Oprah Winfrey, speaking at the American Magazine Conference in Chicago says she reads magazines on the iPad according to the International Business Times. Her continued endorsement counts for something, look at her Book Club and the last presidential election.
Check out the comprehensive report in The Age today for an update on iPad sales – they continue to break records. As I said when the device launched, it is a game changer. We, newsagents, need to revisit our business plans. I am disappointed that this blog appears to be the only place in the newsagency channel where the ramifications of the iPad and related technologies is discussed.
I do wonder how many newsagents get their news online, or how many of those who do get it on a mobile device such as the iPad?
I imagine many would still be reading the printed product that they sell as they have done for so long … not only rejecting the idea of electronic media but having no idea what it really is. They read print everyday, they see people purchase print everyday and to them the medium still looks healthy. How do we educate newsagents on the reality of the situation? The truth is that for many newsagents, we can’t.
I get the feeling that many newsagents don’t understand how people use devices like the iPad from day to day. Let me paint you my picture …
I’ve had my iPad for a while now and the device rarely leaves my side. I use it more than my phone and laptop combined and get almost all my news from it. For some months now my day starts after i undock my iPad from where it sits on my bedside table and I read the new stories of a dozen or two blogs using the Pulse app (often still in bed) and bookmarking ones i want to come back to late. If if awake enough I’ll continue reading the top few headlines (usually political) from Crikey in my Email app and from the ABC in their native app. A little later i’ll logon remotely to the server at work and see how we’re trading so far
When i get to work I use the iPad as a notepad, task list and web browser for most of the day, checking my email and regularly checking for new stories from both a host of blogs and the the ABC.
When i get home there is again more checking of email, blogs, Crikey and the ABC. However I also employ the iPad for recreation, using it to check and update Facebook, download movies (i haven’t rented a DVD since I got the device) and TV series that haven’t aired on FTA, as well as play the occasional game.
I also use it to login remotely to work and fix any computer problems. I can do this from anywhere – I’ve logged in while everywhere from home at the kitchen table, to riding in the car on a trip back from Sydney, to the floor of Melbourne exhibition centre while at the gift fair to check sales data before making a purchase.
Me and my iPad are more or less connected at the hip (or fingertips). It’s this kind of holistic interaction that changes the way people interact with media.
have you ever thought about taking up a hobby ?? :}
Jarryd
have you been in the fresh air, smelled the roses or had the sun on your face lately. I think that is it wonderful to have a one stop shop in the form of an IPAD. It gets rid of a number of other items, but I prefer the feel of a good book, or the newspaper with a cup of tea. Call me old fashioned or just call me old but items like IPADS take us further away from communicating and mixing with others. It has its place and that is great but it not the be all and end all and soon enough something else will come along and take its place.
i still prefer to feel the real book and most of all pleasent to the eyes. please give your eyes a break.
A bit sad i think
I think Jarryd was simply making the point that more and more people will turn to technology like the iPad to get through their days more efficiently. I agree that this kind of technology has continually chipped away at social habits and especially human interaction and contact, but with more and more people working longer hours and having less time for family and social interaction, does it not make sense to utilise something like the iPad to use your time more efficiently? I particularly envy Jarryd his ability to interact with his store from anywhere he may be as that obviously leaves more time to work on his business rather than in it.
Shaun, DB, Eric, DR,
I should mention that I still read real books (always with a cup of tea DB, is there any other way) in part because reading novels on the iPad takes some getting used to. I’ve read only one e-book on my iPad and found once I got used to it I forgot I was reading a screen. Devices like the Kindle use a technology called electronic ink that mimic the look of printed ink on an electronic screen.
Devices like the iPad are here to stay for some time. Yes they will change and so will the ways we interact with media, however those interactions are all moving away from print at a fast pace.
Wendy, exactly. Some complain of the lack of human interaction today, but complaining doesn’t change the fact that things are changing. Many newsagents reading my comment wont like or relate to the way I use my iPad, but I put it out there to show them how, in practical terms, people are using the technology.
As a side note, if you employ anyone under say 25, take a look at what they do during their break. My guess is that most will spend it on their phone or on the web (if you let them access a computer). My other guess is that they will most likely be texting or on Facebook.
Surely I’m not the only one reading Mark’s post with an iPad (addiction). How do others use it to interact with media?
Jarryd I am into my hird book on the iPad. The first was a challenge. Now it is a breeze. I do need to overcome the desire for a full book case as a trophy of my readying though.
Everything you have said about your ipad experience I agree with. It is the most enjoyable and useful new device I have ever bought.
I haven’t seen many iPads or e-readers around. I take the train to uni in the morning and everyone reading is reading a proper book.
those that aren’t have mp3 players or a iSomething or other, and then some with laptops.
I still cannot see the value in an iPad, when there are cheaper and better alternatives (in some cases)
Aaron,
As far as I am aware the iPad is the only major device of its kind on the market. There are tens of Android/chrome based devices planned for relesse in the next 12 months.
We must remember that this is the first gen of these devices. MP3 players took time to catch on and as they did price dropped. They are now the norm. The iPad has been in the market for only a matter of months.
We also have to remember that these tablet devices are not aimed at mp3 users. They do not attempt to replace mp3 players, they attempt to replace magazines, newspapers, books, laptops, PDAs, net books, GPS devices, portable DVD players, etc. They wont do all these things for all people atm, but they go pretty close.
Jarryd,
You have pretty much summed up what the target market for the iPad is….a device for (predominantly) consumptive use and, as stated, a very useful tool for enterprise – at least 170,000 are to be rolled out for the SAP organisation staff.
Of particular note is the use of the device in the scholastic areas. More than quite a few universities and schools are converting to the iPad due to its robust & plentiful software for education purposes. Not to mention the enormous savings for volumes of printed text.
Another benefit is that my children will no longer have to endure “pack-horse” sized school bags and prematurely engage the services of a chiropractor or medical practitioner!!
I am not an overly-enthused iPad user and I could rant over its shortcomings and its benefits too, but a pointless exercise that would be, for I too didn’t like the “new-fangled” internet when it first appeared!!
I am an avid fan of the L.A.C.E. principle -Learn, adapt, create, engage.
By now it is pretty obvious that we are in a F.I.F.O. (Fit In or *Frig* Off) business environment, so I guess I’ll have to “Fit In”…………Now, where did I put my pen?