Will iPad Readers Buy Books?

What follows is a completely *unscientific* survey of two people—one of whom does not even have an iPad. The margin of error for this survey is so huge that if my iPad came with a calculator (as my iPod Touch did), I’m pretty sure the machine would blow its little silicon brains out doing the calculations. And, I should note, that I have not been paid by anyone to advocate any products or books (like Once a Hero or Talion: Revenant) which you can purchase from me by clicking the links, for the purpose of conducting your own survey.

(Seriously, buy the books. For the sake of science. 🙂 )

My iPad arrived on April 30th. I’ve got a 3G model with 32 Gigs of memory. That’s really more memory than I need. Unless you’re planning on hauling a lot of video around, it’s more than enough memory for most purposes. Wifi service, so far, has been more than adequate, except when one of the women at Starbucks takes a call on their wireless phone, which cuts the wifi service. Because I know now this is a potential problem, I open the USA Today app and the BBC app at home, refreshing their content, before I begin my morning hike to Starbucks.

My iPad is a hit at Starbucks. Folks oooh and ahhhh like I’m hauling around a cute baby or a cuter puppy. Seriously. This thing lets me meet women and lets me look up facts really fast to frustrate pundits looking to pontificate at 5:30 AM. What a great way to start your day. Folks buy their USA Today, I read it for free. Wonderful feeling, and that app is really easy to use, easy to read. Likewise the BBC app, which gives you print news that’s usually fresher than anything printed in a newspaper. This annoys the stockbrokers waking up to Java.

I know, you’re waiting for the book part. I’ll get there. The important point is that I’ve not had anyone say to me that they can’t read from the screen, or the screen sucks, or anything like that. The most commonly heard adjective is “amazing.” I’ve not asked if they would have trouble reading off the screen simply because I don’t have to. They all poke the glass, make the text scroll up and down, kind of like the apes touching the Monolith in 2001—without the skull-crushing stuff that follows.

Books: I have the iBook app and the Kindle app. Both look great, and work very well. Some of the epub format books I loaded are from Google Books’ mass scanning program. Quality control there really sucks. I discovered one book today where the first page of the novel was left off. Google might think they’re saving the world’s library with their project, but the Dead Sea Scrolls are in better condition by comparison.

(Yes, that is hyperbole. I can use it. I’m an author.)

So, the first respondent in our survey is a yes for both ability to read, and willingness to purchase. Don’t get me wrong, I like reading stuff I get for free, but if I want a book, I buy it. I tried to buy a couple books through the iBookstore, but they didn’t have them. I did snag one sample, however, read it and decided not to buy. I was iffy on that book anyway, though, so no big deal.

The second respondent was the phlebotomist at my doctor’s office. I had to have blood drawn today, so I was waiting outside, reading off the iPad. She called me in, smiled and asked, “Is that what I think that is?” When I said it was, she said she was jealous and that I better keep my eye on the device.

Then, unbidden or prompted, Jessie said, “I want it for book reading.”

This is a woman who already has an iPhone, already reads off it, and loves a variety of apps (we compared notes) on the iPhone. She described the iPad as a “big iPod” and was looking forward to purchasing one. She described herself as not being very techy. While I don’t think it is beyond her (or anyone else) to find content to put on the machine, I’m pretty sure she, like other folks, will go the easy route first and check in the iBookstore for a desired title. After that, it’s Amazon, and after that it’s detective work, but with author websites like mine offering content, and with the interface that makes adding books as easy as adding mp3s to iTunes, folks will have ample access to easily-used content.

One other area that will benefit the book buying will come into play during the holidays: iTunes gift cards. Last year I got a couple, and gave several more as gifts. When you have “free” money sitting in your account, you purchase things you might not otherwise snag. I think a lot of that money will go into books.

As has been aptly pointed out elsewhere (especially comments on Facebook) the iPad has only been around for six weeks, and Apple announced 1.5 million book downloads. The only thing we can take from that is that iPad users are learning how to download books from the iBookstore. Since the iBook app did not ship with the device (you had to download it separately), the stat I’d like to see is how many iBook downloads there were. That would tell us how many iPad users made the conscious decision to avail themselves of books on the device. Knowing how many folks downloaded the Kindle for iPad app would also be useful in that regard.

I’ve previously pointed out that the real test of ebook reading penetration into the minds of folks will come when the iPhone goes to OS4, which will allow most phones to run the iBook app. Suddenly there will be 50 million more devices out there that can use it and purchase books, which will dwarf the total sales of Kindle units. The hype will raise awareness of the possibilities, and folks will explore. That will, I believe, lead to purchases.

One final point: when iTunes first debuted, the trade in mp3s was mostly in what you ripped from CDs yourself. The iTunes interface made obtaining songs actually easier, in terms of time spent, than ripping CDs. It was this convenience and the fact that you could buy only the tracks you wanted, that convinced folks to spend money with iTunes. And since the Kindle has proven that folks are willing to download books rather than run to a store, there is no reason to assume that iPad users won’t buy books. How fast they’ll pick up that habit is an open question, but if iTunes provides any sort of example, as more iPads get into the hands of folks other than early adopters who want to wow the half-awake folks at Starbucks, books will sell and that market segment will expand.

I think that folks who believed that the introduction of the iPad was going to be the publishing industry’s TARP-style bailout were just kidding themselves. Publishing has spent decades digging itself into this hole—since the Great Depression anyway—so it will take a long time to dig back out.

Whether or not they have that much time is an interesting question. I think we’ll have the answer sooner rather than later, and it won’t be the answer big publishing wants to hear.