To me, the word “tablet,” evokes the prehistoric age—it brings to mind images of grunting cavemen scrawling messages on stone slabs. However, on January 27th, Apple CEO Steve Jobs forever changed my association with the word when he unveiled the iPad, a tablet that is anything but rudimentary.
There has obviously been a massive amount of buzz and speculation following Jobs’ announcement. Everyone is anxious to see how this innovative device—a 1.5-pound tablet that allows users to surf the web, check email, watch movies, read books and play games—will affect the way we consume media. Wired magazine recently published an article, “How the Tablet Will Change the World,” a declaration that may be a tad premature, but thought provoking nonetheless.
What does the iPad mean for the publishing industry? The New York Times was the first major publication to create a tablet-ready application for the iPad that allows users to browse the front page and content of the current issue. Several publishing companies are scrambling to catch-up and release tablet-ready applications for their magazines. Conde Nast is expected to release full iPad versions of GQ, Vanity Fair and Wired. There is definitely a convenience factor in having a thick, bulky magazine accessible via the iPad, but beyond that, magazine industry experts are having a hard time seeing the potential.
What do consumers want?
In a recent New York Times blog post, “Condé Nast and Time Inc. Cheer iPad; Others Have Doubts,” Aaron Shapiro, a partner at Huge, a Brooklyn digital agency, expressed doubts about the iPad’s impact on the publishing industry. “This is not going to be the panacea that publishers are hoping for to save their business,” he said. “Consumers have an expectation that content is going to be free, and it’s unlikely that a new form factor is going to motivate consumers to pay for publications and newspapers they get online for free.”
Another major factor to keep in mind when considering the iPad as a venue for publications is their cost. The first three models start at $499, which is a hefty price tag for many consumers. The fact that the devices are so expensive can limit the audience that a particular publication is attempting to reach.
Besides the cost, do readers even want to view their content electronically? Earlier this month, Advertising Age published their “Custom Media Guide 2010″ which polled 1,000 adult Americans nationwide on behalf of the Custom Content Council. When asked whether they would prefer to receive publications in print or electronic form, 56 percent of those surveyed chose print, and 37 percent preferred digital. So how beneficial would it actually be for companies to race to create tablet versions of their publications?
On April 3rd, Apple’s iPad goes on sale and its actual success will soon materialize. It will be interesting to see how the gadget lives up to its hype—if it sells well, then it will be another forum to showcase cross-platform content. Shapiro says he expects a brand-new approach to win in the tablet space. “If history’s any indication,” he said, “it’ll come from the next great start-up, as opposed to a big media company trying to repurpose content.”
