In our recent CES coverage, we emphasized the overwhelming importance of content – right here, right now. The “content crush,” as we referred to it, is enabled by technology and driven by the need to connect with customers in a meaningful way.
How important is content? So important that the New York Times and People magazine, in partnership with manufacturers, are now subsidizing e-readers for subscribers. The Times is giving away certain e-readers outright to those who subscribe for one year.
This makes sense no matter how you look at it, for both manufacturers and content producers – especially when the ease of purchasing additional content straight from the device turns them into handheld revenue generators. When e-readers first debuted, some traditionalists claimed that they’d never take off, that people love to hold real books and magazines. Recent developments in the runaway success of the e-book market have quieted such claims, and this new approach is likely to spread. Yes, the future is now.