Apple Tablet Aiming To Redefine Newspapers, Textbooks and Magazines
Steve Jobs said people don't read any more. But Apple is talks with several media companies rooted in print, negotiating content for a “new device.” And they're not just going for e-books and mags. They're aiming to redefine print.
Context & Ripple Effects
The rumor has an arc: Silicon Alley Insider first called for an 'iPod Touch HD' at the end of 2008, then in May reported the tablet slipping into a 2010 launch. Today's Gizmodo piece adds the missing commercial layer — Apple is reportedly negotiating content directly with several print-rooted media companies, aiming beyond e-books and magazines at redefining print itself.
The breadth of same-day pickup — Wired's Gadget Lab and TechCrunch both rounding up everything known about the device — signals that the tablet has moved from gadget speculation to a publishing-industry story. Steve Jobs's oft-cited line that people don't read any more sits awkwardly against these negotiations, which is precisely why the talks matter: if Apple ships the device with print partners locked in, it launches with content, not just glass.
First-order effects
- Print-rooted media companies in negotiation with Apple gain a direct distribution channel to a rumored 2010 device, moving their content decisions ahead of the product's unveiling.
- Amazon's Kindle, until now the default e-reading platform for US publishers, faces a color touchscreen rival backed by the iTunes storefront — and by whatever revenue split Apple negotiates.
Second-order effects
- Publishers not yet in Apple's talks face a two-sided squeeze: hold out and risk missing the launch catalog, or sign early on terms set by the platform owner rather than by them.
- E-book pricing becomes a bargaining chip — publishers negotiating with Apple can point to a second buyer, weakening the single-buyer dynamic that has governed Kindle-era deals.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, print economics shift toward hardware-gated distribution: whoever controls the tablet controls the storefront, the reader relationship, and the terms under which newspapers, magazines and textbooks reach audiences.
- Textbook and newspaper publishers would face pressure to redesign products around a screen format rather than porting print layouts, making the device's specs — still unannounced — a de facto standard for the industry.
The trend: Print media is being pulled from paper onto Apple-controlled tablet hardware, with content negotiations preceding the device itself — a migration rumored since late 2008.