Rumor: Apple in talks with publisher for putting e-books on the tablet
It seems that perhaps Steve Jobs truly wasn’t interested in releasing a dedicated e-reader, but what if he could add the functionality to another device?
The Internet hasn’t even cooled down from the announcement yesterday of an Apple product event happening next week, and we already have the newest round of rumors out there of what is happening at Apple headquarters. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is in talks with book publisher HarperCollins about launching e-books, which would presumably be for the long-rumored Apple Tablet/iSlate device.
While the iSlate is still a rumor at this point, the press event happening next week is supposedly where the device will finally be announced. Steve Jobs has stated before that he has no interest in launching an e-reader, but he never said anything about adding the ability to read e-books to another Apple device.
There will be at least two major issues to overcome with e-books on a device such as the rumored iSlate: Battery life and eye-strain. E-reader manufacturers have said the reason we haven’t seen color screens yet is due to the rate with which it would drain the battery. The other issue will be the fact that e-ink, the current technology of choice for e-reader screens, is far easier on the eyes when used for prolonger periods. If any company is capable of surmounting these issues, it is probably Apple, but we’ll have to wait and see until next week.
According to the article, Brian Murray, the chief executive of HarperCollins, said back in December that he looked forward to e-books that could include video and social networking aspects as it would allow for a higher premium to be charged for them. Instead of the current industry standard of $9.95, he could see $14.95 to $19.95 being charged for e-books that included richer media aspects.
All should be revealed next Wednesday when Steve Jobs once again takes the stage to introduce a new product.
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