Apple''s (Nasdaq: AAPL) new iPad is apparently going to let me download The DaVinci Code -- either in book or movie form. I like that. If you''re going to release a new device and charge me a lot of money for it -- not to mention the costs of using a network of some kind to facilitate all that downloading and streaming -- then please don''t get between me and my instant media gratification.
However, I''m a little wary about all the deals being made between book publishers and Apple, not to mention the negotiations that continue between Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and those who supply the e-books for its Kindle, which used to be the hot new device in town before the iPad swaggered through the online saloon doors. Steve Jobs hit the stage last week with publisher agreements in hand for his new Apple iBook Store, and all the bold-faced names were represented: HarperCollins, Simon & Shuster, Penguin, Macmillan and Hachette. The largest publisher in the world, Random House, is still in talks with Apple, but I suspect it''s only a matter of time before Jobs -- one of the shrewdest and dogged negotiators in techland -- will line up that e-book domino as well.
Jobs is allowing the publishers more freedom for price-setting than Amazon has with its Kindle, and the result is some recent brinksmanship between Jeff Bezos'' company and Macmillan. Apple''s e-books on its iBook Store can run up to US$15, and apparently Macmillan wanted the same kind of deal with Amazon. The Seattle-based company balked, so for about two days, Macmillan''s books disappeared from Amazon''s Web site. They reappeared last week, along with a note saying Amazon was giving in but disagreeing with the idea of charging more for e-books than the previous $9 price tag.
All of this is well and good for publishers, who have every right to protect their intellectual property and get the most they can for it in these digital times. Yet while Amazon continues to crow about Kindle versions of books selling better than physical copies during the holiday season, I''m wondering how long those trends will continue as prices start to creep back up. Apple''s iPad lands in consumer hands in March; how forthcoming will Jobs be in announcing its e-book sales figures in the quarterly earnings that will follow?
More to the point for bookworms like me, who can''t seem to part with every single hardcover and paperback he''s bought since his teenage years: If I''m going to shell out $200 for a Kindle or $499 for an iPad, will I be able to download all the books I want, when I want? Or are you going to make me wait a month or two to get the e-book version of the latest James Patterson, Anne Tyler, John Grisham, and Don DeLillo?