9-to-5 Mac has some speculation that the rumored Apple tablet will be US only. I find myself agreeing with this. I can see it staying only in the US at least for while.
When the Amazon Kindle was first introduced back in 2007 it was US only. Why? Well, it’s all thanks to publishing agreements. Each country has its own rules and regulations for publishers and each can choose how to publish its own books. Take, for instance, the famous Harry Potter books. In the United States they are published by Scholastic. In the UK they are published by Bloomsbury. It’s not just the books themselves that have differing aspects, though. The Harry Potter audiobooks are read by two different people depending on where you purchase them. In the US, they are read by Jim Dale. In the UK they are read by Stephen Fry. This is all heavily dependent on the contracts that are signed in each locality.
Because of the complexity of the world of publishing, it could mean a US only launch of the Apple tablet if it is supposed to be an eReader. Will it always stay that way? Probably not. It will, however, take Apple some time to make deals with the publishers to allow content to be produced and distributed via its iTunes mechanism in different countries.
We will all find out who is right and who is wrong on January 27th, 2010.
Earth Image source is from Woody Wonder Works on flickr.
Tablet image source is from Photo Giddy on Flickr.
