The stock market is expected to climb today because Americans in their millions went shopping over the past weekend.
Consumer sales were up a few ticks as compared to last year, and the business community is ready to cling to the slightest bit of good news these days. But what are people buying?
Thanks to discounts, price cuts and promotions, small electronic devices are selling well. Do the buyers realize that they can download books to those same devices?
The Apple iPad is flying off the shelves. Listed at $499, it's cheaper than an entire laptop computer and it's far more portable. It has enough flexibility to make it functional for such critical tasks as e-mailing, sharing your vacation photos with everyone in your address book, and it's ever so easy to download a complete novel. Several complete novels.
On the spur of the moment, an iPad owner can access something to read, and at a lower cost than purchasing a hard copy. Granted, a Kindle is a fine e-reader, but the iPad does more. As long as iPad owners understand that they have an e-reader function among the many apps, we as authors have to hope that they'll take advantage of that ability.
Even those who are going for the latest in mobile phone technology can download books to their Android phone. Imagine you're held up somewhere, the train is late or you're waiting for an oil change. How better to kill time than to read a novel on the screen of your smart phone?
Of course, the sales staff at the local electronics big box store has to be properly trained, but it's possible that more people could discover books if someone with enthusiasm showed them how to suck up words out of cyberspace and gather them into the palm of one's hand.
Books make great companions. The popularity of electronic gadgets could become a perfect match.
2 comments:
My Asus netbook cost 2,5 times less than the cheapest IPad and it's a real computer with a real keyboard. And all Kindle books are accessible on it, as are Google books, etc. My netbook is also smaller and a lot easier to carry around than an Ipad. It fits into pretty much any moderately-sized ladies' handbag. The IPad fits nowhere except in a backpack or a briefcase.
So I'm completely mystified why anybody would want to waste so much money on something that has less functionality than a real computer, is a lot bulkier, and costs a lot more.
Unless someone's done their homework, they may not know a thing about netbooks. For all that Apple spends on marketing, I'd say they're getting a nice little return on the investment.
I really don't know what good an iPad is. The onscreen keyboard is worthless for writing, and you still have to carry a phone to make a call.
But then again, I much prefer to read actual books and there are days when I'd love to pitch my mobile in the nearest ditch.
Post a Comment