Apple To Launch a Kindle Killer?

The rumors are back! A few days ago, a lot of blogs started picking up a rumor about Apple joining forces with Verizon to get the iPhone in more hands. But now a lot of these blogs are backtracking and discussing Apple’s new product which seems to be a mediapad. So what is a mediapad anyway? It’s an entertainment pad that comes with a larger screen than Kindle and has more entertainment options. It will probably be more portable than Amazon Kindle and will have access to the app store on iTunes.

This is a rumor at this point but Steve Jobs has been attacking the Kindle and netbooks for a while now. That probably means Apple is thinking about a hybrid device somewhere between the two. While Apple realizes that reading books on an iPhone is not exactly pleasant, it is not known for making one trick pony devices. That means this mediapad will be more than just an ebook reader.

Should Amazon be worried? Not necessarily. While it’d be fun to see Apple go head to head with Amazon for a piece of the e-book market, it’s more likely that Apple is trying to fill the gaps that exist in its product offerings. In other words, Apple won’t be making an e-book reader per se. Apple’s mediapad could challenge the Kindle but we just don’t know enough about it to see how it will stack up against the Kindle. I wouldn’t mind taking a chance on a device that is built upon Apple’s amazing application platform, but can Apple keep its price low?

Your take: will Apple’s rumored mediapad challenge Amazon Kindle?