What the new Apple iPad means for the future of publishing

After many months of rumors, Apple finally announced their new tablet computer, called the iPad. The goal was to create a product that was in-between a laptop computer and a smart-phone. At the size of a typical sheet of paper, you can hold it in your lap to surf the web, read email, watch movies and view photos.

But the most exciting feature of the new iPad is its eBook reader. With an iPad, you can download eBooks from their store—similar to how someone can download music and movies from the iTunes Store now—and read them on the device. Essentially, they've created an iPod for books.

But this idea is not new. Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony have been trying for years to create and market an "iPod for books," and they have been somewhat successful in doing so (most notably Amazon and their Kindle device). But the reason I think the new Apple iPad will be the device to blow it out of the water for eBooks is because the iPad's primary function is not to read eBooks.

An eBook reader dosen't fix a problem. No one is saying to themselves I have so many books I'm reading right now. I wish I had a convenient way to carry them all in my pocket (except many the college sophomore taking 18 hours). I can't see a large number of people buying a device just to read eBooks (and sales have reflected that). But I can see a large number of people buying a device that lets you check your email, surf the web, watch movies... oh, and read eBooks. I think Apple has a good product on their hands, and I think you'll see the way we publish books change in the next 2-5 years because of it.

At Tate Publishing, we've always looked for new and different ways to "publish" our books (you can read more at our website), and an eBook is just another way to deliver content. All of our current eBooks will be able to be read on the Apple iPad, and we're already working with our distributors and partners to make our eBooks available in Apple's new iTunes Store for books. It will still be another 60 days before the iPad is available to purchase, but 2010 could very well be the year of the eBook.