Steve Jobs Didn't Want an iBookstore, but the iPad and Eddy Cue Changed His Mind

[Zimmy68]

If anyone believes this story, I have some land in the Everglades I would love to sell you.

To think that iBooks and the bookstore was some last minute addition to whatever iOS the first iPad was running.
Some "10 til midnight" last minute decision of Steve Jobs.
Come on, you can't (and hopefully the court) can't really be that gullible, can they?

The book stuff was in development for many months to a year.

No one had to convince Jobs of anything, they needed to convince the Book publishers to collude.

 

[till]

For most standard books, particularly fiction, the iPad is a poor experience compared to an e-ink Kindle. There's very little reason to use the iBookstore when you can buy the same thing from Amazon and read it on any device.

But for graphics-heavy, large-format PDFs, the retina iPad is fantastic. Just be sure to use an app that has continuous scrolling and a horizontal lock.

 

[Tech198]

How can the iPad change someone's mind?

 

[peachpup]

Paper vs. Digital

Technology is a beautiful thing. However, one of the things I tell people all the time, is the most enduring technology has always been paper. We have books, that can still be read, 100's of years old. And they did not require conversion to other formats, over the years. You don't have to go back far (one decaade at a time) to find technology that is not used anymore: 5.25 floppy; 3.5 floppy... System 7; Windows 3.5; you get the idea. Nothing exists today that can read files and resources created on those machines (maybe plaintext-but not the hardware). Of course you can convert along the way to the newer formats (but not always), but that is a hassle. The average user will just not do that. We are in the infancy of transferring totally to digital. Will be an interesting thing to see in about 10,20, 30 years... or 50! But I'll probably be gone by then. LOL. As a side note, not entirely related, but kinda cool - has anyone seen the film "After Eli"? Kind of the same principal. Of course fictional, but in an apocalyptic society, the written word was the most valuable item to acquire in the fictional story. Starred Denzel Washington, Gary Oldham....

 

[mackiwilad]

As a book publisher, I'm grateful that Apple did no such thing. Amazon has already pretty much eliminated all competition from brick-and-mortar bookstores. I shudder to think what would have happened had Amazon and Apple teamed up on ebooks.

The more distribution and sales outlets, the better for everyone — consumers and publishers alike.

Pity the DOJ doesn't agree with you. All hail the Amazon ebook monopoly!

 

[the8thark]

"... When I got my first chance to touch the iPad, I became completely convinced that this was a huge opportunity for us to build the best e-reader that the market had ever seen," Cue said. "And so I went to Steve and told him why I thought [the iPad] was going to be a great device for ebooks. ... and after some discussions he came back and said, you know, I think you're right. I think this is great, and then he started coming up with ideas himself about what he wanted to do with it and how it would be even better as a reader and store."

How is this "didn't want an iBooks store? It's not. It's more I have an idea for iBooks, and a while later after talking about it to Steve, he says sure go ahead with it.

I fail to see the Steve didn't want an iBooks store part. Maybe cause that never happened. Not so sure.

 

[Solomani]

truly greatness is showed sometimes seeing greatness in the people what works for us or with us. Steve always showed a great insight for good ideas. So, well done for Mr. Cue and Mr. Jobs.

Break the Amazon monopoly is a good thing to do, so, why not and what if...?......

Not quite. Apple attempted to break the Amazon (book) monopoly. The US Government and DOJ is making sure to hand back the monopoly to Amazon.

 

[blitzer09x87]

thank god steve listened to Cue, ibookstore is awesome, my favorite book store.
Apple corp. really knows how to fulfill people's needs.

 

[MacAddict1978]

truly greatness is showed sometimes seeing greatness in the people what works for us or with us. Steve always showed a great insight for good ideas. So, well done for Mr. Cue and Mr. Jobs.

Break the Amazon monopoly is a good thing to do, so, why not and what if...?......

I wouldn't say amazon has a monopoly anymore than wal-mart does. They have the customer base because they are competitive in price and consumer friendly. The opposite of apple, which is why Apple is being sued... in case you missed it, price fixing is illegal and anti-competitive.

Apple could have you know... tried to compete with price and promotions to bring in business, not throttle the ability of competitors to be well, competative.

----------

Technology is a beautiful thing. However, one of the things I tell people all the time, is the most enduring technology has always been paper. We have books, that can still be read, 100's of years old. And they did not require conversion to other formats, over the years. You don't have to go back far (one decaade at a time) to find technology that is not used anymore: 5.25 floppy; 3.5 floppy... System 7; Windows 3.5; you get the idea. Nothing exists today that can read files and resources created on those machines (maybe plaintext-but not the hardware). Of course you can convert along the way to the newer formats (but not always), but that is a hassle. The average user will just not do that. We are in the infancy of transferring totally to digital. Will be an interesting thing to see in about 10,20, 30 years... or 50! But I'll probably be gone by then. LOL. As a side note, not entirely related, but kinda cool - has anyone seen the film "After Eli"? Kind of the same principal. Of course fictional, but in an apocalyptic society, the written word was the most valuable item to acquire in the fictional story. Starred Denzel Washington, Gary Oldham....

Loved this post, and so true. If we were all digital and wiped out one day, and someone in the future found us, what would they ever really learn when they couldn't access our history because hard disks melted down?

They still find scrolls from the bible era... I don't think a laptop or iPad would be as durable in some situations... not that paper is iron clad. Water, fire, even air not friends of paper, but all digital def would not be ideal

 

[Robert.Walter]

Not quite. Apple attempted to break the Amazon (book) monopoly. The US Government and DOJ is making sure to hand back the monopoly to Amazon.

I'm not quite sure how this Amazon monopoly is supposed to work or how it was supposed to be sustainable.

Most monopols work against the consumer by restricting competition and drive prices up to the benefit of the monopol.

At present that doesn't seem to be the case for Amazon, amazon sells books below the market rates and below st own cost. This seems to be a direct net benefit to consumers who buy via amazon and also to those buying through other channels (due to having to remain price competitive with amazon.)

And at the other extreme, even if Amazon had managed to dominate and then decimate the competition, becoming the sole channel, and then raised prices to satisf the shareholders that Steve mentioned in his email to Murdock jr., how long would it take before the DOJ landed in Amazon for uncompetitive practices, and the publishing industry would seek to open other channels as a counter to any predatory buying power that Amazon might have acquired?

In the end, the power lies in good part with the content providers, because, especially today with commerce, the content owner can, with very little investment, set up a distribution channel.

 

[AdonisSMU]

If anyone believes this story, I have some land in the Everglades I would love to sell you.

To think that iBooks and the bookstore was some last minute addition to whatever iOS the first iPad was running.
Some "10 til midnight" last minute decision of Steve Jobs.
Come on, you can't (and hopefully the court) can't really be that gullible, can they?

The book stuff was in development for many months to a year.

No one had to convince Jobs of anything, they needed to convince the Book publishers to collude.

How do you know? Were you there or are you just making stuff up?

----------

I wouldn't say amazon has a monopoly anymore than wal-mart does. They have the customer base because they are competitive in price and consumer friendly. The opposite of apple, which is why Apple is being sued... in case you missed it, price fixing is illegal and anti-competitive.

Apple could have you know... tried to compete with price and promotions to bring in business, not throttle the ability of competitors to be well, competative.

----------



Loved this post, and so true. If we were all digital and wiped out one day, and someone in the future found us, what would they ever really learn when they couldn't access our history because hard disks melted down?

They still find scrolls from the bible era... I don't think a laptop or iPad would be as durable in some situations... not that paper is iron clad. Water, fire, even air not friends of paper, but all digital def would not be ideal

You can always make that argument....if we didnt have this or that or at or at.....paper is technology like it or not.

 

[Solomani]

At present that doesn't seem to be the case for Amazon, amazon sells books below the market rates and below st own cost. This seems to be a direct net benefit to consumers who buy via amazon and also to those buying through other channels (due to having to remain price competitive with amazon.)

You really don't understand the history of monopolies, do you?

What you stated above (bold red).... is EXACTLY the very tactic that many companies used to gain their monopoly. By initially offering their products at prices so low that their competitors are destroyed (or forced to abandon the business). Once the competition has disappeared they now own a monopoly, and are in the position to charge whatever the hell they want.

Yes, you have a point that the low prices do benefit the consumers initially. But in the end, once the monopoly of that industry forms, the consumers are screwed eventually. Hence, it is simply trading short-term savings for long-term enslavement to a monopolized industry controlled by a single corporation and with hardly any competitors/alternatives left.

Apple was merely trying to negotiate with the other non-Amazon publishers so that the prices were in line so that those publishers could exist and still be profitable. Do you realize that the majority of writers... yes WRITERS and writers guilds actually supported what Apple was trying to do? Apple was attempting to trend things so that the prices were not so drop-dead-below-cost that the writers could no longer make a living on their publications.

Also, despite what Apple tried to do, no one was FORCED to buy their books through Apple or its publishers. It never prevented anyone from continuing to buy from give-it-away-for-cheap Amazon, if that's what the consumers wanted to keep doing.

 

[LethalWolfe]

There is nothing illegal about monopolies in the U.S. and Amazon was recently investigated and cleared of predatory pricing by the DoJ. Amazon sells some new titles at at loss (loss leaders are a near universal practice) but over all they do not sell their books at a loss, just at very small margins. It's no different than big chains like Best Buy selling CDs for less than music stores like Virgin Records. Or Apple and the iTMS. Many times iTMS albums are less than record store prices and record stores can't sell individual tracks. Hence, record stores are few and far between these days. All B&M retailers are hurting though due to online sales and that trend isn't going to change. Even if you buy something from HomeDepot.com that still hurts the Home Depot store down the street.

There is something illegal about everyone on the supply side (in this case the publishers) banding together to set prices and, in effect, cease competing with one another. That's called price fixing. And if Apple was in on the deal as well it's collusion and that's illegal too.

It's not like Apple is Robin Hood and Amazon is the evil king trying to squeeze his subjects for all they are worth. In Apple's ideal world everyone uses Apple branded computers, phones and tablets. iCloud would be ubiquitous and all your software, music, videos, games, books, etc., would be purchased via Apple. There's no reason Apple can't compete w/Amazon on eBooks it's just that Apple doesn't seem to like they fact that they don't have a favorable competitive advantage in the eBook against the incumbent market leader, Amazon.

 

[CGJay]

It's called the Kindle app. The point of iBooks is to give competition to Amazon's predatory pricing.

It is also aimed at the education textbook market, where books cost hundreds of dollars and are mistake filled and obsolete. I really hope as iPads get cheaper the competition there heats up and schools and students reap the benefits.

Competition? By eliminating the ability to purchase Kindle books on your iPhone?

 

[MacSince1990]

Steve Jobs never wanted anything that wasn't his idea until after much convincing. What else is new...

 

[Mrbobb]

Why would be Jobs be opposed to ebooks? Even back then, I didn't think Amazon/Kindle was a joke.

Jobs was oppose to the Apps store too, as history recalls.