This week's introduction of the much-anticipated new Apple iPad has some news media analysts thinking that the 10-inch touch-screen device could be the manifestation of a decades-long quest for a newspaper that is delivered instantaneously and without the expense of a printing press. Like all new Apple products, the iPad is being promoted in jaw-dropping videos of its capabilities that leave viewers like me salivating.
CEO Steve Jobs describes the iPad as the best device for surfing the Web, and he might be right. The touch-screen interface seems as advanced, at first glance, as the click-and-drag mouse was in the first Macintosh computers. Want to see a picture bigger or read a story on a Web page? Just tap it with your finger. Want to turn a page in your electronic book? Just brush the bottom right corner of the "page" with your finger. Want to select a new Web address from a list of favorite? Just tap it. Need to type an address or fill out a form? A virtual keyboard magically appears. I'm impressed — and salivating.
The iPad is more portable and more readily usable than a laptop and easier to read than a smart phone. Its size and light weight make it nearly as easy to carry around as a newspaper or a book. I'd love to own one, or at least get a chance to play with one.
Still ... . Despite all the advances in electronic connectivity and screen display, there's something missing. Although I've never held an iPad, I know it doesn't feel like a book — or a newspaper. The New York Times has already signed on as a provider for the iPad, and the video I've seen touts the similarity between reading the print Times and the iPad version. It may be a while before I get a chance to experience what it's like to read the NYT on an iPad, but I can tell you that reading most newspapers online via a computer is nothing like reading the print version. Besides the loss of the tactile sensation of holding the paper in your hands, the online reader misses the overall page display, including the advertising, and the serendipitous aspect of turning newspaper pages, never knowing what news you might find. Online readers tend to be more focused, seeing only what they search for. As a result, they miss the broader horizons that print readers experience.
Print newspapers still have value and still provide experiences electronic versions do not. Printed books, likewise, provide experiences e-books don't. I think the iPad and its competitors and successors will have an impact on publishing, but the proven, 500-year-old technology and effectiveness of print will still be around for generations to come. And I expect to be sharing the morning newspaper with my wife over coffee, swapping sections back and forth, for many more years. The iPad (or something similar), if we have one, will be a supplement to the format we like the best.
Yes, real newspapers are nice. It's a shame Wilson doesn't have one.
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