People don't read anymore - Steve Jobs

[Nate the great]

I found this amusing. It's an interview of iCon Jobs in the NYTimes.

Today he had a wide range of observations on the industry, including the Amazon Kindle book reader, which he said would go nowhere largely because Americans have stopped reading.

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

from:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/0...erland&emc=rss


If people don't read anymore, then why are the Kindle, Reader, and (according to Teleread) Iliad on back order?

[tribble]

well, i assume there are maybe thousands of ereaders sold in the last three month.

Apple alone sold 4 MILLION iphones in about the same time.

So you see the difference from a global players position? It just not enough for them.

[JSWolf]

The iPhone is going to be in trouble very soon. The Nokia N95 will be available in the US sometime soon. And then N95 is a lot better multi-purpose phone then the iPhone can ever hope to be.

[tribble]

The thing that Apple seperates from the rest of all other devices is their ease of use. And there is a big market for those. Unfortunately you run into problems quickly once you want to customize to your very specific needs.

[TadW]

See also here: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19142

Jobs thinks in big numbers. If you create a product, create one that can be sold to the highest number of people.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I found this amusing. It's an interview of iCon Jobs in the NYTimes.



from:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/0...erland&emc=rss


If people don't read anymore, then why are the Kindle, Reader, and (according to Teleread) Iliad on back order?

I do not understand Jobs' point. He is banking on pandering and encouraging an illiterate population? And instead of trying to understand why people do not read and perhaps improve the situation he prefers to keep the poplulation dumbed down?

This issue is a problem at the root of our very culture and soceity and needs addressing. It has for a long time.

I am just confused by his comments.

[brecklundin]

wait I get it...he sees eBooks as a threat down the road to the whole iTunes idea. If people begin reading more where does that leave his cash cow iTunes? And maybe he sees (read prefers to keep) the Apple zealots as a bunch of mind numbed followers who have no interesting in...ewwwwwwww....reading a...a...BOOKS??? gads, how last century!

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

I do not understand Jobs' point. He is banking on pandering and encouraging an illiterate population? And instead of trying to understand why people do not read and perhaps improve the situation he prefers to keep the poplulation dumbed down?

This issue is a problem at the root of our very culture and soceity and needs addressing. It has for a long time.

I am just confused by his comments.

I personally wouldn't put a whole lot of weight in anything from Jobs' mouth when he says "Why would someone want to do that?"

He said that nobody would want to watch video on a tiny iPod screen... about a year before the iPod started being able to play video. So he has been known to misdirect and generally bash anything that isn't currently public knowledge. He says the tablet PC market is doing terribly, and yet we know Apple has been trying to build one they would be willing to sell.

[lcczx]

someone needs, someone meets his needs.