Steve Jobs on the "iPod of reading"

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by carandol

There *are* action figures. And collectible card games. And Lego sets. And die-cast cars. And plushy toys. If JKR is being fussy about licensing, I'd hate to think what it would be like if she wasn't! http://www.toywiz.com/lehapo.html

When did the Lego & other stuff come out? After the agreement on the amusement park? I dunno...I know it's OT but just curious is all...I know the stuff from Tonner was out/announced long before that agreement.

[Nate the great]

New Lego stuff came out with each movie.

[brecklundin]

ahhh...never knew that...thanks!

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

Actually, yes there are HP action figures, of a sort...

http://www.tonnerdoll.com/harrypotter.htm

Not exactly action figures but close.

And Legos have sets for the various shows including figures, based on the movies.

Dale

[radleyp]

Brecklundin, you are ascribing to Jobs a standing he does not have. He is of course not the president or in fact a legislator of any kind. He does not set policy, his remarks are those of an executive of a successful computer company.
For you to suggest that because he downplays reading (and I am not sure that he does) more people will stop reading seems to me absurd. It could in fact be the exact opposite, as your reaction shows: it makes you angry that he states a fact - fewer Americans are reading books - and you will campaign to reverse this. As many people on this thread have already concluded, so have I: Jobs is annoyed at the possible success of ereaders and he is reacting by being dismissive, that's about it.

[brecklundin]

no I think he is not living up to the responsibility his position comes with. He is extremely influential because of how popular the iPods, iPhones...have become.

While he is certainly stating a fact he is also not taking the personal initiative to follow that up with a "...but we are going to..." statement. He is in a uniquely powerful position where he CAN influence if people read or not. But he would prefer to charge $20 for updates to iTouch's already purchased but include those same added features and updates come with new devices at the same price.

If Jobs had a vested interest in ebooks then he would have followed the facts up with that "...but we are going to..." statement. He did not because he does not have anything to gain from doing so...

After reading about him and Woz I have a feel for his values...and they are not charitable or benevolent. Sure he could have been making an off hand statement, but in his position within society he is obligated to help make things better. He simply chose not to honor and respect his lot in life and the very people who put him there. He could have done something good, instead he either dropped the ball or he simply was acting out of his wallet.

And yes, it is reasonable that a large (I feel majority) portion of the Apple fans will simply be even more dismissive about reading over being spoon fed from formulaic pablum that offers little to stimulate creativity and imagination.

As for the comparison to being US President...he might have MORE influence on the general public because there are people who actually respect him as a man, valuing his opinions. Beyond that point, it's not my fault as i didn't vote for him.

And that is my take on the issue...

[brecklundin]

OMG...I guess I am offically a zealot now? ahhh...cripes!! hehehehe....

[petermillard]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

OMG...I guess I am offically a zealot now? ahhh...cripes!! hehehehe....

Well, just a little, lol

no I think he is not living up to the responsibility his position comes with... He is in a uniquely powerful position where he CAN influence if people read or not... And yes, it is reasonable that a large (I feel majority) portion of the Apple fans will simply be even more dismissive about reading...

Seriously, you both massively overstate the influence of a man who is, after all, just the chief exec. of a computer and consumer electronics company, and understate (insult?) the intelligence of people who happen to buy that company's product - whatever their reasons.

But he would prefer to charge $20 for updates to iTouch's already purchased but include those same added features and updates come with new devices at the same price.

Sigh. This is because of a relatively obscure US accounting practice - part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (google it) effectively prohibits a publicly traded company from giving away updates that are not simple bug-fixes. The iPod update included 5 applications that weren't originally supplied, plus the firmware update. iPhone already had these apps; it was simply an update, so no charge was made.

Is the update worth the $20 to iPod Touch users? Only if you need it! Nobody's putting a gun to the heads of current owners saying 'you must update' - their iPods will continue to function exactly as they did when they bought them, without the update. As always, the charge seems to have upset far more non-apple users than anyone else!

If Jobs had a vested interest in ebooks then he would have followed the facts up with that "...but we are going to..." statement. He did not because he does not have anything to gain from doing so...

Well, a statement of intent from Apple about entering the eBook market with a reader would certainly give lots of people who are sitting on the fence re. the current readers pause for thought - and send shivers of anticipation down the spines of both consumers and competition alike, though probably for different reasons...

And despite the year-long (not sure if it was, but it felt like it...) media furore surrounding iPhone, Apple don't always give advance warning of upcoming products - they were tight-lipped about MacBook Air before launch last week, weren't they?

Anyway, happy reading - whatever your medium of choice. Pete.

[radleyp]

You are reaching these conclusions in part because you have not read the whole interview, which was about many things pertaining to the computer industry and Apple. Jobs was asked one question about readers and gave this answer. It was a mistake to highlight it as we have done here, since it is now completely blown out of proportion. He is speaking as a CEO and nothing else and his answer makes business sense.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by radleyp

You are reaching these conclusions in part because you have not read the whole interview, which was about many things pertaining to the computer industry and Apple. Jobs was asked one question about readers and gave this answer. It was a mistake to highlight it as we have done here, since it is now completely blown out of proportion. He is speaking as a CEO and nothing else and his answer makes business sense.

Agreed says my conscience. But part of my dreamy self is p....d off. Ever since I've learned of eink, I wished to see an aPple version... and then there is nEwton all over again!

I'm still an aPple fan, whatever decision they take but I'm not one of those zealot ones. I use Windows too! ( 2 pcs and 2 mAcs) And soon Linux. I'm one of those people who like the best of all worlds, after all my ancestors are from 14 different nationalities, how could I do differently?

Still p...d off!

[astra]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

after all my ancestors are from 14 different nationalities, how could I do differently?!

Well done!

[hidari]

Originally Posted by Adrian_Werner

Apple is just lashin out on Amazon (and Google) because they want to compete with them, Apple never liked any competition and Amazon is the first real competitor iTunes ever had. Of course it's not like Amazon will overthrow Apple at most Amazon migh make a small dent in iTunes marketshare, but loosing even 10% of market in 3-4 years would be a big deal for Apple). SO I guess there is some bad blood there


People might cite readership numbers, but the fact is that books market is growing nicely. US publishers saw AFAIR $25billion sales in 2006. And sales grew in every segment. Adult, paperbacks, children etc. So even if less people are reading than before, those that do read more than ever.
The market is there to tap into.
In next 10-15 years we'll see book market transformation similiar to the one music market did in last decade and most likely Amazon will be as big in e-publishing as iTunes is now in e-music. Apple has simply overslept and honestly...catching up to Amazion will be as hard as catching up to iTunes is now.

That about says it all...

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by brecklundin

If Jobs had a vested interest in ebooks then he would have followed the facts up with that "...but we are going to..." statement. He did not because he does not have anything to gain from doing so...

Precisely.

You can be insulted by his dismissive statements about reading, but I have a different take.

Jobs is a CEO. His main and overriding job is to maximize shareholder value. In that. he is very like former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. (Say what you will about Bill and M$'s business practices: he did very well by his shareholders, and that was his job.)

The iPod is phenomenally successful, and has sold many millions. The iPhone is on its way to being very successful The iPod Touch is making promising moves out of the starting gate.

Would an iReader be that successful? I very much doubt it.

Just about everybody listens to music, and the iPod is a device that can be used while doing other things. Music is a background, as well as a foreground activity. So the market for the iPod, and the iTunes service to feed it, is huge.

Everybody makes phone calls, and it's harder and harder to find people who don't have a cell phone. And cell phones are as much fashion statements for a large segment of the market as they are tools. Apple has a deserved reputation for design, and the iPhone is a fashion statement with the best of them. Again, the potential market is huge.

How big is the potential market for a dedicated ebook reader? I'm willing to bet that the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle between them have sold in the tens of thousands. That's nowhere near enough to tempt Apple. I suspect hundreds of thousands of sales would not be enough to tempt Apple.

As a CEO, Jobs has a fiduciary responsibility to his shareholders to invest Apple's corporate dollars where they will generate the highest return. That won't be from ebook readers.

If you interpret Job's statement as meaning "The market for a dedicated ebook reader isn't big enough for us to profitably address", I think you'll be a lot closer to the mark. And from that point of view, he's right: the market isn't big enough. Consider the discussion here about whether Sony and Amazon will do well enough to continue making and supporting the PRS-505 and Kindle.

We'll see, but meanwhile, railing at Jobs is a waste of time. You certainly won't change his mind.
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Dennis

[yvanleterrible]

There are aPple products that have little sale numbers such as aIrport. Yes it is an accessory but still it's aPple way through. There are exceptions but your argument stands. They're going for big bucks. If there hadn't been the iPod/iTunes phenomenon they might be in finantial trouble.
aPple is mostly specialized in niche markets, that is where they truly excell.

But still an iSlate or an iNewton would be cool and well accepted. aPple wouldn't do an ebook only device, a combo of some kind? Hey, a magazine reader would be plenty for me. The iMag ?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

There are aPple products that have little sale numbers such as aIrport. Yes it is an accessory but still it's aPple way through. There are exceptions but your argument stands. They're going for big bucks. If there hadn't been the iPod/iTunes phenomenon they might be in finantial trouble.
aPple is mostly specialized in niche markets, that is where they truly excell.

Yes, but those are big niche markets they're active in, where they can sell a lot of devices.

But still an iSlate or an iNewton would be cool and well accepted. aPple wouldn't do an ebook only device, a combo of some kind? Hey, a magazine reader would be plenty for me. The iMag ?

I can see Apple possibly doing a tablet style device, if they think there's a big enough market. They have an existing distribution infrastructure with iTunes that could theoretically be expanded to other types of content.

My benchmark for things like this is Sony and the Clie line of Palm OS PDAs. The Clie line made money, but they folded it and got out of the market because it didn't make enough money. Sony is a big outfit that needs to sell lots of product at a good margin to produce the ROI they are looking for. Senior management looked at the Clie line and decided they could make a better return on investment elsewhere, so they killed it.

Apple is in a similar position. Someone like Bookeen may be in a better position to field a dedicated reader, because their revenue and profitability requirements to justify doing it and continuing to do it won't be as great, and analysts aren't studying their stock like they do Sony, Amazon, and Apple. If Apple tried to produce a dedicated ebook reader, you can bet the financial types would be saying "Why are you wasting R&D dollars on a limited product like that? Come up with the next iPod!", and Apple's stock price would reflect those questions.
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Dennis