Are textbooks, publishing, and college stores about to face their "i-Pod moment"? That was part of the discussion last week in a session at the O'Reilly TOC conference. The question, though, is: Is it possible that our "iPod moment" is coming more quickly than we expected? Could it arrive within the year?
Between now and CAMEX we will be sending out an announcement to members about a recent development that has come to our attention. We are still tracking out information and trying to learn more. From what we have confirmed at this stage, however, appears that the digital environment for textbooks is about to become far more competitive. There is a device, that currently lacks a sufficient content inventory, but that may be about to change. Furthermore, the company owning that device is approaching academic institutions directly through the IT branch. We know a bit more than that, but not a whole lot more. Once the announcement goes out, I will post a copy here.
If we are facing our "iPod moment," are we ready? I would like to seriously engage in a discussion on this topic, our opportunities, and our options. I will bring the topic up in my session at CAMEX next Friday at 4pm. I would be interested in having more conversation on this either here through the blog or via other avenues.
