Apple Tablet a Boon for Ex-Pats and Travelers

Posted by Editor on Jan 12, 2010 in Apple, Tablets

Apple’s tablet is expected to help resuscitate the publishing world by offering downloadable e-book versions of popular printed magazines, periodicals and newspapers through the iTunes Store. Perhaps this doesn’t seem all that exciting to the average American, but it could be a boon to travelers and ex-pats living abroad.

Imagine that you couldn’t just walk down to the local newsstand and browse through the latest copy of Newsweek, TIME, the New York Times, Popular Science, MacWorld, etc. What if where you lived these magazines and newspapers showed up weeks and months after their original publication date– if at all. And when they did show up they cost 2-3 times their original cover price.

Well you could argue, most of those periodicals have an online component. But anyone who’s visited magazine and newspaper websites knows that there’s nothing quite like the elegant layout and readability of the printed page next to a standard issue website in a browser. Also, who wants to sit at their computer all day long and read magazine content, that’s something you do sitting at a coffee shop, at an airport lounge or at the dentist’s office to pass the time.

Plus there’s something very satisfying about reading an entire issue cover to cover in linear order; not to mention seeing all the original printed ads, classifieds and ancillary material. Having the original content of the magazine reproduced 1:1 in a downloadable format on a 10.1 screen would be like the next best thing to getting the original version, and better for the environment too.

Subscriptions are another option for ex-pats (though do little for travelers) but again these are often expensive, costing above and beyond the typical subscription or (even the full cover price). And the magazines/newspapers often arrive weeks late and sometimes not at all, depending on the country’s mail efficiency.

So, having access to all of the newspapers and magazines in the U.S. via the iTunes Store for instant browsing, individual issue purchase and long-term subscription sounds like a great deal for folks who live outside their home country. (Or folks from other countries living in the U.S.) And take it a step further, what if you could subscribe to periodicals from around the world. What a great way to learn more and broaden horizons. Or keep in touch, so to speak…