So Apple FINALLY released it!

Yes folks, Apple has FINALLY launched their tablet device. And what a launch. Did anyone NOT hear about it I ask you? Talk about hype! And when the moment arrived, the device wasn't called the iTablet or iSlate as rumoured. Instead they opted for the iPad.

The marketing of the iPad is now in full swing. Just hop onto the Apple (US) website for demos. (The Australian site didn't even have the product listed when I checked earlier...)

It seems we've been waiting for this for some time. A thin tablet that appears to have it all - web, email, photos, video - with the touch of a finger. 10 hour battery life, wireless etc. Tick Tick Tick. And then there's the apps. 140,000 of them. It will even run the apps you've already downloaded to your iPhone or iPod touch. I must admit the price surprised me - I did think it was going to be much more expensive - so I'm glad they've kept it reasonable.

With the launch of the iPad, Apple entered the digital publishing world in a big way and announced the iBook portal. It wasn't a surprise they created their own. We have iTunes for music so naturally iBook was next.

We know the ebook market has taken off in the U.S. and to a certain degree in the U.K. Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs said Amazon had done a great job with the Kindle and ebook focus but “We’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a bit further,” he said.

Five of the world’s leading publisher including Penguin and HarperCollins have already signed up to supply content. I suspect they will all follow. They'd be crazy not to! I keep hearing the comment from the Frankfurt Supply Chain meeting last October: "It will be Apple, it will be cool, and everyone will want it".

Anyway, I've yet to hear from Australian publishers what they think about the launch of the iPad and what it means locally for ebooks. Another sale going offshore I suspect? I'm not privy to rights discussions on this one but from what I gather most of the management of ebooks has been done at Head Offices overseas and the local offices get "compensated" accordingly.

I will catch up with many publishers in the coming weeks for general business meetings. Ebooks are always on the agenda even though many local publishers don't control their ebook offer. I also expect there will be some lively discussions at the APA's Digital Symposium. I've been asked to speak at the Melbourne one -- for all of 10 minutes! -- on ebooks for libraries so it should be a very interesting day!! :-)

A ramble on the EPUB format

As you know from my recent post regarding Random House Australia and their free Wil Anderson ebook offer, I'm a fan of standards for ebooks. Having sat in Supply Chain meetings at Frankfurt and London Book Fairs for the past few years, I'm all for reducing confusion in the marketplace, working to industry standards, and keeping costs of conversions down for publishers. The EPUB format is the one preferred by industry representatives, as it's a natural progression from the PDF - already core to the publishing process. Adobe Digital Editions, the home of EPUB files, is also Sony friendly. Or so I thought....

On the Adobe Digital Editions site, they also offer a few free ebooks to download. Now a few of you may laugh after my recent Twilight ramblings, but I thought I'd return to the classics and Bram Stoker's Dracula was there for the taking. I had already picked it up on the free Mobipocket portal as it is one of the classics readily available through Project Gutenberg. Unfortunately Mobipocket isn't Sony friendly - I can read books stored there on the Hanlin, but not on my preferred Sony e-reader.

Getting Dracula into Adobe Digital Editions was easy peasy (click click) and once I'd hooked up the e-reader to the computer, getting it downloaded to the reader itself was a piece of cake (drop drag). So far so good, but then the read commenced and once again the format distorted on the e-reader. I understand that is one of the challenges of ebooks so I simply tried to change font size and view. In the end I went back to my standard view. The reading experience has been okay to date but every couple of page turns, the text disappears and I have to skip through a blank page. Alternatively half way down the page the text distorts. You get used to it. But it really isn't ideal. It makes you understand why the proprietary formats exist and that unfortunately one size does not fit all.

The ipod moment is already here

Ebook articles often refer to the iPod moment. Is it just around the corner? There is much debate on the subject and the comparison is inevitable.

Ebook readers aren't mainstream here in Australia. They are still way too expensive and a luxury item (The Iliad sells for $1299 with the 'cheaper' version at $1099 and prices generally start from $500). Sourcing content can be problematic, particularly for new releases and don't even start me on the various ebook formats out there! It's bloody confusing.

As you know, I've been playing with ebooks for this blog - I have Mobipocket Reader and the Sony ebook portal loaded on the computer. Through Mobipocket you have access to Fictionwise and 13 odd ebook vendors. Sony just links to Sony but they did partner with Google to load 500,000 public domain books for free. You can access that content as well through Project Gutenberg. It's there for the taking.

Anyway, I have to laugh whenever I read about the iPod moment. I've only had an iPod for 15 months and promptly loaded iTunes onto the laptop, copying favourites songs from my extensive CD collection and spending a small fortune on new and old songs (especially those classics in my extensive tape collection!). The good thing about iTunes is you can listen to a song for 20 seconds or so and download it. Click, Click, Click it's all easy and accessible. The Genius application is a killer but at the same time it's introduced me to other music, which I've enjoyed. It's also cost a small fortune over time but as a music lover, it gets used frequently. As does the Mastercard.

Ebook portals offer pretty much the same process, but their preview functionality still needs work. US$11.99 for this book, specials, collections, free books. It's click, click and click and all that content is downloaded. Just like iTunes. Only dearer!

There's another problem. The average song time is 4 minutes. You can download 15 songs and have an hours entertainment. Books take time to read, particularly when you are a busy professional. So I have the dilemma, a few easy clicks, and I have the content (and an ever increasing Mastercard bill!). I already have more than a dozen printed books waiting to be read. I now have the same on the e-reader or in the ebook portals on the laptop (for those that won't transfer to the e-reader). I don't need more content. I need a time management system! NOW!

Oh, and if you can have a word in the ears of the nice people at Mastercard, I'd be most grateful....