By J. Sturgeon | Financial Post | Dec. 29, 2009It is known as an e-reader now, yet 10 years out, it may have earned the title e-saviour for the journalism profession.
Eight years ago, Apple introduced the iPod, a portable media player that helped curb mounting losses for record labels by convincing music lovers to once again pay for songs through its iTunes digital store.
Now, the Kindle, a device made by U.S. online book retailer Amazon, is showing early signs of having the same effect on the troubled newspaper industry.
The device, which went on sale a few months ago, is also portable and its matte screen offers a more enjoyable reading experience than laptops. Little wonder that newspapers (the National Post included) have rushed to sign deals with Amazon to distribute their content.
The results have been optimistic. Many early adopters of the Kindle are choosing to pay to get their paper on the e-reader instead of for free via the Internet. If all goes well, newspapers may have found a life line to stem the loss of readers and revenues. The device could also allow publishers to scale back the use of expensive printing presses.
However, the Kindle, and e-readers in general at the moment, are not without challenges.
"The barriers to entry are still too high for consumers as well as publishers," says Carmi Levy, a London, Ont.-based independent technology analyst. Amazon has lowered the price, but the Kindle still retails for about US$250.
Moreover for cash-strapped newspapers, finding resources to customize their content for a technology that has not yet fully proven itself is a gamble, Mr. Levy says.
The first iteration of the device is also a bit clumsy. Unlike the ultra-simple iPod, the Kindle is a challenge to navigate.
"We haven't yet seen the iPod of e-readers," Mr. Levy says. But we will - and as early as next year.
Apple is rumoured to be on the brink of introducing its "tablet." Details are light, but the tablet is speculated to be a touchscreen device about the same dimensions as the Kindle and will connect to the Web wirelessly.
If Apple has the same level of success it has had with iTunes, the tablet could once again convince readers that news is worth paying for.
That would be music to the ears of publishers everywhere.
jasturgeon@nationalpost.com
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