It is about control.
Using paper media the companies have 100% control over production and distribution. Using a standard non-DRM format such as PDF they have 0% control over distribution. Clearly they are looking for the most retrictive scheme that will give them (near) 100% distribution control. Separate app is just another example of that.
Of course, many/most consumers reject these products and stick with paper versions. In the end they simply push people back to paper and keep their own costs higher.
In a way that makes sense. If they loose distribution control in eWorld their revenu can drop as much as 99% as content can be copied and stolen easily. They would prefer to pay the current 40% or whatever percentage loss due to paper printing costs that could be saved in eWorld rather than risk loosing as much as 99% of revenue, which is even worse.
We need a middle ground. Plain PDF is just not good enough for content producers. We need an electronic content vehicle that does have some controls thus forsing us to pay, while at the same time can be used without too much hassle. I guess it will take some time to find this Holy Grail of eContent. Sigh
