iPad's Presence Already Being Felt

There are many opinions about Apple's new iPad and how revolutionary (or merely innovative) it will be. However, its impact is already being felt in one important area, e-books. As we discussed in our initial review of the device, an important category for the iPad will be the world of e-readers. Apple is not only attempting to create a better user reading experience, Apple is trying to reinvent the business model for e-books, just as it did for digital music.

Weeks before any of the iPad devices will reach consumers' hands, it appears that the proposed Apple pricing model for selling e-books is on the verge of becoming the new market standard. The irony is that Apple's digital music model was precisely the one-size-fits-all model that it's trying to supplant in the world of e-books.