Claudine Beaumont on the merits of Apple's new iPad Just as the iPod transformed the way we listen to music, so the iPad could redefine the idea of settling down with a good book. It was unveiled by Apple in San Francisco last month, and is likely to be available here early next year. “What the iPad has done – even before it has come out – is raised the profile of ebooks,” says Henry Volans, the head of Faber & Faber’s digital divison. “I've no doubt that Apple’s decision to start selling books is good news for all of us. They make well-designed products and focus on the user experience.”
Seeing someone reading an ebook on a plane or train is a common occurrence in the United States, where Amazon says it sells six digital copies for every 10 copies printed of the same book. It’s a rarer sight in Britain where ebooks have yet to capture the imagination of British consumers, despite the availability of the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle. But British publishers are now responding seriously to the developing technology, and we should expect an increased number of e-versions of new titles over the coming months.
Seeing someone reading an ebook on a plane or train is a common occurrence in the United States, where Amazon says it sells six digital copies for every 10 copies printed of the same book. It’s a rarer sight in Britain where ebooks have yet to capture the imagination of British consumers, despite the availability of the Sony Reader and the Amazon Kindle. But British publishers are now responding seriously to the developing technology, and we should expect an increased number of e-versions of new titles over the coming months.
Alicia Wise, the head of digital publishing at the Publishers Association, says “the iPad will open up the idea of ebooks to a new group of people who aren’t traditionally big readers”. It’s not hard to see why: the iPad has a crisp, 10in touch-screen and feels reassuringly solid to hold. Apple has developed a wonderful piece of software, iBooks, for downloading and reading the latest novels. Open up the iBooks program and you are presented with a virtual bookshelf, on which your collection of digital books sits, complete with cover art. You can even wirelessly download additional novels from the iBookstore, a sort of iTunes for books.
Apple has signed deals with five publishers, including Penguin and HarperCollins, to make their digital novels available through the iBookstore, but has yet to reveal how much these titles will cost. Apple hopes to get other publishers on board in the coming months and it will need to offer a wide range of content at a competitive price if it is to compete with the dominant players in this sector, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Publishers, though, face some difficult decisions. Some are planning to release digital versions of new books six months after the hardcover version is released, to protect lucrative initial sales. Others believe there’s no point in trying to create artificial release schedules. “We don’t think ‘windowing’ is appropriate,” says Richard Charkin, executive director of Bloomsbury. “Ebooks are another valuable revenue stream for publishers. Yes, they may cannibalise print sales to some degree, but releasing an ebook at the same time as a hardcover means the ebook will benefit from the marketing impetus around the whole release.”
Volans says Faber has never deliberately applied a window on any of its releases. “Ebooks are just another format, and should be offered simultaneously with the hardcover release,” he says. He believes the availability, not the cost, of titles will make or break the ebook format. “In all the feedback the industry has seen, pricing is rarely a huge concern,” he says. “But the availability of books is. We need to get the agreements in place to ensure ebooks are released quickly.”
For Charkin, it’s the way ebooks are read that matters most. “I think we need one portable device that does it all,” he says. “People need to be able to remotely download books without having to carry extra kit in their pocket.” The iPad could be that device.
Apple has signed deals with five publishers, including Penguin and HarperCollins, to make their digital novels available through the iBookstore, but has yet to reveal how much these titles will cost. Apple hopes to get other publishers on board in the coming months and it will need to offer a wide range of content at a competitive price if it is to compete with the dominant players in this sector, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Publishers, though, face some difficult decisions. Some are planning to release digital versions of new books six months after the hardcover version is released, to protect lucrative initial sales. Others believe there’s no point in trying to create artificial release schedules. “We don’t think ‘windowing’ is appropriate,” says Richard Charkin, executive director of Bloomsbury. “Ebooks are another valuable revenue stream for publishers. Yes, they may cannibalise print sales to some degree, but releasing an ebook at the same time as a hardcover means the ebook will benefit from the marketing impetus around the whole release.”
Volans says Faber has never deliberately applied a window on any of its releases. “Ebooks are just another format, and should be offered simultaneously with the hardcover release,” he says. He believes the availability, not the cost, of titles will make or break the ebook format. “In all the feedback the industry has seen, pricing is rarely a huge concern,” he says. “But the availability of books is. We need to get the agreements in place to ensure ebooks are released quickly.”
For Charkin, it’s the way ebooks are read that matters most. “I think we need one portable device that does it all,” he says. “People need to be able to remotely download books without having to carry extra kit in their pocket.” The iPad could be that device.
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