最近iPad正夯，雖然大眾對他的造型及革新比原先認知所感到的落差甚大外，但它的出現仍然造成電子書產業的一大衝擊。
Will Apple's New Product Make eReaders Obsolete?
Apple's iPad will have an "iBooks" store, and will feature partnerships with Penguin, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon and Schuster, and Hachette.
Apple founder Steve Jobs said: Now Amazon has done a great job of pioneering this... we're going to stand on their shoulders for this. Our new app is called iBooks.
-> 沒錯，Apple推出iPad之後，即將繼續推出App更多的(開放原始碼)應用程式的售後服務，並成立網路書店。我想他打算繼續打造出電子書的iTune吧!
Even as Apple has prepared to debut the iPad, new eReaders have been debuting by the minute, and front-runners like Amazon's Kindle are scrambling to make their devices more appealing by adding features such as apps or color.
(優)The well-established Whisper Sync technology lets people keep track of a single book across multiple devices.
(缺)Drawbacks include the lack of support for ePub formats, and the inability to share eBooks with other devices.
-> 我想面對iPad這麼強大的競爭力，除了增進閱讀器的外觀和應用程式外，最基本的格式問題還是要先解決吧!!!
Kindle's Future?
Kindle isn't just a piece of hardware. It is dominating the eBook app market and is the top free eReader app in the iPhone store.
For those who want to read on a Blackberry, iPhone, Droid, other mobile device or computers, there are apps galore to facilitate searching, purchasing, reading and backing up.
-> 我想未來的電子書不單單只是在這電子閱讀器的載具上，而是可以擴大到其他的載具上，並且透過Appa來進行一些額外的服務及利用(如下圖)。這對Apple而言，是件非常容易的事，而且本身就在做，但Amazon在未來必須要跟上這腳步。
圖片來源:Kindle: for iPhone and PC
iPad Will Beat down The Kindle?
現階段而言，還很難說，但如果Amazon不改變市場上的方針，我想下一個電子書的iTune時代無不可能。
從以下訊息我們可以知道：
(記者問)Why users would want to shell out $14.99 for an ebook on the iPad, when they can buy ebooks for Amazon's Kindle for $9.99?
(Steve Job回)Apple's prices will go down, or Amazon's will go up, to which Jobs offers a cryptic, non-committal, 'The prices will be the same.
Steve Job also points out that publishers have been withholding content from Amazon.
->這對Amazon來說不是件好事情，會有這樣的情況可以由下得知：
1.Apple will keep 30 percent of each sale, and publishers will take 70 percent.
2. Amazon, as the dominant player, would eventually demand lower digital wholesale prices.
3. The agreement with Apple gives publishers leverage to negotiate with Amazon on future pricing.
4. Publishers acknowledge that digital content should be priced lower than the print content.
5. But once Apple begins selling e-books at a higher price, publishers could withhold titles if Amazon continues to discount books to $9.99.
簡單來說，在傳統批發與零售商的關係中，亞馬遜以每本15美元左右價格向書商訂貨，補貼他們將每本售價拉低至9.99美元後不足部分。一但書商與網路零售書店亞馬遜的電子書合作關係，由原本的批發與零售商模式改為代理商模式(agencymodel)，也就是說產品售價由廠商而非零售商訂定，那麼Amazon確實價格會往上走。畢竟在代理商模式之下，書商可不再屈就亞馬遜要求的9.99美元售價，但至少給予亞馬遜的抽成比例提高至30%。
另外，若Amazon成為這市場上的主導者，那現在在優渥的補貼都會消失，因為他們除了知道數位內容的價格未來將會越來越低之外，也深曉一旦Amazon說一，你也不能說二，只好乖乖接受這價位。因此，他們也同意Apple與Amazon之間能相互槓桿，並協調出合理的市場機制。如果未來Apple一開始賣電子書的售價是屬於高價位時，那他們對Amazon的數位內容就會更有保留。我想很明顯的，除了本身Apple扮演著斡旋、牽制的角色外，目前對出版商和作者的機制，都遠遠的比Amazon還要好。
至於你想挑骨頭說Kindle可以將近一星期不充電，而iPad卻只能用十小時，那就套Steve Job所說的：
'Ten hours is a long time. You're not going to read for ten hours.'
我們可以從這發現Apple的野心，真的非常強大，強大到Amazon有半片電子書市場的龍頭，都可能受到Apple的威脅。
ok~我們來看一些影片吧!
1. iPad: Steve Jobs presents Apple's new tablet
2. ipad v.s kindle
2010年的腳步才剛到來，已有多場有關電子書的研討會出現，1月27日開幕的臺北國際書展也有多場與電子書有關的會議和展示會，其中中華民國圖書館學會辦了一場「當圖書館遇到電子書」研討會。因為當天要跟館員Meeting，所以我沒有去參加。有興趣的，可以來這了解當梯的會議。理想的電子書?
網路來源:
1. iPad vs. Kindle: Will Apple's New Product Make eReaders Obsolete?
2. CES 2010: eBook Software And Apps Guide (PHOTOS, POLL)
3. Steve Jobs Dishes On The iPad, Disses Kindle (VIDEO)
4. Books on iPad Offer Publishers a Pricing Edge
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