Publishers talk to Apple about Kindle killer
The Financial Times says Apple “is racing to offer a portable tablet-sized computer in time for the Christmas shopping season, in what the entertainment industry hopes will be a new revolution.” Somewhat surprisingly, book publishers are getting in on the ground floor:
Book publishers have been in talks with Apple and are optimistic about being included in the computer, which could provide an alternative to Amazon’s Kindle, Sony’s Reader and a forthcoming device from Plastic Logic, recently allied with Barnes & Noble.
“It would be a colour, flat-panel TV to the old-fashioned, black and white TV of the Kindle,” one publishing executive said.
It’s a shame that this publishing executive slightly misses the point. A good e-reader needs four things: access to texts, portability, an ‘eye-friendly’ screen, and good battery life. A tablet PC has perhaps two of those qualities (an iTunes store will pump out books and subscriptions, and it’s small enough to fit comfortably into a bag), but unless it uses something comparable to e-ink, it will likely not last more than eight hours, and won’t be particularly easy on the eyes.
