Diary of a Mad Editor

The other day, while I was discussing the Macmillan/Amazon tussle with a friend and the post I was writing about it, the iPad came up in the conversation. During the space of time between the first rumors of the device stirring on the Internets and the product’s unveiling, I was one of those naysayers saying, "don’t believe the hype." I was particularly speaking about the buzz that the iPad’s iBookstore would kill the Kindle. Advocates of iBooks said that it would do for eBooks what iTunes did for digital music. I suppose that would be a fair point if all digital content were equal and if Apple knew fuck all about selling books. However, before I go into that, let’s talk about the iPad, shall we?

I was watching the video presentation of Steve Jobs’ unveiling of the iPad and I was struck by the look of the thing. It looked exactly like I imagined it would look — an iPod Touch, only larger. I’m not the only one who thinks this — plenty of others have said as much. Second, I was also struck by the fact that Jobs was billing the device as a direct competitor to the netbook

Considering the early hype that this thing was going to be the device to end all devices, that this "magical" gizmo is just a new entry into the netbook market is . . . huh? Netbooks? Netbooks are a growing market, for sure, but Netbooks are just crappy little devices for people who like the idea of having a laptop but don’t really need a laptop. Why not sell it as Apple’s answer to the tablet PC? Jobs mentioned tablets, but then distanced himself from associating the iPad with tablets. Probably because nobody gives two shits about a tablet PC. There have been plenty of them on the market. Consumers don’t know what to make of them and have little use for them. Most of the ones I’ve seen are used in a corporate setting and by medical professionals. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tablet PC in the hands of a regular person in a public setting. So Apple has effectively created a slim, sexy looking tablet computer device that’s looks kind of like a tablet PC, but isn’t really one exactly and is supposed to be competing against netbooks, but isn’t a netbook? So what is an iPad? I can’t quite figure out who this device was created for (Maybe someone can explain it to me). I mean, a good laptop is arguably better for writing and other forms of productivity (web design, video editing, etc.) If you want to play music, videos, run apps, etc. you can do that on the iPod Touch, right? The iPod Touch is also smaller, and fits in your pocket. You can take the iPod Touch to the gym, to the supermarket, to the doctor’s office, whatever. What do you do with an iPad? Do you tuck it under your arm? Hire a homeless midget to carry it under his arm? It’s not big enough to require a laptop case and it’s too big to stick in your pocket. It’s portable and mobile, but not really practically so. Honestly, I don’t care if Stephens Colbert and Fry both think it’s cool I cannot for the life of me imagine seeing people carrying this thing around in numbers equal to or greater than one sees with the iPod Touch. When I try to imagine it, it just looks fucking ridiculous. I keep getting flashes of Yeoman Rand on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise saying, “Will that be all, Captain?”

Which brings us to the main point regarding iBooks. Like I said, bookselling isn’t the same as selling digital music anymore than selling health insurance is the same as selling term life insurance. A lot of the success of the 99-cent iTunes store was rooted in the destruction of Napster. When the recording industry pressured the government to go after Napster and won, it effectively opened the door for Apple to take advantage of the situation. Consider this: music is made to be replayed. We love music and when we have a favorite song, we play it over and over. For less than a dollar you can download a song. For less than ten, you can download an album. Compact Discs retail for $20. $10 v. $20.   A sleek, sexy little device + Apple’s marketing prowess + 99-cents = a bargain and plenty of replay value. It’s a no brainer. Likewise with the App store. Selling a $2 app is different than selling a tome from  Junot Diaz or whoever for $16-$17.

Books are different. Most readers are casual readers. Your average reader reads maybe two books per year. I’m not talking about voracious readers like yours truly — I’m talking about those people that might read the latest Twilight novel or maybe a Stephen King. These people will read a book once and then they are done with it. These people don’t spend a lot of money on books. Ironically, the more prolific the reader, the more esoteric their tastes in books so they may not go for the latest bestseller as gleefully as a casual reader. For perhaps different reasons, both of these groups aren’t going to be overly eager to spend $16.99 on a eBook and, unlike with music downloads, they are not likely to be downloading ten books at a time. Amazon has the advantage in that they’ve pretty much written the book on the selling of online books both the hardcopy and digital variety. Publishers fear Amazon the way brick ‘n’ mortar retailers fear Wal-Mart. And for good reason. Think about this: Amazon still has a virtual monopoly on selling hardcopy books online. They control the lion’s share of this market. As such, is it smart for a publisher to play hardball with Amazon over the Kindle? I’m not saying Amazon shouldn’t be taken down a peg or two, but when consumers are at stake, you’ve really got to pick your battles. And quibbling over a few dollars in price point is stupid.

While the Kindle may eventually go the way of the buffalo, Amazon is in a better position to turn the Kindle into device similar to an iPod Touch than Apple is to duplicate Amazon’s online marketplace for books. Which is not to say people won’t buy the iPad. Apple-o-philes will undoubtedly shell-out the $500 for this new toy just because it’s from Apple as well as other techies and gizmo-lovers who just have to have it because it’s the new thing.  Just don’t bet on it as a game-changer the way the iPod and the iPhone were. It-is-not-going-to-happen.