Quote:
Originally Posted by Moejoe
What is most interesting to me is what deals have been struck with publishers and how restrictive those deals are.
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Hmm, good point. Here's my predictions:
1) Apple has learned to be more flexible on pricing - the 99c/track deal generated a lot of bad blood, almost as much as Amazon's $9.99 deal is doing right now. The difference is that Apple, iTunes and the iPod/Phone/Slate franchise is in a much stronger position now than it was in the early 00s and Jobs won't feel the need to enforce uniform pricing to generate demand. Flat pricing for books makes very little sense anyway. So book pricing will be set by the publisher, with Apple taking a flat 30% off the top.
Anyone who sees a worrying similarity to the Net Book Agreement has spotted the demon lurking beneath.
2) If the iSlate takes off and publishers see decent sales through this channel in the next 6-12 months, they'll start to dump the Kindle by delaying Kindle releases relative to iSlate (and even ePub) debuts. The fall-out will be similar to the events described in Revelations 12:7.
Of course, I might be completely wrong, but I reserve the right to smirk if not
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