The ebook future now

We all know the controversy over the digital book revolution. It is undisputed that there is one going on and that “Legacy Publishers” are not comfortable with it, in fact there are a lot of people who do not want this change.

I have said it before, I believe that the ebook market will grow fast, very fast, but I also have stated in previous post that I love printed books, I do not think that there is anybody out there that do not like them. Remember, the question here is not if we like it or not, here is whether it will be successful or not.

The past week at the Apple’s WWDC in San Francisco, Steve Job announced that so far there were sold 25 million iPads and more than 100 million iPhones world-wide. The iPhone market is a stablished one and the iPad business stormed its way in the world, giving us a new way to mobilize our lives. It is a revolutionary gadget as the iPod was in its time.

Apple has 90% of market share in the tablet segment. This percentage surely will decrease, in time we could see that it will go down to a 50% market share, understandable as this new computer segment is starting and we, in time, will see new devices around in order to compete with the iPad. But the issue here is that being an iPad or a tablet, it will keep selling as its portability tops that from the laptops or netbooks.

The eBook business is starting, right now is having a vigorous surge and rocking the place around. Bookstore Borders filed for bankrupt. This is a hard hit to the Publishing market. But all of this we know. So we can start predicting from here on.

I think that in five years time, if not earlier, the ebook market will be the benchmark and the printed book will be relegated to alternative measure. The romantic side. If we believe that say of the analyst that by 2015 there will be sold more than 500 million tablet devices, well there is a good possibility that this, eReader benchmark dream come true.

To this we could add that an 8 year kid that uses the computer, sometime better than his/hers father, in 5 years time will be 13 years old and going to high school, well the tablet is a must for them. They will not be sad that they not have a printed book to study on, because they are accustomed to seeing them in the tablet. I see it with my kids they love to play with my iPhone and my iPod, and my wife’s iPod also. They are 5 and 7 years old and know perfectly well to use this devices, they crave for an iPad, they want me to buy one (I also crave for one) and borough it. This is the future way for them, and it is now.

So, the problem here is if we are ready psychologically to let go the printed word and embrace the digital one? Our kids are ready for them. We have to understand this revolution so that in the near future we open our eyes and the benchmark is here and we cannot do nothing, due to our fear of the digital word.

I invite you all to embrace it and use it. Understand it. and promote it.

Doing this things we can promote reading among our circle of friends/family and people will find out that reading has not gone out of style. That with reading, we could gain back our humanity.

It’ a Book…store?

Cover of It's a Book

Last week my wife bought the Lane Smith “It’s a Book” book. Since the first page I was hooked to it. I loved the book right to its very core, and let me say to you that I am a technological gadget lover.

I love my iPhone, my Macbook, I crave for an iPad and/or a Kindle/Nook. I stay “connected” almost all time. But the “It’s a Book” book is so right that you can not love it. I urge you to buy it.

The past Saturday I went to see some museums Downtown Mexico City, they had two solo shows of two excellent Latin-American artist that had to go and see them. Peruvian Painter Fernando de Szyszlo and Mexican Photographer Flor Garduño. The shows are spectacular.

It had passed around three years that I went again to the “Centro” I was surprised with all the renovations made. The streets look beautiful without any illegal street vendor. You can walk through almost street with no problem. It really is an incredible place.

As I was walking by and looking to all the things that the “Centro” had to offer I was surprised with one thing that in US, UK and Australia are having huge problems. I found a good amount of libraries. Almost all are used book libraries, but still they sell books.

I saw speciality book stores like, the book for the Lawyer, the Architect, the Engineer; also where you can buy books for kids where all kinds of prints are sold, known and unknown.

For me this was a revelation, all due to the Buzz we have heard of large bookstores going under and book sales number suffering versus the ebook sales numbers that are surging. So, having all this in mind and as I walk by all these streets of bookstores hit me that they are on a verge of extinction.

Extinction, because they will not evolve, this kind of bookstores will reduce to bare minimum. I really do not believe that the printed book will be 100% extinct, they as bookstores will change.

Thinking about this as I walk by the stores in Downtown Mexico City, I had a revelation, Lane Smith’s It’s a Book title floated around my head, my brain. In a not so long time away, in an economy not so far away (maybe all over the world) there will be a kid asking, what is that. The answer, It’s a Book…..store. And what do you do with it… And here we can go by paraphrasing the excellent Book I did tell you about.

I hope that this kind of establishments prevail worldwide, and do not forget about the print word.

Blogging from my iPhone

As you have read in previous posts, I have been having some problems with my Internet account, well this problems continue. It is incredible that the company that made Carlos Slim so rich is so bad, they do not know what is the problem!!! I had to contract other Internet service, Cablevision, this one owned by Grupo Televisa, the service is worst that Telmex.

Since the first day they installed me the service I had problems, I had payed for a 4Meg speed but only had service of 450kbps. Through 10 days I speak every day with them, again, they didn’t had the slightest idea of what was causing this problem. I opt to cancel the service and stay with Telmex.

So, as I do not have Internet connection I will be posting through the iPhone, for those of you that know the spelling check of this phone I apologize if I did not view it early, for those of you that do not have seen the spelling check problems of the iPhone I also apologize if some of them goes by my post.

I will do a thorough review before posting to avoid the must I can this type of error.