I was recently reading an article in the Guardian that warned those expecting 2010 to be the year of the Kindle eReader should keep their eyes on Apple and the much hyped unveiling of its tablet device.

I’ve kept an attentive eye on the Kindle hysteria for some time now – partly down to a love of technology and partly because working in PR means I need to know where our client’s target audiences are consuming their news. While I agree that being afraid of Apple is a wise move (iPod and iPhone being reasons enough) I still refuse to accept that the Kindle and other eReaders (Sony Reader and Nook to name just two) are going to change how we consume the printed word.

The evidence supporting Kindle-mania got a boost at the end of 2009 as Amazon announced that its eReader was the ‘most gifted’ product in its inventory, and sales of eBooks exceeded those of physical copies from their site on Christmas day. Fancy statistics indeed, although quite what the term ‘most gifted’ means I’m not sure, but I suspect it doesn’t mean the most purchased. As for selling more digital than physical books, that’s also a statistic that appears less impressive the more you look at it. To begin with the idea that people will want to go online to buy physical books on Christmas day seems a tad rude to me (haven’t they enough presents as it is), but if they have just received a Kindle they will want to download a book ASAP.

I could list my reasons for thinking the Kindle will go the same way as the Minidisc until my fingers go sore. The crux of my argument is that I don’t believe there are enough reasons to buy the device – especially one that means from now on I can only buy books from Amazon, thanks to their use of digital rights management (DRM).

I should confess that I was reading the aforementioned article using The Guardian’s iPhone application and this is why despite being anti-kindle I believe a growth sector in 2010 will be in mobile, in views if not profit. This won’t apply to all newspapers and bearing in mind The Guardian’s audience it is obvious why it was the first national paper to launch a paid for app (Trinity Mirror are next).

While Amazon are focused on using the Kindle to sell books, magazine and newspaper subscriptions are also part of the plan and it is this area I see Amazon having little success in. Using smart phones to gather news has so many advantages over the Kindle so I fail to see how the device will be able to compete in this area.

Here are my top 5 reasons to choose a smart phone over an eReader:

Size: Agreed, the Kindle has a larger screen than any smart phone, but do I want to carry something that size (and value) around with me? My iPhone sits in my pocket and the screen is large enough to read the news.

Colour: Have you seen a newspaper on the Kindle? It looks drab and grey. While the e-ink technology is an impressive innovation, its lack of colour makes it appear dated. The Guardian’s app includes the same strong images you will find online and even loads its galleries up to make the most of the iPhone screen.

Integration: The Kindle displays words and images – that’s it. I can get video and audio on my iPhone not to mention the rest of the internet. 

Other applications: If you don’t want to pay for The Guardian’s application or even view newspapers’ websites there are great applications like Instapaper which allow you to read content offline and a wealth of feed readers that constantly update your reader with the latest news.

Cost: There are many eReader applications for the iPhone, Blackberry and other smartphones (some free) that allow you to use your smart phone as a budget eReader. There is even a free Amazon Kindle application!

What are your thoughts? Will 2010 be the year of the Kindle or will mobile rule?