A Rare ErosBlog Tech Prediction

The iPad is not going to take off as an ebook reader. I haven’t seen it, I haven’t thumbed its virtual pages with its flashy on-screen touch controls, I don’t have the first clue what it offers for a reading experience. But, as an ebook reader, it will fail. (Whether it achieves commercial success on the strength of its other virtues, I do not care to opine.)

How do I know it will fail as an ebook reader? Is it because Twitter is alive with #iTampon jokes? No, it’s because, for once, Steve Jobs has chased a market he manifestly does not understand. Here’s proof:

Steve Jobs, on the device’s 10 hour battery life: “Ten hours is a long time, you’re not going to read for 10 hours.”

Not on your device, obviously. Next product, please!