7/14/11

All Roads Lead to ROM... or iPhone?

All roads lead to…R.O.M. Or it might be better stated that “All books might someday lead to iPhone”. Even the bookworm publishers of old are won over by electronic publishing in this soon to be paperless world. And now, continuing the battle for the ultimate ebook reader has found its front with the iPhone. However, this time around the other players in this battle over ebook readers are different. With the exception of Amazon, most mainstream publishing houses have been dragging their feet when it comes to publishing electronic books (ebooks). Online resellers, like Barnes and Noble, have simply stopped supporting ebooks altogether. One should wonder why, especially when the projected sales for ebooks shows a spread of some $5 billion in the next couple of years. The problem remains that there exists numerous ebook readers. Seiko Epson is coming out with non-LCD screens that look almost like real ink on paper, and reduces the consumption of battery juice - something the handheld enthusiasts will appreciate. Never the less, mainstream publishers are turning their attention to ebooks. Random House Publishing Group introduced multiple ebooks for Stanza on the iPhone, and they’re free to download and read. What changed the minds behind these mainstream book publishers? There are some economical factors that contribute to this change of heart. Number one is reducing the cost of production. Ah, hah! Well, hold on folks… they’re not only investing in digitizing their books, some of these mainstream publishers are reforming their firms into digital publishing houses, and may be altogether abandoning the printed book. Oh? That’s right. Want to know more? Lean a little closer to the screen… A big, big publishing house has announced serious incentive to publish on the mobile net. Ah, that’s a big relief for all the ebook investors out there who’ve been waiting for the rest of us to catch on to the big idea. But wait! Which ebook reader are they going to publish on? Well, we’ve already got Penguin Mobile running on iTunes. Readers can catch the Penguin podcast and read until their eyeballs fall out. And where will we read it? Just say “iPhone”.

iPhone’s Stanza is the New Home to Mainstream Book Publishers

The iPhone already has at least 40,000 ebooks you can read right now. The trouble with Penguin’s application is that we can’t download a full book. You can still download chapters or excerpts, but this really just seems like a misleading incentive to eventually buy a paperback that you’ll have to wait to receive in the mail. The problem in that strategy is that iTunes was never intended to make its contributors lots of money; but rather to bring in traffic. But why isn’t iPhone capitalizing on ebooks when it could apparently bring Apple another victory in this recession? We don’t know. The one thing we’re waiting on is to see if Apple will help some of the publishers out just like they did with the music record industry. We have yet to see if mainstream publishers will have their content licensed for iPhone’s Stanza, where ebooks are sure to be a big hit.

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 iPad related:
 Note: using a portable modem is easy. One need only have the key for accessing the mobile device shared on the iPad or other portable device. So, if you didn't get the 3G with your iPad, then you can still use the WiFi with a portable router, or visit a location where there is an available hot spot. However, I recommend using your own portable router as iTunes has access to your account numbers (don't use public hot spots with an iPad). 

*Note: Thomas P. Walton sells ebooks which are available in the United Kingdom and United States of America http://bit.ly/thomaspwalton