Is That a Kindle I See in the Rearview Mirror?

As the parent of a four year old, I found this article in the WSJ by L. Gordon Crovitz called E-Seuss: Be Glad, Not Sad or Madon iPad's interesting (here). Not the best discussion of what will be in store for the next few years with e-readers and the iPad, but one that instead looks at the revolution through the eyes of Dr. Seuss. I for one, even one who owns and loves his Kindle, is happy that his four year old will in all likelihood be the owner of an iPad within the next year. I look forward to seeing in what ways the iPad outstrips the plain, jane, utilitarianism of the Kindle.

I hate to say it, but what has me even more enthralled with the iPad came from this article by John Naughton (here) about The Economist's (even more well loved round here than WSJ) digital plans from a year ago. Not soul shaking by any means but he provides a wake up call to publishers who have been lulled into believing the e-reader revolution will be lead by the Kindle.

"These two developments – the Economist's app and Eagleman's "book" – ought to serve as a wake-up call for the print publishing industry. The success of Amazon's Kindle has, I think, lulled print publishers into a false sense of security. After all, they're thinking, the stuff that goes on the Kindle is just text. It may not be created by squeezing dyes on to processed wood-pulp, but it's still text. And that's something we're good at. So no need to panic. Amazon may be a pain to deal with, but the Kindle and its ilk will see us through."

"If that's really what publishers are thinking, then they're in for some nasty surprises. The concept of a "book" will change under the pressure of iPad-type devices, just as concepts of what constitutes a magazine or a newspaper are already changing. This doesn't mean that paper publications will go away. But it does mean that print publishers who wish to thrive in the new environment will not just have to learn new tricks but will also have to tool up. In particular, they will have to add serious in-house technological competencies to their publishing skills."