iPad , Saviour of the World
iPad , saviour of the world – no not really , but does seem to be generating a degree of
interest in certain circles that could have a pretty dramatic impact . The apple rumour
mill is legendary , both before and after launch , witness the number of apple blogs around.
One of the better ones around is tauw, which has carried a couple of really interesting stories recently…..
The two articles carry reports on firstly how Conde Nast have come out with an
initial list of five of its most famous magazines , including GQ and The New Yorker ,
that will have iPad version created , presumably with more to come.
The previous weeks article in tauw had given a long list of books that were
being touted as the first real iPad books.
Whilst its not unexpected for the iPad to be an e-reader or carry magazines , what is important
is the sense that one of the main uses of the iPad could well turn out to be that of a specialist
vehicle for publishing books , magazines , newspapers etc.
Its quite probable that publishers will feel they can charge for an ‘iPad version’ of their product
and get people to pay for it in a way that proves very difficult to get people to pay for online
papers and magazines.
It may well be that people won’t have the same objection to paying for an iPad version of a newspaper
as they do to suddenly being asked to pay for something they used to get for free.
The iPad could be a game changer by positioning itself not just as a new product , but as a new medium
for a number of specialist areas who can charge for their content in a completely new way.