iPad What will iPad do for e-books?

[BWhite]

Originally Posted by fugazied

Agreed... Kinda. It's a two way street, many people have been looking at e-readers recently and will be thrilled that the iPad can operate as an e-reader so will buy one.

At the same time, others will simply be buying this device for games, comics, internet, video or so they can use it to read color cookbooks. Those people will suddenly have an e-reader device and may begin to purchase e-books.

What he said. He just described me, a customer in 2010 with a credit card.

I was looking for an eReader in 2010 - but wait! I don't believe Black and White text media is the only thing I am going to want to read in 2011! So instead of a $200 eReader why not take that $200 and use it as part of the payment on a device which does more for 2010 and 2011?

I own a PSP 1000, which in 2009 Sony put a Comics Reader on. I have no need for Comics but the direction that media in general is heading towards is pretty clear. Your media will come to you over the air, it will have color and graphics, some of it will be periodical, and oh - some of it will be text.

Then Apple comes out with the iPad. I have no Apple products right now (except for QuickTime) but the iPad works for me.

[gravescp]

I have a 1st generation Kindle, and I love it. The entire time I have had it I have tried to grow it into a work device. As a technical worker I carry (not kidding) forty pounds of manuals with me as I travel around the country. I have tried to work with document readers on my laptop, my iphone, and my kindle to find a way to manage them and use them. I think Apple may have solved that problem with this product.

I am certain that the ebook application will allow other .epub documents, and the iphone OS (which the iPad is running) already has a native PDF viewer, if not the pages application demoed at the keynote will suffice until a better one comes along. That being said this does not replace my kindle. 10" is too big. I do the majority of my reading in bed, and I sure I will find it hard to bring this device with me to curl up with like my small Kindle.

Will the iPad open up ebooks? Absolutely, it will open it up for those documents that are not currently well supported. The Textbook, Newspaper, magazine, and happily my technical manuals. This growth is a good thing, books are like pictures in how they are enjoyed. I am sure they will slowly change from paper to digital just like film moved to digital, however, I it will take a very long time.

This is a good thing

[fizzwinkus]

Originally Posted by kjk

Hey, I don't see AppleTV in there!

people may laugh at the apple tv, but it serves a critical function. it gives you the option of playing anything you have in itunes on the tv. if you know your itunes movies/tv shows can be played on your tv, not just your computer, you're more likely to buy movies/tv shows for your iphone.

[astra]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

I think e-ink screens will be obsoleted within a year (unless we get color and then only if it's implemented well).

If I live that long I will remind you about it

[astra]

Originally Posted by kjk

'

Do you think it is possible for you to actually post something without being so insulting to others? I mean, seriously, is it even possible?

Originally Posted by hidari
I predict that Mr. Jobs will sell lots of tablets to people who won't use them much but they will have "a cool' device by Crapple, thus they will be cool and cutting edge.

I happen to agree with hidari.
Probably 1/3 of sales could be attributed to this particular group.

I believe Shaggy and Connallmac summed it up:

I'm not so sure about that. Most people who are in the market for an epaper device specifically aren't interested in LCD. There are already notebook/laptop alternatives to a larger eReader. They chose the eReader because of the display technology. The iPad doesn't change any of that.

Don't forget the battery life issue. We all know that the listed spec of 10 hours is at best an optimistic stretch.

That's it. Nothing to add.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by RedHeadPeter

The newspaper/magazine market is interesting. There is a war underway already between those newspapers (like all those owned by Rupert Murdoch) who want to charge for e-access and others (like the Guardian group in the UK) who don't and (in a 3rd camp) those like the BBC who aren't a newspaper but still provide enormous amounts of news and journalism through their licence-fee funded operations.

Mag and newspaper publishers have also been frustrated by the current state of e-book reading devices (especially lack of color), and how badly (in their opinion) it presented their product. They have been screaming for better HW for their magazines, and now that a device is out there, they have something to aim for. Expect a number of magazines to create subscription-based apps for their products, and possibly remove most of the online magazine content to encourage users to subscribe to the apps.

Originally Posted by RedHeadPeter

It is, though, just an iPod on steroids. I want a device that size (but preferably 16:9) that is a proper computer. But it would have to be significantly better than my netbook to make it worthwhile.

An iPod on steroids it is, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are plenty of people who need no more for their daily use than a device like this. And sure, some will not want it because it's not pocketable... but possibly as many others will want it, for exactly the same reason. (Hey, don't know how you're gonna carry it around? I think any woman can tell you... ) Consider that, and look at how well iPod Touch has done in the market, and I think there's no doubt iPad will do well.

As far as e-books, I agree with others that, once people have these devices, some of them will discover they can now read e-books, and so will try it, possibly for the first time. Some (hopefully many) of those will like the experience, and keep it up. I don't expect the e-book industry to impact iPad sales one way or the other, but I do expect iPad owners to grow the number of e-book reading consumers.

[eGeezer]

I heartily agree with all 186 posts before me: No one knows the answer, but it is fun trying to be the first to get it right.

I particularly like the suggestion that the thread name could be "what can ebooks do for the iPad?" Either one is appropriate. I don't think either will have any significant impact on the other. I doubt (echo in here, cuz I'm not the first to say any of this) that ebooks will be the primary draw for the majority of iPad purchasers., but I do think a few more folk will learn about ebooks thru iBook hype.

I am excited, tho, to see how things stand in, say, 6 months.

I think the iPad will induce less sleep than the nook did after the waiting period, but I don't expect the iPad will drive Apple's revenues significantly as the previous iGadgets have. It really doesn't appear to be anything actually NEW -- just a lot of old ideas packaged in a pretty new priority wrapper. For the most part, it is the wrapper most people will be buying -- after which they will decide what things inside it will be useful.

[DawnFalcon]

Never mind

[flashgordonv]

I admit that I am a confirmed technophile. I have had innumerable mobile phones over the years always searching for the perfect phone for me. I have also been an ebook reader since the days of the Franklin eBook reader and have also been immersed in the perfect eBook reader search. Currently I have three different Sony readers - 500, 505 and 700 - and an iRex. None of these is for me the perfect reader, (the 505 is the best of the batch but the ereader PC software is still such unfriendly rubbish), but the search goes on.

The thing about eBooks is that until very recently the process of acquiring and reading eBooks has never been very simple and straightforward. I have a variety of programs on my PC (mainly sourced from or through this forum) for dealing with the various ebooks I own that I want to get onto my readers, so I have had to have means of removing DRM, changing format etc - you all do this.

Some time ago my wife expressed an interest in getting an eReader, attracted by the concept of having all her reading material on the one small device but after we explored the options, the numerous different readers which supported only certain DRM schemes, the pathetic handling of PDFs etc, she flagged it away as it was just too complicated for her. She was looking for simple, easy trouble free. And at the time it didn't really exist.

Now that is different. I think the iPad is going to be the device that makes it simple for people to acquire and read ebooks. In the same way that Apple made buying music simple, (and my wife is a regular purchaser of iTunes music because it is easy), I believe Apple and the iPad will simplify the process for non technical people to buy and read eBooks.

Now, that will not satisfy the bulk of people on this forum, because forumites tend to be both focused on the best ebook reading experience, as well as being very capable of doing whatever manipulation is necessary to allow them to read their books on the reader of their choice in the format of their choice.

But people like my wife and even my mother-in-law, will find the iPad reading and book acquisition process simple and easy to cope with, because lets face it, Apple is really good at making it easy for the neophyte. And I predict for these people who are not technical in the eBook sense, iPad will open up the eBook world and attract shedloads more people into the eBook experience than would ever be accomplished with the fragmented and technically difficult process we currently go through.

I can definitely see my wife with an iPad and an Apple Bookstore account and I can see her using it extensively.

Just my 2c worth.

[Daithi]

Well, it looks like the first thing the iPad has done for eBooks is cause their price to rise from $9.99 to $14.99. Amazon just announced that they have caved to Macmillan's demands to use Apple's pricing structure. Thank you crApple

[Ervserver]

eventually every ebook will have the Apple symbol on them

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Mag and newspaper publishers have also been frustrated by the current state of e-book reading devices (especially lack of color), and how badly (in their opinion) it presented their product. They have been screaming for better HW for their magazines, and now that a device is out there, they have something to aim for. Expect a number of magazines to create subscription-based apps for their products, and possibly remove most of the online magazine content to encourage users to subscribe to the apps.



An iPod on steroids it is, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are plenty of people who need no more for their daily use than a device like this. And sure, some will not want it because it's not pocketable... but possibly as many others will want it, for exactly the same reason. (Hey, don't know how you're gonna carry it around? I think any woman can tell you... ) Consider that, and look at how well iPod Touch has done in the market, and I think there's no doubt iPad will do well.

As far as e-books, I agree with others that, once people use these devices, some of them will discover they can now read e-books, and so will try it, possibly for the first time. Some (hopefully many) of those will like the experience, and keep it up. I don't expect the e-book industry to impact iPad sales one way or the other, but I do expect iPad owners to grow the number of e-book reading consumers.

The only thing Apple brings to the tablet game that wasn't there before is the advanced marketing techniques.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

The only thing Apple brings to the tablet game that wasn't there before is the advanced marketing techniques.

Well... if their "advanced marketing techniques" can convince consumers to buy digital magazine subscriptions and read them on the iPad...

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Mag and newspaper publishers have also been frustrated by the current state of e-book reading devices (especially lack of color), and how badly (in their opinion) it presented their product. They have been screaming for better HW for their magazines, and now that a device is out there, they have something to aim for. Expect a number of magazines to create subscription-based apps for their products, and possibly remove most of the online magazine content to encourage users to subscribe to the apps.



An iPod on steroids it is, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are plenty of people who need no more for their daily use than a device like this. And sure, some will not want it because it's not pocketable... but possibly as many others will want it, for exactly the same reason. (Hey, don't know how you're gonna carry it around? I think any woman can tell you... ) Consider that, and look at how well iPod Touch has done in the market, and I think there's no doubt iPad will do well.

As far as e-books, I agree with others that, once people use these devices, some of them will discover they can now read e-books, and so will try it, possibly for the first time. Some (hopefully many) of those will like the experience, and keep it up. I don't expect the e-book industry to impact iPad sales one way or the other, but I do expect iPad owners to grow the number of e-book reading consumers.

The only thing Apple brings to the tablet game that wasn't there before is the advanced marketing techniques.

[DD1509]

Originally Posted by fugazied

Very simply it will do a couple of things...
- Put an e-reader device into the hands of more people
- Give magazine publishers a nice color platform for their magazines
- Get casual magazine readers the perfect device. They will no longer have to buy magazines! That could be a game changer.
- Put pressure on ebook prices, with a new HUGE competitor in the market place.

Probably the wrong forum for me to add this response. But I will anyway...No way magazines will be free. I think the next big move for publishing other than books is to start making revenue away from the web and not giving much of anything for free.

The music and movie guys started the whole DRM mess. Now the newspaper publishers (Murdoch already said it) that they don't want their news items to be free on all of the search engines much longer. Look for more costs added to get and read newspapers. They know this is their saving grace as printed consumption continues to free-fall.

Magazine guys will use this as well. No more freebies on the web. Maybe some tickler stuff in the near future but they want the profits without the costs of printing , distributing and selling.

Jobs already screwed the book reader with his new pricing scheme. Had such an immediate impact that Amazon had to belly up to McMillian's new price model. Amazon tried to take them off for awhile but that didn't work and had to eat crow and now will sell books at a significant increase to all of us.

Duck - because Apple's pricing model greatly favors the publisher. And unless Jobs and Co. figure something out differently in the future, the magazine and newspaper guys are salivating for the opportunity to sell there wares electronically at a hefty price and save all of the costs of printing, distribution, old issues and selling costs.