The midst of an apocalyptic end?

Reading the news, it appears Amazon will unleash its Kindle upon the UK market next week and in good time for Christmas. Now, for those of you who don't know, the Kindle is a wireless book reader device on to which you can download books and get them delivered to you in under 60 seconds. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015T963C/ref=ms_sbrspot_0?pf_rd_p=494263771&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=507846&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1VGQ09T29YA80KJVWHK4

kindleThe e-book market is potentially hugely lucrative and it is currently dominated by Amazon. However sensing the huge potential in this and not want miss out on a piece, Google is set to launch its Google Editions in early 2010. Now rather than simply provide competition to Amazon, Sony and Plastic Logic for the way e-books are read, the eggheads at Google have been very clever indeed.

Google Editions will be a full online library meaning that Google can get a say in not only how e-books are read, but also how they are bought and sold. What is sure to have Amazon quaking in its boots is that Google Editions will support a variety of e-reading formats, something that its online Kindle e-book store cannot do.

I know what you're thinking. Why should I care?

The blogging world is currently buzzing with the topic of e-books and the impending doom of the written form. While it is far too early to tell the extent of damage e-books could have on the publishing industry, the fact is e-readers have proved to be increasingly popular over recent months. If Google Editions really takes off and it fulfills its claims of being able to make available 500,000 titles from day one, it will certainly have a huge impact instantly.

This will not just effect the publishing trade but also the Journalism industry. If a huge number of e-readers are sold then people could ultimately decide that 80p a day spent on a newspaper is an unneccessary expenditure as the proper "paper" version of the newspaper is available on their fancy new toy anyway. Print Journalism has certainly taken a huge hit with the unprecendented expansion of the Internet and this could change the way the whole industry operates.

Could this prove to be the final nail in the coffin for the print Journalist?

If it is, remember that you read it here first!

2 comments:

Matt 17 October 2009 at 08:17  

The problem with a lot of the e-readers is that they are effectively just an lcd screen using the same resolutions as a pc monitor would. I'm sure I can't be alone when I say that reading large amounts of text on a monitor is not only difficult, but also makes my eyes feel strained and tired - A problem I never encounter when reading a physical book.

While it's probably true that print media is marching slowly towards its own demise, I think that the technology will have to greatly improve before the majority of people switch over to e-readers.

Rich Google Taylor 17 October 2009 at 08:39  

Should the print form die at the hand of e-books then certainly people will be sad, and indeed look back at the days of trying to read a broadsheet newspaper on a cramped bus with nostalgia.

500,000 books at your instant disposal however, can only be a huge step forward.

Also, people who don't happen to go to a newsagents every day now will have access to news in an electronic form whilst out and about, meaning that maybe circulation will increase. (Should the papers move to e-paper-which they certainly will)

I don't think that print Journalism will die, but in fact the phrase will become an idiom reminiscent of the days when people still printed words on dead trees.

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I am currently in my final year at Winchester University studying Journalism. I hope to become a music journalist although I now realise how difficult it would be to make a living from. Im currently assessing my career options so any suggestions would be welcomed!

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