Moses v Jobs v Hitler

From Brand Republic: First it was Moses. Then it was Steve Jobs. Each brought a tablet into the world, and judging by the hype surrounding the latter, the iPad is about to deliver salvation of its own...

The visual possibilities of the iPad, if it takes off, were abundantly clear - an attractive, full-colour device that can upload content onto pages in real time via WiFi or, in the case of the more expensive models, via a third-generation mobile phone connection. No wonder, then, that many in London, as well as in San Francisco, believe the iPad will change publishing forever...

Simon Waldman, who heads up digital publishing at Guardian Media Group, says that Apple has made "a significant effort to improve the digital viewing experience", which means publishers will now have to go "above and beyond" their existing website strategy ... However, Waldman warns the effort of designing a product of such quality - for what will remain for a long time a niche-platform - will be expensive and complex.

Few doubt the iPad heralds the prospect of a revolution for the news and magazine business. But with higher development costs and future business models so uncertain, there is no evidence it represents the kind of break that will improve the underlying economics for publishers decisively.


Interesting.