The Kindle came out in December 2007 and it was a while before I started to see them. The iPad clearly seems to be ahead in month-to-month sales comparisons if my own experiences are any indication. Multiple people at Balticon had. My client Peter V. Brett got one the day before we headed down to the convention and was telling multiple people over the weekend that he never wanted to be without and would probably never again take a laptop around with him ever ever again. On the train ride back to NYC yesterday, somebody else in our car already had an iPad. This is a lot of adaptations, awfully quick.
I've been kind of holding out on principle, that if they want to sell me one, I should be able to go into a store and buy one. But the more I see them around, the more I'm not so sure I can hold out. Especially seeing the iPad in the very thin case which Peter purchased for his, squeezing into his shoulder bag, taking up about as much space as some very big square-bound issue of a magazine, my iPad envy was definitely ratcheting up.
I spoke with a B&N bookseller recently who wasn't radiating enthusiasm for the Nook. Told me they've got to spend a lot of time trouble-shooting them instead of selling books. They're on a daily sales quota that adds up to around a couple dozen that should be sold over the course of the week, which quota they have made only rarely.
2 comments:
I bought an iPad about three weeks ago, and I absolutely adore it. I had debated shelling out the money for it, wondering if I was just falling for the ad campaign. If I had any idea how much I would enjoy it and use it, I wouldn't have hesitated for a millisecond. If I could write it off as a business expense, I'd have gotten it at launch. Not a single regret--hands down the best piece of technology I have ever owned.
I have also noticed the speed with which the iPad showed up. Cons are attended, in large part, by print book lovers so it was interesting to see the iPad being adopted so quickly. The Kindle started the revolution with wireless delivery-- it's like a crack pipe for voracious readers-- but I think the iPad is going to push publishing into digital with a two-pronged attack: 1) get the casual readers who would never pay over $200 for a dedicated eReader because in a year the only books they read are 3 or 4 best sellers and 2) get folks who won't let go of print unless they get some of the same aesthetics they get with print books.
And all from a guy who says no one reads anymore!
Post a Comment