Finally, some of the other major countries of the world will get to taste their own iPad action sitting at home. Apple has declared May 28th to be the date when the iPad becomes available in the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and Australia. That pretty much covers all of Apple’s top international locations business-wise. But there is more than just the iPad coming for them.
As it turns out, Apple will make the iBook Store go international alongside the iPad. The company intends to make the eBook store available in most of the nice new countries where the iPad will become available by the end of this month. Talking about availability, Apple has said that they have run out of stock of iPads in 13 states in the US as demands continue to exceed supply. This could well be artificial but do understand that Apple is also preparing for a multi-national international launch and they do not have too many factories rolling these out. So even if it is planned, they really cannot have that many iPads at hand to support all countries.
Apple also recently celebrated the sale of more than 1 million iPads. That has got to be an achievement and that means their install base just grew by 1 million, making them an even more important player in the industry. And once the iPad rolls out internationally, it will only multiply itself. But the bad news is what all customers outside US have often complained about – the price is higher than what it is in the US. If you take a look at the Press Release from Apple UK, it says that the WiFi-only models will cost £429, £499 and £599 for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models respectively inclusive of VAT. The price for 3G models is £529, £599 and £699 for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models respectively. So with the taxes figured in, the iPads are costing the UK customer quite a bit more than the US. The British Pound is at $1.49 at the time of writing. These are of course suggested retail prices. The actual cost might be low in certain cases but if they are bought from Apple stores, they are likely going to be bought for those prices. Especially immediately after the launch.
The launch of the iBook Store in these countries also suggests that Apple wasn’t all talk and no action when it gave negotiations with local content providers as a reason for the delay in the international launch. If the iBook Store is going to be available in these countries, then it is probably safe to assume that multiple publishers have agreed to provide Apple with eBooks for the store. After all, if you are selling a content consumption device, it doesn’t make much sense to sell it without a built-in way to get that content. And the US publishers have apparently been seeing a lot of sales through Apple, which is always good for negotiating deals outside the country. However, eBooks are just the tip of it.
Apple is continuing on their path to make the most of their hold on the market through iTunes. They are already the largest online digital music retailers in the world and with the iPad in place, a lot of the new features, like the iTunes LP, are beginning to gain more meaning than ever before. With iPad, Apple also gains another screen which they can fill with motion content. iTunes might not be all that well known for movies and TV content just yet but they are there and they are increasing in numbers. The iPad is not only the perfect portable screen to beam all this content to, it is also a fantastic companion to Apple’s next content distribution project — Apple TV.
Coming back to eBooks, it seems like Apple is all set to become the largest seller of it in the US, surpassing Amazon very soon. Just as the publishers were enticed by Apple to increase their prices evenly all across the board (the Amazon v/s publishers wars will not be forgotten in a hurry), the level playing field pushed consumers to the better device. The effects also show in Amazon’s attempt to cope with the blow by investing in making a new type of Kindle with color screen and touch interface that will have apps. Amazon has already released an SDK for the Kindle called KDK (Kindle Development Kit) so that developers can make ‘apps’ for the platform but no one sees it going too far with just about 2fps and monochrome to work with.
Now that Apple is in between Amazon and Sony in the eBook market, the momentum of the iPad seems quite real. If they could climb up that fast and make Amazon quake in their e-tailer boots that easily, Apple’s definitely going to be a force to reckon with once the international roll out is complete. The ultimate future is of course going to be one where Apple has the largest digital content distribution platform in the world and it is supported by a network of connected devices like the iPad, the iPhone and the Apple TV.
It is clear to see that Apple is slowly drawing their net in as they gradually take over the lives of their consumers in every aspect. You will have a MacBook with for work, an iMac at home, an iPad in the bag always, an iPhone in hand, an Apple TV in the living room and perhaps one in the bedroom, a time capsule stowed away somewhere discrete and a remote to control them all. Apple is building it’s own Eden and you can get in if you want to. But then do remember that this is Apple’s garden and you only live there. At least that is what some of the protestors see it as.
In the end, you just have to remember that Apple is a company, just like Sony and Amazon and they will do what they think is the best for their future. And from history we have learned that as long as they do not become the majority, they will be pretty cool and innovative. Market monopoly can be dangerously negative for growth, as we have seen in case of Microsoft and early days of Apple when OS X was the only GUI equipped OS on the market.
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