A thought on books, magazines, and the iPad
In all the discussions about the iPad, wether it’s excitement or disappointment, nobody is really talking about the amazing possibilities this opens up for publishers. For decades we’ve seen characters in science fiction movies (and books) reading newspapers that move, or books that interact with them… or even carrying around a personalized guide (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, anyone?). This wasn’t really possible on the iPhone/Touch due to screen size limitations and processing power, but the iPad opens up all these possibilities in a way that the current batch of ebook readers hasn’t.
Imagine: reading a magazine that includes videos instead of pictures; using a text book that includes interactive exercises right in the pages; reading a book on interaction design that can actually demonstrate the interactions rather than describing them… the possibilities are endless.
As fun/interesting (and in some ways disappointing) as the actual device itself is, the new ground available to publishers of previously static content is just amazing. I can’t wait to see what people do with this.
