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iPad May Be Death Knell To Print Magazines

S

sullivot

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 30, 2010
7
0
I was pretty impressed with the iPad demo, even though on the surface I would have no need to buy one, since I have a laptop, desktop and an iPhone. However, one reason I might buy one is for reading magazines and newspapers, especially on the go. I can see this breathing fresh new life into the magazine "publishing" business, although it may mark the true decline of paper & ink publishing. The iPad will revolutionize digital delivery of content, given it's weight and size, and major content providers, who stand to benefit, are going to hype it to death. Not to mention, you can't really bring a laptop into the toilet, while an iPad you can.

I think it will be huge.
 
I really expected them to have an iBook sort of app for magazines though. Was surprised to see that it seems newspapers and magazines will simply have their own apps.

Perhaps someone will make apps for smaller publishers to use and the bigger publishers can make an app to allow you to subscribe to multi magazines they publish.

I think expanding the bookstore concept, though to magazines, would have been worthwhile for Apple to do.
 
They need to get digital comics and revive that segment. Jobs sits on the board at Disney and Disney owns Marvel, get it done. However the epub standards is supposedly not good for digital comics.
 
You'd think that Apple would be on the same page with content providers and with compatability standards to really make this work. It definitely needs a standard reader for magazines and newspapers. A subscription based model would work pretty well with this, I would think (as opposed to apps).

Then again, I couldn't even send a photo on my iphone until this year:(

We'll see.
 
Comics

Speaking of digital comics, is there a good app that could be ported to the iPad for comics? I never looked on my iPhone because the screen is too small but with the iPad, this has potential.

Also, I currently get the digital version of MacLife and I love it. I think it'll be great on the iPad.
 
You might be right. Maybe. In one way I hope so - the environmental impact of paper magazines is very high. And if you can have high res photos (pinch to zoom-in) in the digital version, it would be much more compelling.

I like photography and design and I like flipping through Bazaar and Vogue (they're not just for women!). I do like the smell and feel of paper, and I even like a lot of the ads (I collect perfume ads). But apart from this, magazines need to go digital.

It might even help small-time magazines to get prominence. Newsagents can't stock every magazine. But the on-line stores can.
 
It may be the beginning of a new trend, but the iPad is never, ever, going to kill print media. No matter how many iPads they sell, the population of iPad users will always be an exceedingly small fraction of the total audience available to print media.

Look how popular the Wii is, and yet there are only about 70 million sold. Even the 250 million iPods in the wild comprise a pretty small segment of the total print media audience. Of 6+ billion people on the planet, the amount who own iPods or Wiis is an awfully small number. Print media is not going anywhere.

Not to mention, you can't roll an iPad up and stuff it in your pocket or bag. If you drop an iPad on the ground it breaks, whereas if you drop a magazine you pick it up and keep reading. Businesses will not leave iPads lying around on the coffee table to read while you wait for your appointment, and you certainly aren't going to give your iPad to someone else when you're done reading your articles. As good as the iPad display might be, it will not be able to hold a candle to the picture quality and detail you can get in say an issue of National Geographic.

Besides, as electronics carry a heavy environmental cost to manufacture, e-media is not the environmental panacea many think it to be. I daresay that concerted efforts to increase the efficiency and adoption of recycling will ultimately be far more effective environmentally than any e-device in the near future will.

Ruahrc
 
Ruah

I am sure the print media appreciates your optimizing on their behalf, but the audience size who regular reads newspapers and magazines is dwindling every day and it is only a small fraction of what it once was.

In terms of the world population, only a small fraction has ever read regular print media.
 
You could have said the same thing for smartphones and netbooks, but print magazines are still here.
 
Goodbye paper

At some point, relatively soon actually, most anything printed on paper will be an expensive rarity.

We are of course already in the transition, but one limiting factor has been a hardware device that people would prefer to read on, prefer over paper. As something someone would fall asleep with, I still think the iPad is too large, as compared to even a large paperback. But with the traditionally larger format of newspapers and magazines it may prove a better fit. And the screen, well the screen will have to be moderately easy on the eyes or the iPad will fail in that regard. In other words it must be read, and as a preference.

'The Seattle PI' recently abandoned their print edition, with only the electronic edition surviving. This was a necessary fiscal decision on their part. They are not alone. The cost of printing is a substantial portion of any magazine's or newspaper's overhead. The advent of the internet has played havoc with the traditional advertising model of all publishers. They are desperately seeking solutions. The rationale to abandon print entirely is compelling, if they felt they wouldn't lose their already shrinking audience. As more publishers migrate in this direction, at a point the others will have no choice but to follow, being uncompetitive if they do not. Besides which the printed word is only tradition, and we already understand the far greater flexibility for any reader that comes with a screen.

It just has to be one they would want to read from. If perhaps not exactly it, the iPad nevertheless indicates the direction.
 
I doubt it. While I believe the iPad will be successful, it won't be that successful. There are 100 million housholds in the United States alon. Apple would have to sell one to every house in order to get rid of the entire print magazine market. Secondly, you then have to convince those who spend $45 a year on a magazine sunbscription to then spend $499 on an iPad and then $45 for a magazine subscription.

I have a hard time believing that will happen.
 
Print media is already on life support and the iPad is not going to hasten its death alone. The industry is marching towards a digital delivery system, and one device alone isn't going to kill it but rather a series of devices.

the kindle, the iPad and what ever else is out there. There still will be magazines but they'll probably be the exception rather then the rule.
 
I will also add that even in this day of online shopping print catalogs are still rather popular. Plus, I doubt you will be going to the doctor and see a stack of iPads.
 
bobsentell said:
I doubt it. While I believe the iPad will be successful, it won't be that successful. There are 100 million housholds in the United States alon. Apple would have to sell one to every house in order to get rid of the entire print magazine market. Secondly, you then have to convince those who spend $45 a year on a magazine sunbscription to then spend $499 on an iPad and then $45 for a magazine subscription.

I have a hard time believing that will happen.
Click to expand...

Presumably, subscriptions would be much cheaper, with no manufacturing or distribution costs.
 
i'm 52 and would be more than happy to do away with all the print newspaper and magazines. I think this idea is great. Lay the ipad on the counter at night and have the newspaper there in the morning. Then you always have any newspaper or magazine with you when you go somewhere. You can also carry newspapers from other areas with you. This is a great idea and better on the environment. This could save the magazine and newspaper industry.

Count me in and then put all my mail on this thing also and I won't have to wait for the mailman any longer. This technology is endless and will change many things in the future.
 
I have Zinio for my MBP15. Works great for magazine subscriptions.

Zinio just came out with an iPhone/iPod touch reader.

You purchase a magazine with either and you get the other version for free. Cool.

Looking forward to seeing their iPad reader. If it is anything like the iPhone/iPod touch one, it will rock. :)
 
marksman said:
In terms of the world population, only a small fraction has ever read regular print media.
Click to expand...

I daresay that nearly 100% of the people in the world (not a small fraction by any means) who have learned to read did it on printed media.
 
sullivot said:
You'd think that Apple would be on the same page with content providers and with compatability standards to really make this work. It definitely needs a standard reader for magazines and newspapers. A subscription based model would work pretty well with this, I would think (as opposed to apps).

Then again, I couldn't even send a photo on my iphone until this year:(

We'll see.
Click to expand...

Apple is actually ahead - if you look at the demo, they had links within the publications and other updates to the format.

You don't necessarily need one reader, so much as a decent use of a common open format.

They've done a lot of footwork, and there's a lot more to be done in the background. Don't underestimate them - Apple will have thought out their strategy for this.
 
I think you'll still be able to get many magazines/papers in print (Time, WSJ, NY Post, Readers Digest, SI etc). But the days of going into Barnes & Noble and seeing 100's of different magazines on display will probably come to an end. I think many current print editions will switch to digital only to cut costs.

The iPad alone won't do it, but as it is copied and the magazine/book reader becomes more commonplace in more devices, the switch to digital will be inevitable. This will have the effect of making print copies of certain magazines collector's items, since they'll certainly have much lower print runs. There will still be a market for print media, if for none other than sentimental reasons. The desire for many to collect "stuff" will never go away. Heck, I have dozens of old Sports Illustrated and Billboard Magazines that I just can't get rid of. Having them in digital format wouldn't be the same. But that is where we're going, I believe.
 
sullivot said:
I think you'll still be able to get many magazines/papers in print (Time, WSJ, NY Post, Readers Digest, SI etc). But the days of going into Barnes & Noble and seeing 100's of different magazines on display will probably come to an end. I think many current print editions will switch to digital only to cut costs.

The iPad alone won't do it, but as it is copied and the magazine/book reader becomes more commonplace in more devices, the switch to digital will be inevitable. This will have the effect of making print copies of certain magazines collector's items, since they'll certainly have much lower print runs. There will still be a market for print media, if for none other than sentimental reasons. The desire for many to collect "stuff" will never go away. Heck, I have dozens of old Sports Illustrated and Billboard Magazines that I just can't get rid of. Having them in digital format wouldn't be the same. But that is where we're going, I believe.
Click to expand...

I'll agree with that. The mainstays will always be printing. But I think the days of single run issues of magazines are limited. It'll just cost too much. The last single issue magazine I bought was a $9.00 Linux magazine that had nothing new in it.
 
t0mat0 said:
Apple is actually ahead - if you look at the demo, they had links within the publications and other updates to the format.

You don't necessarily need one reader, so much as a decent use of a common open format.

They've done a lot of footwork, and there's a lot more to be done in the background. Don't underestimate them - Apple will have thought out their strategy for this.
Click to expand...

What I liked in the demo was how Jobs flicked his finger and the page turned as it were real paper. Works perfect for magazines. It will need to be perfected so it can be read outdoors (i.e. laying on a beach). But the potential is endless. Video could be put where photos are located in print mags (I would prefer a print/photo only option...sometimes you just want to read). An added benefit is that the content would be updated, instead of being days/weeks old, which might be the most revolutionary aspect of using an iPad like tablet with magazines.

It will be intersesting to see how it plays out.
 
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