Would RIM follow suit with Apple and release some kind of book store on the playbook

[blackhawksfan75]

The title is misleading. I wanted to say "Should RIM follow suit with Apple and release a book store on the Playbook?"

Apple has a sure fire winner with the iPad 2 and implementing textbooks on their device. But I also see this as monopolizing the education industry, which is not good for other tablet manufacturers including RIM's playbook.

Being a Canadian (yes I cheer for the Blackhawks) I would like RIM to follow suit and get something in the market place on their Playbook and possibly release a 10" screen (which is rumoured) before the iPads start trickling into our school systems (if not already) so it would give people a choice in what tablet they want to use. This may be a tough sell in the States no question, but here in Canada and other places where Blackberry is still strong, I think it would keep RIM strong in the tablet market.

[Dapper37]

The way I see it. Everything will eventually come. Things like this I'm sure are on top of the list.

[Economist101]

Originally Posted by blackhawksfan75

Apple has a sure fire winner with the iPad 2 and implementing textbooks on their device. But I also see this as monopolizing the education industry, which is not good for other tablet manufacturers including RIM's playbook.

Being a Canadian (yes I cheer for the Blackhawks) I would like RIM to follow suit and get something in the market place on their Playbook and possibly release a 10" screen (which is rumoured) before the iPads start trickling into our school systems (if not already) so it would give people a choice in what tablet they want to use. This may be a tough sell in the States no question, but here in Canada and other places where Blackberry is still strong, I think it would keep RIM strong in the tablet market.

It won't happen anytime soon. Remember, Apple sold music for years before they sold music or movies, sold those for years before they sold apps, sold apps for years before books, and sold books for 18 months before selling textbooks. It's not something you just set up overnight; publishers need to believe that the arrangement makes sense for them, and there simply aren't many people clamping for textbooks on a 7-inch screen.

[blackhawksfan75]

I understand this stuff takes time, so I'm not expecting this to happen tomorrow or even next month, but at the same time it should be something that RIM looks into. There is plenty of time between now and September to get this rolling. I like Apple products, however I just don't want to see this becoming a monopoly in the education industry and it's a perfect opportunity for RIM to stay relevant in the tablet market. Other wise it could fall futher behind, which I don't want to see happen.

[dandbj13]

What people don't realize about McDonald's is the secret to their success is real estate, not hamburgers. They spend a lot of money on market research finding the best locations. Burger King's strategy is simply to plant a store as close to a McDonald's as they can get. They save a ton on market research.

It sounds like the OP is suggesting the Burger King strategy for RIM. Why not? What do they have to lose at this point?

[gbsn]

Its not even hard to implement, app world is already spammed with useless ebooks, wouldn't be too hard to spam it with textbooks. Its not like rim is doing something to organize their "app" store.

[dandbj13]

Here's an idea. They could find a way to port the iBooks Author content and build an iTextbooks Player.

[dbw1000]

I would rather see them focus on great Kindle support first. I don't touch iBooks as Kindle allows me more freedom across devices. It would also be nice to see them entice the Stanza team to put their app on BB.

[TGR1]

Originally Posted by dbw1000

I would rather see them focus on great Kindle support first. I don't touch iBooks as Kindle allows me more freedom across devices. It would also be nice to see them entice the Stanza team to put their app on BB.

Stanza was bought by Amazon and won't be supported anymore. No chance it would get ported legally.