Battle of the iPad Book Apps: iBooks Versus Kindle

PCMag's Michael Miller offers up a detailed review of both the iBooks app and the Kindle app for the iPad.  The strength of the iBooks app, says Miller, is its search functionality and its support for the more open ePub format.  But, Miller points out that Amazon has a much better selection of books available, and that, together with the Kindle app's ability to sync with multiple devices, gives the Kindle app the edge over iBooks.

Read the full review here.

Apple (AAPL) Is A Long-Term Buy

Apple reports earnings after the close today and just about everyone is expecting blowout numbers.  An onslaught of positive developments from Apple has served as a major catalyst for the stock price over the past few months: from iPad mania to a revamped Macbook Pro line to recent announcements around iPhone OS 4.0 and coming hardware updates to the iPhone 3GS.  That being said, when compared to a basket of “peers,” Apple’s stock price still looks very reasonably valued (see analysis below).

Apple (AAPL)currently has a PE of 20x expected 2010 earnings (based on an average of 40 analysts).  That’s a PEG Ratio (PE to Growth) of 1.1x, compared to the average PEG Ratio of 1.4x on a basket of Apple peers consisting of Google (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Cisco (CSCO), HP (HPQ), and Microsoft (MSFT). Among these peers, only Google has a lower (very slightly) PEG Ratio at 1.0x.

We also think there is a very strong halo effect occurring in which long-term Windows supporters are (will be) switching to Macs based on their extremely positive relationship with other Apple products (iPods, iPhones, and now, iPads). This, coupled with the fact that Apple is currently armed with $25 billion of cash (no debt) and delivers a superb 32% Return on Equity (17% Return on Assets), makes the stock a compelling long-term investment at its current valuation.

Can The iPad Topple The Kindle?

Any time Ken Auletta puts out new thoughts on the media world its an instant must-read.  His "Annals of Communications" column that make far too few apperances in The New Yorker is one of the first things I look for when scanning the table of contents in each week's issue.

In an article titled "Publish or Perish" in this week's issue, Auletta asks "can the iPad topple the Kindle, and save the book business?" Auletta attempts to answer this question in a mere 6,000 words.  I haven't read the article yet, but look for my thoughts tomorrow after I've had chance to digest it.

Tip of the Day:  Ken Auletta's The Highwaymen: Warriors of the Information Superhighway is required reading for anyone interested in an insider's look at the major players (Rupert Murdoch, John Malone, Barry Diller, Bill Gates, etc) who shaped the communications industry at the dawn of the Internet.

Dan Frommer on Why He Ordered an iPad

AlleyInsider's Dan Frommer did a post on why he ordered an iPad.  Its of some value to those of you who are on the fence about ordering an iPad.  He makes some good points except for this one:

I've been thinking about buying a Kindle for a while, to read e-books while I'm at home, but wanted to wait and see if the iPad would be a better all-around device. It is, so I'm going to give it a shot.

Of course the iPad is a better all-around device.  The Kindle is NOT an all around device.  It was designed to do one thing extremely well - provide a great reading experience (primarily for books).  Its not clear what the reading experience will be like on the iPad.  Sure, it offers a color screen, a clear advantage over the Kindle (particulalry for magazine content).  The iPad's screen, however, is backlit, so will not be nearly as easy on the eyes while reading for longer periods of time (i.e., books).  So, if books is your thing, the Kindle may still be the right choice.