On Print, Ebooks and the Apple Tablet

[Sonist]

This is one of the better pieces on the the state of eink, print and why the Apple tablet can be a game-changer:

From Derek Powazek.

"What I Hope Apple Unleashes Tomorrow

In Apple, Magazines, Publishing on 26 January 2010

....
Every content website I’ve ever worked on has proclaimed the death of print, but the truth is, they’ve all been secretly jealous of old media. Why? Consumers pay for print. Advertisers pay more for print. Print, for all its ink stains and dead trees still makes money.
...

The problem for the web ventures has always been how to pay for it. And as someone who’s designed site after site hoping to get consumers to open their wallets, I can tell you: It’s not easy. Print still has a tangible, innate value. The web does not. That’s why I publish Fray on paper – because people won’t pay for it any other way.

Some traditional print organizations are trying to get media consumers to pay for online content. The NY Times tried it and failed before. Now they’re talking about attempting it again, but the plan is so convoluted I can’t imagine it in practice. Newsday had a go at it and signed up a total of 35 people in three months. Bad sign.
...

Meanwhile, e-ink technology has been “just around the corner” for a decade or two. It’s now finally here – you can see it in use in the Kindle or other digital readers. But its “as good as paper” and low-cost promise still goes unfulfilled. And after all that hype, my guess is that it’s not going to be used in the Apple device. It’s still not ready for prime time – the refresh rate is not good enough for video, and that’s a deal-breaker for a company like Apple that sells movies and TV.

I’ve been thinking about how to make money from online content since I launched Fray in 1996. Really, I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve sat up, obsessed with it. It’s been my white whale. And here’s what I’ve come up with: a little bit of advertising works, so long as it’s classy, and sell some paper if you can. But any plan that includes walling off your content from the rest of the web is destined to fail, unless it’s porn of some kind (financial data is a kind of porn).
...

Apple could unleash a device that’s sexier than reading a magazine. A glossy screen like the iPhone, quality content in the iTunes store for a (hopefully) reasonable price, major publishers on board and independent publishers like me able to join in.

Apple already has all the pieces in place. The iTunes music store, right now, has magazines in it. You probably didn’t know that. They’re using the podcast framework to distribute PDFs. But that falls back into the old problem of reading PDFs on a computer (it sucks) and charging for content (you can’t).

But an Apple device that leverages the power of the iTunes store, that makes it easy to buy and read digital content, that opens up for participation from all kinds of publishers, that puts books and magazines on the same level as movies and TV … it could be the missing piece of the puzzle.

It’s the same hole they filled with the iPod. When it came out, there were CDs on one side (physical media for sale) and file-sharing on the other (free but dodgy). The iPod filled the media experience gap, and the iTunes store filled the payment side. Many pundits said it wouldn’t work. It worked.

The same could happen here. Apple could release a device that makes consuming media fun, is able to show any PDF beautifully (just like the iPod would play any MP3), and offers new media for sale in the iTunes store. If they did it right, publishers like me might finally be able to sell something digital that people would actually buy.

..."

[kovidgoyal]

He's hoping that Apple will rescue PDF

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

He's hoping that Apple will rescue PDF

Nope. He is hoping that PDF (and Apple) will rescue e-publishing....

[kovidgoyal]

Is e-publishing in need of rescue? Last I heard it was the only segment of publishing that was actually growing.

[Moejoe]

Here it is, what you've been waiting for LOL

[stustaff]

It does look like what I hoped... THE best device for reading comics and browsing the web.

will do me much better than leaning over a laptop on the coffee table.

Also VNC to my mac home media should be better on this bigger screen.

[rcuadro]

A little disappointing if you ask me... I am waiting for the sticker shock when they mention the price

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by rcuadro

A little disappointing if you ask me... I am waiting for the sticker shock when they mention the price

I've been having the same reaction. And it looks ugly, IMHO. No flash, no camera, probably going to be expensive and has a stupid name to boot. Underwhelming to say the least.

[rcuadro]

I think it is a shame that is does not run OSX and is running a variation of the iPhone/iTouch software (OS4.0?)

[Terisa de morgan]

So much show for a 10" iPod.

[Sonist]

Looks better than anything else currently available.
Seems like great UI.
LCD, but IPS display, which is actually really good - I have a couple of IPS monitors and they are fantastic. Surprised though, since IPS is a power hog - how did they get 10 hours?
9.7". Bleh. Wish it was a bigger screen. I want to read well-designed PDF books!

Bottom Line: After I see it, it may be bye bye Kindle DX.....

[rhadin]

I've never bought an Apple product in my life and had hoped that the iPad might be the first. But my record will remain unbroken. It's the jack-of-all-trades-and-master-of-none device with an LCD screen and weighing 1.3 pounds. Too heavy, too bright, too reflective, too not what I would consider for reading outside work.

[tyche]

I use my Apple Touch mostly on the sofa while ignoring the tv. This is basically a 9.7" Touch in my mind which depending on the price, I'd be willing to buy. I'm not so sure I'd read a book on it but I'd have to see the screen first. With using epub, hopefully they allow non Apple Store ebooks to be loaded - if not, it's a no go for me.

[Krystian Galaj]

Yup.. too heavy and LCD hurts my eyes :/ too bad.

[EowynCarter]

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