A competition between Amazon and Apple tablets will be a battle that pits the company that created the first popular e-reader (and set off a still-unfolding revolution in how books are consumed) against the company that created the first popular tablet (and set off a revolution in progress about how entertainment and other media are consumed).

The idea began when teachers who owned iPad noticed a significant improvement in kindergartners — who had previously had trouble learning the alphabet — who were exposed to educational software on the iPad. The device is seen as more portable and less expensive than laptop computers, and more appropriate for the age group’s hands-on use. Officials hope to raise the literacy rates in the district from 62 to 90 percent within two years.

This is exactly the kind of project we at Fliplog dream about. Download numbers and feedback we have received from users of Hindi app tells us that kids get tremendous amount of learning support from iPad apps. Parents were loving it and now schools are jumping into this adoption game.

[H/T @lizcastro]

The marketing world is drawing up plans to invade one of the last bastions of media that is largely advertising-free: books.
As e-books proliferate, advertisers are experimenting with ways to pitch to consumers while they read, a trend that could change the publishing business but faces opposition from some traditionalists.

Marketers are exploring a variety of formats, including sponsorships that give readers free books. Videos, graphics or text with an advertiser’s message that appear when a person first starts a book or along the border of the digital pages are also in the works. Ads can be targeted based on the book’s content and the demographic and profile information of the reader.

Like everything else on internet nowadays, polarizing people across taste leads to new behavior and hopefully monetization. I am all for it if it leads to more revenue to authors/publishers and lower cost for readers.

Google eBooks will let reader access ebooks from any device – be it browser, desktop, mobile apps, netbooks and maybe Google TV. There are apps for Android and iPad/iPhone devices as well. Sign up and use of this service will be as familiar an experience as using Gmail or Google Docs. Which means Google is going into this battle with a huge advantage. They are also planning to extend web reader to competing platforms like Sony and Nook.

Google is also bringing another weapon to the battle – indies! Small booksellers who suffered in the elephant fight between Apple and Amazon can now find some level playing field. Google is allowing these independent booksellers (for now US only – so much for globalization!) to host ebooks for sale. It will be interesting to see how far Google goes to empower Independent booksellers. Can an average joe running book review blog convert that community into bookselling service? Going by Google’s investment in Adsense and Blogger, this should be obvious but we will have to see how this evolves.

All in all exciting development. We will be test driving this service and wherever possible pushing Fliplog eBooks to Google eBook platform. Exciting time for book lovers!

Demo video:

More information:

Google eBook overview
Google eBookStore

Financial Times – Old media tackle the challenge of the tablet. Heard for the first time about ‘finishability’ of content on iPad. Apple sold 7.5 million iPads so far.

Joe Pompeo – Three tablet-based media ventures preparing for take-off. Mentions Nomad Editions, Murdoch’s Daily and Richard Branson’s iPad magazine initiative.

We are still in touch with publishers and hopefully this situation will improve as technology matures and concrete behavior emerges from tablet usage.

It’s good to see refreshing analysis by Khoi Vinh on this subject –

My opinion about iPad-based magazines is that they run counter to how people use tablets today and, unless something changes, will remain at odds with the way people will use tablets as the medium matures. They’re bloated, user-unfriendly and map to a tired pattern of mass media brands trying vainly to establish beachheads on new platforms without really understanding the platforms at all.

The fact of the matter is that the mode of reading that a magazine represents is a mode that people are decreasingly interested in, that is making less and less sense as we forge further into this century, and that makes almost no sense on a tablet. As usual, these publishers require users to dive into environments that only negligibly acknowledge the world outside of their brand, if at all — a problem that’s abetted and exacerbated by the full-screen, single-window posture of all iPad software. In a media world that looks increasingly like the busy downtown heart of a city — with innumerable activities, events and alternative sources of distraction around you — these apps demand that you confine yourself to a remote, suburban cul-de-sac.

As it’s happening elsewhere, nailing this problem requires many experiments. Lot of throw-away code has to be written before we can claim one or two diamonds. Unfortunately industry insiders don’t always have the luxury of experiments.