Why periodicals don’t belong in the iPad iBook store
28/01/2010
I don’t believe magazines/periodicals belong in the new iBook store for the iPad. This store uses the ePub format, which is what the Kindle uses as well, yet periodicals subscriptions on the Amazon reader haven’t really kicked off mainly because of the lack of graphics.
Also, ePub is not easy to update, unlike a website. If news breaks, how will the book-like format be updated? Comments, ratings, etc aren’t available either. All-in-all, not a very convenient solution, and not far from the static print versions.
Now, if you make an app, like the NYT (which is basically a ported version of the Times Reader), and offer it for download, you can update the stories any time, get push notifications, richer multimedia, etc. We also have to keep in mind the vast majority of magazines have websites which are updated daily, despite monthly/weekly print editions.
The only problem (for publishers) is monetizing these apps. The NYT app is free on the iPhone (I understand it will sync with the iPad one) and serves ads. Others, like the Guardian, are charging for it, but don’t serve ads.
But the resemblance between the NYT iPad app and the Times Reader desktop software leads me into thinking that NYT will try to charge for access to sections of the iPad app, like it does in Times Reader (front page stories are free). They already said they are planning another walled garden.
Nevertheless, I believe the App Store, paired with the iPad, offers more possibilities to periodicals publishers than the iBook store does.
Note — this comment is republished and adapted from my response to Will the iPad Save Media? Not Just Yet

