by austinevan
Amazon frantically phoned publishers as Steve Jobs unveiled iPad
[Via AppleInsider]
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs was still standing on stage addressing an auditorium full of media reps last month when higher-ups at Amazon began phoning publishers in an effort to extract details on the deals they were given to supply content on the new iPad device he was touting.
The move came as the online retailer and eBook reader pioneer was pressing its publisher partners to agree to long-term licensing deals that would guarantee Amazon Kindle owners would always be afforded the lowest possible price for content, in exchange for publishers seeing higher revenues from each sale, according to the New York Times.[More]
This just creates such wonderful visions in my head. Because this means that two smart companies, Apple and Amazon, are going to compete head-to-head but will keep the publishers caught in the middle.
Just like the record companies, and the movie companies, and the TV companies, the print media will try to exercise control and keep their high-priced models around (Who will really spend as much for an ebook as for the real thing?) I expect the smart guys at Apple and Amazon, who understand much more the new world we inhabit, to run rings around these guys.
And, just like with digital MP3 downloads, they will have large effects on what we get to download, even as it turns out when all the dust settle, that Amazon and Apple were really not head-to-head after all. That is, they sell similar things in slightly different ays and to different people.
In the end, the customer is the one who wins. As it should when capitalism works correctly.
A Man With A Ph.D. 
Interesting post, having a small bit of an issue accessing the RSS feed. I would quite like to subscribe to your blog. Will try again later. Thanks again, Loise Beckwith