iPad What will iPad do for e-books?

[BWhite]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

OK, but why would you pay for an electronic version of a magazine, when you're walking around with a fully functional web browser, and can access the periodical content -- and competing content, like blogs -- for free?

It may be easier to read periodical content on an iPad, but I'm not convinced that a lot of people are going to pay extra for the privilege -- or at least, not enough to "save" the industry.

There were articles on the web before the iPad came out that some of that free periodical content MAY be drying up in the future. Specifically the articles were talking about the New York Times and when contacted the NYT representative dodged the question. This was on engadget or gizmodo.

I intend to purchase an iPad. Once that is in my possession I intend to subscribe to New York Times. The goal is to use the New York Times 'reader' software they have (uses Adobe AIR technology - whatever that is); hopefully that NYT Reader will be up and working for the iPad. The NYT presentation at the Apple Event made use of this Reader software.

Anyway the history of the New York Times has been to pull some content off the web, put it back on, etc - I really do not know where the NYT is at today (whether 100% of the print edition is available free online or not).

Going to go with those here on the Forums who point out Apple gets most of its revenue
http://gizmodo.com/5457420/apple-the-iphone-company
from hardware. Which is to say I am not really seeing Steve's minions declaring, "Hi. Remember that Barnes and Noble Application we carried and let you read your Barnes and Noble eBooks on your iPhone - well we removed it for our new Multimedia Device. Just not a good fit."

No. I really can't see a hardware company removing something they have already approved, which is not hardware, so as to lower the functionality of their new hardware release. You tend to scare off customers for your $700 multimedia hardware pulling stunts like that.

Some of the postings, when combined on this forum, are a bit schizophrenic - the claim the iPad is not a good eReader device and is not really intended to be such, then the claim that Apple wants the eBook market all to themselves with restrictive DRM. I am in the camp the Apple DRM exists right now to support the iBookStore launch to support the hardware device. This to give Apple customers who do not want a headache from traipsing through the DRM/format eBook minefield (and all of you know what a confusing mess that is right now).

Do not really understand where some of you are coming from stating the Apple is a heavy device. It is one and a half pounds. I weighed a physical copy of the Complete Works of Shakespeare last night and it came in at almost three times the weight.

[BWhite]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

This is a problem for Apple. If they allow readers for ADE-ePub or AZW/MOBI, then they're going to slash - dramatically - the market for iBooks. Very few readers are going to put up with Apple's own DRM...

Again, my bet is disallowing other people's apps. They've proven quite unresponsive to criticism about this sort of thing in the past...


kjk - That's precisely it. Heck, in the UK Play.com started selling DRM-free MP3's, and Apple rushed through it's UK agreement in response (indeed, it actually broke the UK store with a bad update it had to pull and put back up a day later, fixed).

My own bet is that Apple the hardware company cares very little for the long term viability of iBooks.
http://gizmodo.com/5457420/apple-the-iphone-company

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by m-reader

Maybe in the US. iBooks is only available in US of A ... Fail for me.
It will not spell the end of e-ink screens (IMO) so long as it's backlit and it has battery life <10 hrs.

Among other features that iPad doesn't have:

1. iBooks is initially US-only
2. No built-in camera
3. No USB ports
4. No memory card read
5. Keyboard dock sold separately
6. No multi-tasking
7. No Adobe Flash support
8. Can only run Apple-sanctioned apps
9. Can only access iTunes videos and music
10. Lacks HDMI port
11. Screen is 4:3 aspect ratio, not 16:9 widescreen

12. No full GPS support

And when the Kindle DX came out, it could do even less. Still does less now.

Originally Posted by John Bailey

Nothing.

It's a netbook with a slower processor and no keyboard.

It's no netbook.

• Netbooks run full a OS. The iPad runs a stripped down version of the Mac OS that only allows for Safari-based apps to run.
• Netbooks have useful ports (USB, flash card reader, monitor port), I didn't notice any of these on the iPad. Forget about using iPad for presentations unless Apple sells an expensive add-on.
• Netbooks don't restrict which apps you install, the iPad allows only Apple approved apps.
• Netbooks can run multiple apps similtaneously, the iPad can't.
• Netbooks usually have a webcam, I didn't notice one on the iPad.
• Netbooks can be used by professionals to get their jobs done, I serious doubt the iPad will be very useful at the office or home office.
• Netbooks can exchange universal file types with other computers, but don't expect a true file system with the iPad.
• Netbooks are full blown computers, iPads are just larger iPod touches that look pretty.

[John Bailey]

Originally Posted by DD1509

Are you kidding? It is not about hardware. The question was what will it do for eBook pricing and availability.

And I still say .. Nothing..

Hardware defines what the software can do. The iPhone OS may very well be cut to the bone, but unless computers have changed a great deal, you still need to have a given amount of power to do a given amount of work in a given amount of time. So the single application that this device can run will be limited to what power is available. Plenty of oomph for an e-book reader(My Cybook only has a 400Mhz processor), but not so much for a word processor or for opening a graphics heavy PDF or whatever.

It will do a great things. It will add a huge buying force for books in another store. It will open more doors for eBooks, acceptance, standardization and will create more competition!!!

And end world hunger and fix global warming.. and make all right with the world. Sorry.. I don't swallow it. How will it add huge buying force when every book will more than likely come from the Apple iTunes store? A subset of already available books that are easily bought elsewhere.

PLUS it will single-handedly bring more users to ebooks than are here now.

Would these be the e-book users that balk at paying $200 for an e-book reader? In which case they will certainly be forming lines around the block for one two and a half times the price. And paying for PD books in app form.. Hell.. I bet they will all buy three. And the case and the keyboard,and half a dozen docking stations, and the USB dongle and the SD card dongle, and the lunch box.

This device is going to sell millions!! And will likely sell many millions of ebooks. More authors and publishers will be forced to include their works as eBooks.

No doubt. But millions are not really that big any more. And of those millions, how many will use it mostly as a video watching device or a web surfing device? It might get the text book mob to finally shut up about e-ink being rubbish, but if the video I saw today is anything to go by, the page turn animation takes about as much time as the screen blanking update on my Cybook.

As I mentioned in another post you will likely see e-Ink go away. It won't be very fast but unless e-ink and the current eReader manufacturers can drive the prices down to the magic sub-$100 category, the color and backlighting is going to be very hard stay away from.

I thought that was supposed to be PixelQi.. The great e-ink killer from the last few months? And all the other new and yet to be released technologies that were the death of the e-ink reader.

Slight flaw with your prediction.. Despite the iPod being available for ten years or so, lots of other players are freely available on the market. Some have little LCD non backlit displays, some are memory stick shaped, some have video, some even surf the web. iProducts have not, despite the assurances of Apple fans, taken over.

You may very well be wetting your self in anticipation of a colour device, but to be perfectly honest, I'm not planning to buy one for at least another three years. At which time, I'll go for another non backlit device if at all possible. And I think there are enough like minded people to keep e-book readers selling well enough to make a profit.

You should also guess that within 1 year from today there will be at least 6-12 more color tablets hit the market and then the prices will fall. Most of the tablet people will read some books on it even if the main draw is web and other media.

Oh I'm not going to guess. Because I already know. There are quite a few ARM based sub-netbooks on the horizon. I'll be watching very closely. I'm hoping someone brings out at least one with a 7 inch wide screen clamshell design. Just right for replacing my PDA. With a custom Linux OS and a nice little community around it. And I very much doubt any will have e-ink. Colour or not.

If they are smart, many will be tablets. this is where the Linux netbooks went wrong. No imagination in the form factor design,so people expected little laptops, and expected the little laptops to run Windows. But these sub-netbooks, no matter the form factor, will be much cheaper and possibly faster than Apple's over priced sales device. With any luck, it might even give Adobe the nudge to port it's e-book software to Linux.

What they will be very likely to be is a quarter the price of the iPad. And will sell just about everywhere as cheap portable computers that can do useful stuff as well as play Youtube and other flash video streaming sites, and have removable storage. Some with wifi, some with 3G. It's all good.

It is so NOT about hardware or feeds-and-speeds.

No.. You are absolutely right. It's about marketing and shiny things and stupid people who buy a brand instead of a device. Nike have been sucking money from them for years.

But it's also about being fit for purpose. And I don't want to read my novels on a backlit screen, and I certainly don't want to spend nearly £500 for one.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by deltop

http://blog.kobobooks.com/

Kobo obviously isn't iBooks, but they seem pretty confident they'll have an app for iPad. Either they know they'll be allowed on the platform or it hasn't occured to them Apple might not allow other ebook apps.

.

Don't forget that there is already the txtr app that uses Adobe's DRM.

[kaas]

Actually, according to Adobe (http://blogs.adobe.com/flashplatform...oken_link.html) the ipad will use a non adobe epub drm! Thus it is to be expected that other applications which allow the reading of adobe epub will be removed...

an excerpt:

"[...]Unlike many other ebook readers using the ePub file format, consumers will not be able to access ePub content with Apple's DRM technology on devices made by other manufacturers.[...]"

cheers,

kaas

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by jswinden

[*]Netbooks are full blown computers,

I wouldn't say full blown. Their gimped computers, but have a full OS.

The lack of HD video--or decent video at all on most Netbooks--keeps them from being a full-blown computer/laptop. Along with other power deficiencies.

At least the iPad can do HD video, 3D games etc. Which is a lot of what I'd want to use a personal internet/multimedia machine like a netbook or tablet for.

I'll always have a laptop provided by my work for my real computing needs at home. Just need something else for reading, video watching etc. to save wear and tear, threat of viruses etc. on the work laptop.

[deltop]

Originally Posted by kaas

Actually, according to Adobe (http://blogs.adobe.com/flashplatform...oken_link.html) the ipad will use a non adobe epub drm! Thus it is to be expected that other applications which allow the reading of adobe epub will be removed...

an excerpt:

"[...]Unlike many other ebook readers using the ePub file format, consumers will not be able to access ePub content with Apple's DRM technology on devices made by other manufacturers.[...]"

cheers,

kaas

Well that depends entirely on Apple. They've been alot less strict recently when it comes to apps, they've also had some bad publicy on more than one occasion when it comes to app approval. People know about the kindle on iPhone app and will be expecting it on the iPad.

I also don't think they'll be expecting to pull in much money at all with eBooks. Music and video will continue to be the main focus I think with support for magazines and books thrown in to keep the publishers interested incase the world finally does go print free at some point

So who knows. Personally I'd settle for being able to read drm free epubs (I always strip the drm) in the iBook app but we don't even know if this is possible. It's just a waiting game atm to find out.

[DawnFalcon]

Never mind

[BWhite]

Originally Posted by John Bailey

No.. You are absolutely right. It's about marketing and shiny things and stupid people who buy a brand instead of a device. Nike have been sucking money from them for years.

Okay, going to modify my prediction for iPad versus eBooks.

Though said in jest I think John is correct - the marketing and the shiny thing (the iPad) WILL sell and it will open up new business opportunities for consumption of text media on devices that are bigger than an iPhone, have more functionality than a Kindle, are not quite a Netbook.

So what the iPad does is connect to the "cloud" (hate that term) and has the POTENTIAL to burrow a shortened path from the publisher to the reader. So my prediction is that eBooks (and books) will change over time once these devices become more common:
o authors will contact their publisher(s) and will hand over shortened manuscripts (a book like the 17 chapter Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will become a 6 chapter book)
o authors won't take six months to a year to write a book - they will be expected to turn around the next 'book' in a series in two to three months
o publishers will have a stable of artists who crank out colored art to be included in these electronic-only, shortened 'books'.

So not only will you see immediate release of new 'books' for these devices you will not even see the book anywhere near a physical press.

Reasoning:
You have already seen it happen with video rental stories (direct to DVD movies) and it has already happened with video games ('snackable' category of video games).


So the prediction is...
more electronic books, of shorter length, and the text word has to give way some to make room for illustrations. Books delivered over the internet to your ASUS or APPLE or whatever device you prefer. Bookstores take it even more on the chin.

This is my prediction for eBooks thanks to the iPad. The phrase "curl up with a good book" will survive, but the understanding is you are not curling up with your printed book, nor are your curling up with your Kindle (okay, some of the readers here on these Forums will still be doing such but you will be in the minority). Also you will not be curled up for hours and hours and hours.

Once iPad version 5 gets beefier I would expect the illustrations might have to make way for short, short animations - like Harry Potter playing 'football' on his broom or some such.

Once this trend begins and the "new media" starts to flow the device category hardware will become even more desirable because that is the only way the left-out-in-the-cold consumer can be part of the latest "Harry Potter" release. So sort of a chicken-and-egg synergy at work.

My apology if someone else made this prediction on this thread and I missed it. Would not mind you referencing your post so I could go back and read it, if this happened.

*** EDIT ***
ALSO, for Reasoning, you have also already seen this happen with Music. I recall reading Albums don't sell so well any more, it is the sales of the individual songs slowly surpassing those of the entire album.

I have heard the music publishers hate this trend.

[JBNY]

The iPad will make it impossible to read ebooks in full sunlight.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

And the blind will sue.

No doubt. But then, the blind sue over there not being built-in Braille support on the average PC, so what's your point? And there's nothing stopping them from buying the keyboard dock for it...

Derek

[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.

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by JBNY

The iPad will make it impossible to read ebooks in full sunlight.

Could probably turn down the backlighting to get it readable.

Non issue for me as I hate the outdoors and can't recall the last time I did any reading outside in direct sunlight anyway.