The Magical iPad

Picture this: a student is given a choice to sample either an iPad or a Kindle.

Who wins? The iPad of course. After all, Steve Jobs did say it was “magical” in his original three minute pitch of the product in 2010.

Initially, I was intrigued by its screen and the myriad of applications already present. I admired its sleek design, curious as to how it was made—as if it were some previously obscured work of art.

After the initial glow wore off, I ventured to iTunes to listen to my favorite songs like a true Apple consumer. Promptly turning up the volume, I sampled some songs and sang along, but it didn’t take long for me to migrate towards books. Afterwards, I listened to actress Ruby Dee read one of my favorite novels, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. This eventually led to the download of a sample which was nicely placed on my virtual bookshelf. From there, I continued to read an updated intro to the work by well known Haitian writer, Edwidge Dandicat. In a matter of minutes, a legendary book was made immediately accessible.

Despite my curiosity, a question was forming in my mind: how is this different from Amazon’s Kindle? Or the Nook from B&N?

Attempting to find the source of the iPad’s selling points, I ventured to that online resource which is currently taking up 82% of the market share—you know, Google. Surprisingly (or maybe not), I found that the key phrase “what is the iPad good for” showed up as a typed, as if many, perhaps even hundreds had wondered the very same thing. At the beginning of the page, a link to an article on Techcrunch.com appeared to answer my questions. (Techcrunch is a reputable source because 350,550 people “like” it according to Facebook—and we know that Facebook never lies!) The list of plusses and minuses were written by John Biggs who suggests that iPad is good for reading, photography, games, and movies. That’s fine, I rationalized, but so are physical books, printed photos and the TV.

So, back to the iPad I went.

I read news stories, watched an animated storytelling adventure, and investigated personalized settings, but as I did this another question found its way to the surface. Is the iPad simply an expensive way to pass the time?  I wonder if this iPad craze is just that—a craze. People have been known to want whatever anyone else has. Does all of this go back to the mention of that well known hypothetical family called “The Joneses” who inspire a continuous upgrade in lifestyle some people feel the need to achieve? With technological progress, comes the need to either maintain or pass it. It seems as if every other person I know owns an iPad, plans to, or received it as a gift. What promotes this feeling in us? Is it that sense of inclusion we want to feel? Do we like shiny new products? Do we want to purchase things simply because we can? Or could it be that the iPad legitimately brings a little technological magic into our lives?

Links: (http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/19/10-things-the-ipad-is-good-for-and-5-it-isnt/)

 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/01/steve-jobs-ipad-keynote-i_n_444801.html)

iPad Adventure

Sorry this has taken me a bit longer to put up than anticipated. The iPad was very fun, I loved the crazy picture sharing, sharing videos and browsing Kodansha's manga app. The manga is beautifully displayed on the device. Someday I hope to purchase this device and have even more fun with it.

Again, I know this entry is brief, but I have a blog that details my experience.

On November 20, I intend to submit my last Kodansha Files entry.

Please look out for it b/c I'm trying to make it special (perhaps a Calvin Reid interview?). The only reason I was excited for the iPad was to explore the Kodansha app. It was pleasantly surprising!

If you want to know more about that experience, visit my site on November 20.

http://www.lateshagoodman.wordpress.com/

Kodansha Files: Manga in Uncharted Waters

Ten years ago, manga took the US by storm and cemented its place in pop culture. Kodansha Ltd, in particular managed to beat out its Japanese competitors by licensing its vast library to numerous overseas markets. However, with the global recession, declining manga sales and shrinking retail outlets, Kodansha along with other manga publishers needed to go back to the drawing board.

It no longer made sense for manga publishers to solely license their titles to TokyoPop; they no longer needed an intermediary to re-release their work. With the introduction of new technologies and scanlations incidents increasing, Japanese publishers needed to upgrade their "traditional business model." Viz Media, a Japanese manga publisher, responded to the new developments by making their presence in America a focal point. (More on that later)

Kodansha Ltd, on the other hand, had yet to take the lead. That was until July 1, 2008 when Kodansha USA was incorporated.

Kodansha USA Timeline - July 10, 2008
1997 – Mixx, before it became known as TokyoPop, started translating Kodansha titles and publishing English editions of the Sailor Moon, Ice Blade and Magic Knight

2003 – Del Ray Manga and Kodansha create a “creative partnership. This came about following an alliance between Random House and Kodansha.

July 1, 2008 – Kodansha USA was incorporated.

Article: The Kodansha Fallout: More Manga Changes?
By: Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080710-Kodanshamanga01.html

The Changing Manga Scene-What Does the Future Hold - July 21, 2008
Jake Forbes, a former TokyoPop editor states, “I think the days of licensed-based publishing being big business are over.”

He continues,”…Japanese publishers don't need a middleman. Viz [Media] is the evidence and exception to this – they are perceived as a licensee, and to a large degree they function like one, but they are also owned by the companies that provide most of their content, the biggest manga publishers in Japan, Shueisha and Shogakukan (which in turn share the same ownership, but maintain the appearance of competitors in Japan).

By: Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080718-MangaFuture.html,

Kodansha Sets Up to Publish Manga in U.S. - Oct 05, 2009
“In recent years speculations over its plans have grown as Kodansha allowed many of its American licenses to expire. Indeed, in recent weeks Kodansha announced that it would not renew any of its licenses to Tokyopop—among them such hit series as LoveHina, Chobits, Rave Master, Beck, Initial D and Sailor Moon.”

By Calvin Reid
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/15206-kodansha-sets-up-to-publish-manga-in-u-s-.html

Random House to Shift Manga Publishing to Kodansha USA Publishing - October 4, 2010
"Kodansha and Random House announced that the US division of Kodansha will take over publishing over all Del Rey Manga titles as well as their own manga, starting in December [2010]."

"[It] will be under the direction of president and CEO of Kodansha USA Publishing, Yoshio Irie."
Reid continues, "...The Del Rey Manga list has been licensed entirely from Kodansha Ltd. under a co-publishing agreement between the two houses.

While Irie emphasized that KUP will gradually take over Del Rey’s licensed manga, he also said that they will evaluate each series on a per-title basis to decide which series KUP has “the capacity” to continue."

• Remember this name, he will play a bigger role in reshaping Kodansha Ltd. in the future. He will also play a large role in making Kodansha USA a force to be reckoned with. (hopefully).

By Calvin Reid
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/comics/article/44698-random-house-to-shift-manga-publishing-to-kodansha-usa-publishing.html

Conclusion
Traditionally Japanese manga publishers used an intermediary such as TokyoPop and Del Ray Manga to release their titles overseas. At the time this made perfect sense-- these publishers had a presence in US markets. However, Viz Media broke against the grain by making their presence in the US market a center focus.

Kodansha Ltd. may have taken longer to follow, but this eventually followed suit. The creation of Kodansha USA is a clear sign that Kodansha Ltd, intends to break uncharted ground and become a force to be reckoned with.

Will this shift in the business model pay off? Can Kodansha USA truly rival Del Ray Manga? And how will emerging technologies affect its success?

Those answers and more in The Kodansha Files Oct.30 entry (well at least some of those answers will be).

Latesha Goodmna
An Unconventional Publisher Confesses

BTW: Image is courtesy Wikipedia, the US title is Tramps Like Us. I heart this cover it screams forbidden.

Me and The Pad

Day 1: Me Against the Metro

The Crystal City Squeeze

Class entry coming Monday night. Here's some of my adventures in the meantime. Don't be mad Professor Grossblatt.

Me Against The Metro...Lived to Tell the Tale

Dear Diary, I was thinking of replacing you with an iPad, but...

Here is my experience using the iPad.

I do not have an iPhone or an iMac, but I do own an iPod. I have never used an iPad.

Overall, my disappointment outweighed my delight with this device.

Pros

1. The iPad lets you hilite, make notes, easily look up words in the dictionary and search for words throughout a text. These functions are all very nice.
2. I like the different ways you can turn a page. In print books, I often begin to turn a page before I am completely done with the page I'm reading, and I discovered you can do almost the same thing on the iPad.

Cons

I encountered several things that, for me, were broken.

1. I did not know how to turn on the device. This is kind of a big deal. I figured you simply hit the small button on the bottom of the device, but I had to be told how to turn it on (I won't spoil it in case you don't know, either). I consider the on-off button to be a broken design.
2. Upon getting the machine on, I was struck by the clarity of the screen, its crispness, but also how it reflected back at me in certain lights. Also, I found myself tiring easily reading the device in dim light.
3. I poked around the Apps store. It was easy to navigate. However, when I chose to view the listings by name, there was only one option: alphabetical from A to Z. There was no option I could find that would let me search from Z to A, or even to skip ahead to B or see the listings under C without having to go through ALL the A and B listings. I give this feature a B for broken.
4. Some of the apps offer a link to the developer website. This is a nice option, and upon selection it quickly opens the Web browser to the site you chose. However, there is no "back" button to return to your spot in the Apps store. So I had to close out of the Web browser and go back and open up the Apps store again. This is annoying and broken.

Here are few broken things I encountered while reading. I opened up a sample of "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," by Jonathan Safran Foer (which I have not read, but it's on my to-read list!)

1. There are a few illustrations in the print edition. In the e-version sample, the illustrations do not appear in the same places, and they run over to two screens, so the second screen has just a sliver of the illustration, and the rest of the screen is blank. This is weird (and broken).
2. I could not figure out a way to change the view to landscape format (broken for landscape lovers).
3. There is a section in the print version where the narrator is looking at a newspaper clipping, which has been marked with a red pen. In the print book, the marking is red. In the e-version, the marking is not red (it looks like something in color that is printed in grayscale).

So overall, I would be hard pressed to purchase an iPad primarily as a reading device.

The Kodansha Files

Beginning in October, I will be tracking Kodansha USA, an American subsidiary of Kodansha, Japan's largest manga publisher. Why? Great question, I'm trying to discover when or if Kodansha USA intends to digitize its catalog. More specifically, I want to know which digital format it will use. Personally, I'm excited to see Sailor Moon as an iPad app. Still, Kodansha might prefer to keep its catalog solely in print. I don't know, but I do know whatever happens it makes for an interesting read, which brings me to my next point.
 
My blog, An Uncoventional Publisher focuses on new jobs for publishers in The Digital Age of Books.
As an aspiring publisher, I must understand traditional publishing and feel comfortable using new technologies. This reality mirrors that of today's publishing houses.That's why I believe my class assignment meshes perfectly with this blog.

Moreover, I think it's a great way to introduce Sailor Moon to unfamiliar consumers. If no one has ever heard of Kodansha Ltd, that's to be expected. Most readers have heard of Stephen King, but have no idea who his publisher is. On the other hand, if readers have never heard of Sailor Moon then that's a travesty. I'm introducing The Kodansha Files to do my homework and support Sailor Moon, 

Look out for Kodansha Files first entry October 15. In the meantime, I'm asking readers to do at least one of these four things:

• Message me if you have any relevant links, tweets or articles OR
• If you don't think Sailor Moon makes a great e-book say it and support it OR
• If you think Sailor Moon makes a great e-book say it and support it OR
• Post an e-book fail or an e-book pass; I know they're out there.

Looking forward to seeing you on Oct.15,  

Latesha Goodman
Author of An Unconventional Publisher Confesses
www.lateshagoodman.wordpress.com 

Disclaimer, if you don't feel comfortable with me including your real name let me know. This blog is attached to my public Wordpress blog; everything you say will be publicized. I don't mind someone disagreeing with my standpoint, I only ask for people to be respectful. I don't mind comments that have cursing, dirty jokes or graphic pictures. If you have examples that contain nudity that's fine too; if it's relevant then I'm on board. I only ask that your argument have validity and your comments aren't personal.

2 cool! The iPad 2

Pros: The color display is sharp, impressive, and lends itself well to e-reading. Apps like Morris (an interactive picture book with moving pictures and audio) and T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland (which includes analysis and commentary, images of original drafts, readings of selected sections, etc.) show how much the iPad's features can enhance the reading experience. I didn't have any trouble with the backlit screen, but found the slight glare from a lamp faintly annoying. iBooks, Apple's e-reading app, was easy to use; the shelves were visually a nice way to organize content, and I like that iBooks can view and store PDFs. In-text features like the dictionary, bookmarking and highlighting were helpful, too (though how to "un-highlight"?). Most importantly, being able to access a class syllabus, Wikipedia, or anything on the web while reading was hugely useful. When compared to the black-and-white Kindle, for example, a multitasking color tablet seems like a no-brainer.

Cons: The iPad gets heavy quickly if simply held in your hand. Although I used it only on the Metro to and from work, and for a few hours one evening, the battery was down to 70-75% after relatively little use. It's also quite expensive, even for all of the iPad's capabilities. A small quibble: when viewing PDFs (though the ability to do so is nice), a reader can't continuously scroll down. This means that, unless the page is at full-screen zoom (often rendering the text illegible), you must scroll down, then flip sideways to continue reading. And a final note: different orientations resulting in different layouts, I found that being unable to picture the position of text on the page made it more difficult to recall the content, for some reason.

Bottom Line: Though a staunch fan of print, I'd definitely purchase an iPad 2... if I had $500 lying around.