget on the market for the last few months and was itself often referred to as the iPod of books.

Of course, the Kindle is a specialised device. It performs its primary function - allowing users to read books - very well and has a few supplementary functions, a basic web browser, a dictionary, receipt of newspapers and magazines etc., which it performs, quite frankly, less well. The iPad, on the other hand, is an extremely versatile device which performs many different functions. Unlike the Kindle it has a color display, which features touch screen control functionality and incorporates an accelerometer. It is therefore a great web browser, good for watching video, an mp3 player, an e-book reader and all of the huge library of "apps" developed for the iPod Touch will function on it. Expect to see some pretty radical games appearing soon.

So - should Amazon be concerned about the iPad? Is it going to kill the Kindle? Actually, it seems unlikely. In spite of all the hype there is not only a difference in the price of the devices but a different pricing model is being used for each one. The entry level iPad may have a selling price which, at $ 499, is just $ 10 higher than the Kindle DX, but it doesn't include 3G - that costs more. There is also a monthly connection charge - $ 15 per month, which could rise to $ 30 depending on how much stuff you download on a monthly basis. The Kindle has 3G included and there's no ongoing monthly fee. Of course, it's quite likely that the launch of the iPad may "encourage" Amazon to drop the DX ticket price - just as they did with the Kindle 2.0 last year. However, that was always on the cards. It was more a question of when rather than if.

One of the popular apps that will be used on the new iPad will almost certainly be the "Kindle app" which allows iPad users to read Kindle books. From Amazon's perspective, it could be regarded as a good opportunity to expand the size of the Kindle book market. Apple will have its own book store, which might generate some future price competition. End users will benefit.

It's also worth remembering that many prospective buyers will be visiting Amazon's website when they come to place their iPad order in March. It'll probably be a good month for both Amazon and Apple.

So, Amazon have a potential increase in the size of the market for Kindle books. It will also do very well in its capacity as a merchant retailing the iPad. The Kindle DX will probably see a downward price adjustment (which was going to happen anyway) but they will continue to sell well. It really just underscores how well suited Amazon's business model is to selling electronics and books (e-books).

Learn more about the Amazon Kindle and cast your eye over the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you customise your reader.

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