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Tablets are a boon for comic publishers

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Alan Gardner December 11, 2013 1 minute 1 comment

Ethan Gach writing at Forbes:

Unlike when Apple debuted the original iPad for $499 in 2010, the market is now saturated with models at every price point, including a range economy tablets like the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD, and iPad Mini. As the technology has become cheaper, it?s also become more widespread, with tablet sales expected to eventually surpass the combined sales of desktops and laptops sometime in 2015.

This has been a boon to both comic book publishers and readers. Just as the spread of tablets has fueled growth in book publishing, dedicated apps like Comixology have done wonders for the comic book industry. While companies like DC and Marvel were hesitant at first to distribute their books digitally, for fear of damaging longstanding relationships with brick and mortar retailers, the move has paid off. Especially for Comixology.

There’s a lot to think about in this article – how tablets are changing comics and the audience. Ethan predicts a decline in tablet sales in the near-term which I think is wrong. There are tablets at about every price-point and they’re getting better, more powerful and more useful replacements of desktop/laptops for most homes. If you read this blog, you already know I’m bullish when it comes to tablets for comics.