Wishes are a dime a dozen: yeah, we'd like a free chocolate-malt dispenser on every street corner, but that ain't gonna happen anytime soon. Which is why Time Inc.'s vision of the future of magazines on eReaders is simultaneously intriguing and frustrating.
That vision was laid out by Time execs to the paidContent website. Their vision of a future eBook reader is surely that will eventually happen: a large-screen full-color tablet complete with touchscreen. It's basically the same Apple tablet that's been rumored for months and months and months. The Time Inc. people think the eReader technology will progress to the point where a device like this is available by the end of 2010.
It could happen if Skiff and Apple get their acts together with tablet-sized readers. And to be sure: What Time and SI want to do is gorgeous and attainable. But it does call into question exactly what people will expect from future eReaders.
We're of the opinion there will be a split in the market at some point, perhaps as early as 2010. Amazon, B&N and Sony have very clearly laid out a publishing game plan that keeps text at the center of the reading experience: they've all created eBook readers that mimic a book in terms of layout and linearity. Files are small and downloaded as needed. We don't see that changing in future editions.
By contrast, Time and SI -- and Hearst, for that matter -- see the future eMag experience as a media-rich, glossy interlinked experience. Experiences like this require a lot of computing power, graphics capabilities and bandwidth.
It could be both are right. The fascinating part will be watching both models evolve.
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