Sure it’s the season for iPad 3 rumors but of more immediate interest to me at the moment is Apple’s NYC event for later this month. If the rumors on that one are true, the focus is going to be media related, specifically publishing and eBooks and after working on a few of them, I’m quite curious to hear what is released / presented. I’ve really taken to the format and the possibilities therein.

Following the practice that our web content needs to be responsive, what we do with PDFs leaves a lot to be desired. PDFs have served us well for a long time but remain primarily a printer appropriate format at a time when printing has never been more optional. For all the ways that we’d in general expect to interact to do with our information, it’s a very static presentation consisting of text and imagery. And I honestly can’t recall the last time I saw a video in a PDF or interactivity beyond links.

• What if a product brochure contained a gallery of zoom-able hi resolution product photography?
• What if a spec sheet had calculators to aid in product usage or selection?
• What if a manual contained how-to videos for installation and maintenance?
• Who said an ebook has to be long form? How about a case history with testimonial videos?

To varying degrees, all of these things are possible right now. If you’ve downloaded our ebook on an iPhone or iPad then you’ve seen an example of placing a video in an ebook. We’re in development now on an ebook for a client which is unlike any piece of product literature I’ve ever seen. Stay tuned and when it’s released in the next couple of months I think you’ll see something really interesting.

Of course it’s not all milk and honey. Competing formats from the two big players, Apple and Amazon make upfront research all the more important. I’m actually looking forward to this battle. As these two go back and forth, I expect some very exciting opportunities to arise. In terms of ebook functionality, Apple seemed to have the lead for a while, then Amazon released the Fire with the KF8 format and if the rumors hold true, Apple’s got something new up its iBooks sleeve.

And ebooks are really only compelling in the context of mobile devices.  But isn’t that where our audiences are headed?

I didn’t initially see the value in ebooks. For the information we’re trying to help our clients share and their audiences, I couldn’t make a case. Now that I’ve had a few opportunities to work with the formats and possible content I believe there’s huge potential. As we approach 1000 worldwide downloads of our ebook in the iTunes store, I think some people agree.

Postscript - 

In case you haven’t seen how the formats are represented on various devices, some screen captures are included below.

Our book as a PDF, viewed on an iPhone

Page from our eBook on iPhone

Page from our eBook on a Kindle

Page from our eBook on the Kindle reader for PC

Pages from our eBook on iPad - Landscape orientation

Post-postscript-

Bonus screen caps showing videos embedded in the eBook:

Embedded video on iPhone

Embedded video on iPad