Apple's iPad may not be enough to save the print industry

Yet now we know what the iPad does, the big question is whether the much-heralded device will actually improve the fortunes of print publishers. Will it be enough to help the beleaguered newspaper and magazine industries wean readers off free online content and turn them into paying customers?

Firstly, the good news is that magazine and newspaper publishers, desperately in need of some form of lifeline, actually have a place in the iPad world. While reaction has been mixed, many in the publishing industry are generally effusive. It’s easy to see why. The iPad is arguably the most encouraging stab so far at a multi-purpose media device for the mobile web; a new medium, with new ways to create value for consumers - offering permanent and ubiquitous access to content, and greater personalisation.

Admittedly, it doesn’t offer the major print makeover that many had expected, but it does offer magazine publishers the ability to play video in articles and the option to update publications in real time, if they choose to do so.

More importantly, the arrival of the iPad gives the media industry (which stumbled particularly badly on the internet) another chance to get its business model right and its house in order when it comes to establishing a clear commercial relationship with digital consumers. Indeed, this is an opportunity to rethink the overall value proposition through digital channels, and limit the amount of content given away for free.

It’s much too early to tell whether traditional print publishers will be able to charge higher ad rates for their tablet editions than they do in print. But the iPad will be another revenue source - a new distribution point that should offer the consumer a more robust experience that’s going to lead to increased readership and audience.

There are expectations that the device will sell between two to five million units in its first two years, as consumers previously wary of e-readers take the plunge. What is almost certain to happen over the next 12 months is a surge in the number of e-readers and tablets hitting the market, following Apple’s entry to the field.

Of course, these new gadgets won’t solve the print industry’s most fundamental problems. Yes, they could make it easier to charge for content, which has traditionally proved difficult on the web. But it will be a few years before such tablets are widespread enough to live up to their potential. Print publishers’ biggest challenge for now remains the same - finding content that someone is willing to pay for.

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This article was originally published in the 11 February 2010 issue of Media.