Publishers Sour on Tablet as Reading Platform
From Digital Book World:
As tablet sales surge and put downward pressure on dedicated e-reader ownership growth, publishers are pessimistic that tablets will provide readers with an enticing reading platform.
According to a recent Digital Book World survey, conducted by Forrester Research, 31% of publishers think iPads and other tablets computers are the ideal e-book reading platform, down from 46% a year ago. Only 30% of publishers think reading tablets like the Nook Color and Kindle Fire are an ideal reading platform. This question was not asked in the previous year’s survey.
. . . .
“The devices [tablet computers] are capable of so many more distracting things,” said James L. McQuivey, Ph.D., vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, who conducted the survey. “If you have an iPad and 15 minutes to kill, are you going to do something more cognitively difficult like reading, or something brain-dead simple like going on Facebook or watching a YouTube video?”
. . . .
Kindle Fire owners read e-books on the device more than any other activity. A recent survey of 216 Kindle Fire owners by RBC Financial Group found that 71% list reading e-books as one of the two activities they do the most on the device. “Brose the Web” came in distant second at 39%.
These data about crossover devices contrast greatly with data about the iPad – only 53% of iPad users read books at all on the device, according to a September 2011 survey by Forrester.
Link to the rest at Digital Book World
Boils down to the fact that big publishers are concerned about their relevance and income stream as digital platforms grow.
“If you have an iPad and 15 minutes to kill, are you going to do something more cognitively difficult like reading, or something brain-dead simple like going on Facebook or watching a YouTube video?”
In other words, publishers declare the book is dead, no one will ever read again, and people are idiots.
Maybe this will make them give up so I can get the rights back to all of my legacy books.
Actually, since I don’t have wi-fi access all the time and am too cheap to pay for cell access on the tablet and the smartphone, I’ll play Pocket Frogs, since 15 minutes is kind of short to really get into a book, even for speedy-reader me. (But I might write on one of my stories that I’ve started on the tablet instead.)
Good luck on getting the rights back!
If the only option were to peruse the traditional publishers’ latest Snooki’s Guide to Life or the most recent sequin-encrusted novel “written” by the Kardashian sisters, most readers would probably prefer to spend the fifteen minutes clawing their eyes out with their fingernails. I know I would.
Publishers are missing the point:
ALL tablet devices are empty boxes. Owners fill them with things they enjoy. Books are clearly one of these things.
Suggesting that gaming or other content is killing books for the tablet market is to overlook the fact that publishers long ago conceded the entertainment market to video and gaming. Even so, the Harry Potter books did just fine.
It’s not the medium or the box it comes in, it’s content and letting folks know the content is out there. Pick the right content, advertise it, and folks will buy, consume and enjoy.
Kind of like asking people what they keep on their shelves, eh? Some people have knick-knacks, some have stereos and records, others have books, and most people have a little of everything.
@Stackpole,
You’re absolutely correct. This is a pointless dissection that overlooks the most important statistic: millions of e-book capable reading devices have entered the marketplace whether they are iPads, Fires or smartphones, etc…
Regardless of what the primary activity performed on those devices are, there are more and more brand new e-book consumers entering the digital marketplace every day. What you have is a widening consumer base that consists of book readers and non-readers alike, but those who are inclined to buy and read e-book content on their devices will do so as part of how they utilize their tablets… and ultimately, that widening base of even partial readers means more books sold and more diversity in what genres can be financially viable for creators.
Do we know how many of those tablet owners also own Kindles or Kobos? I own both and I prefer doing my reading on my Kindle because it’s easier on my eyes when I want to do hours of reading. Not sure how many are in the same boat. As well iPad is far less portable than a book-sized Kindle.
Those data are pretty useless, particularly if they don’t list how the question was worded. Self-reporting on things like reading vs. internet activity on a given device is generally not even a little bit accurate. It’s like when they ask people if they watch public television — lots of people say they do; Nielsen says they don’t. Everyone wants to think of themselves as more “cultured” (or whatever) than they are.
I do think more people will read more with a tablet than with printed books, which is the comparison I care about.
Oh just when I think it can’t get any worse, publishers show themselves to be ever more clueless! It’s honestly astonishing! Since the Kindle app came out for my iPhone, I haven’t touched the thing (too clunky, slow, no backlight etc). I love using my iPhone to read on because I can lay in bed and hold it very easily or prop it up. The iPad comes with a big beautiful screen – do you honestly think I wouldn’t read books on it? Heck yes I would! Would I do other things? Sure. But my reading is unlikely to slow down – if anything it would speed up.
“…or something brain-dead simple like going on Facebook or watching a YouTube video?”
I’m sure I would feel insulted if I could figure it out why someone would say that but maybe I’m too brain-dead.
I’m just baffled about why they would even ask publishers what the “ideal” reading platform is. What does that even mean? What difference does it make what they think? I’m curious to know what readers are actually doing, not what publishers think they ought to be doing….
Exactly: Publishers don’t actually have a say in whether the tablet is “dead” or not. Readers are the only ones who make that choice.
I think the issue, really, is that publishers are looking for a white knight, something to rescue them from the changes in the industry. So what they’re really saying is that tablets are “dead” in terms of helping them get back their control over the user experience.
Yeah, tell that to my 11-year-old, who just finished a 350-page equivalent book on his kindle and immediately bought the Hunger Games trilogy. (it was chore before to get him to remember where he laid a book down) Out of the 20 kids in his class, 17 of them bring either Kindles or Nooks to school. They’re not allowed to launch apps, just read, or they lose their e-reader privileges. I’ve never heard so many kids giving other kids book recommendations in my life.
I personally have doubled the number of books I read weekly since getting the Kindle Fire in December. (And I still have plenty of time to play Words With Friends).
What was that thing that one guy said once about protesting too much?
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” – William Shakespeare (Hamlet)
I am proud to say I own a Pandigital Novel with the B&N Reader and it has done me good so far for at least three months and I enjoy reading on it when I can- and it was cheaper than an iPad. I also have the Kindle for PC(because I just don’t want two reading devices to power up here) and its true that Kindles make for easy on the eye reading.
However I think the reason more folks are reading on the Kindle than doing other activities on the tablet is because when Amazon came out with KIndle for books in black and white, it was understood it was meant only for reading and even with KIndle Fire the reason still stands.
Many have cell phones now with apps and other capabilities and of curse PCs…why do more on a tablet unless you have to? I read on my tablet and check homework assignments often.
Erica
I’d also like to add that I do still “pledge to read print” so my e-book collection is growing but my print collection is still bigger.