How does the Kindle respond to the iPad?

Good article on the iPad and Kindle over on Seth Godin’s blog. He presents an interesting strategy for Amazon/Kindle, and it’s close to the open model I’ve talked about on this blog. His idea–Give the Kindle away at a rock bottom price, and then make money selling books.

This strategy has been used for years in the video game industry. Sell the X-box at a loss, then make money on the games. Seth suggests selling the Kindle for $49. Or better yet, buy ten books, get a Kindle free. You might lose money on the hardward, but you’d open yourself up to millions of users looking to buy books.

I have to admit, I’m getting more tempted to buy a Kindle. I’ll likely get one for Christmas. But if Kindle put the price at $49, I’d buy one tomorrow. Heck, I’d buy one right now. And you can bet I’d start buying more books.

Competition is good. Let’s hope Amazon stays in the game.