The speed at which digital media is moving these days is incredible. Mobile devices and more specifically touch screen smart phones have clearly fueled the recent explosion in streaming media. This sudden burst of digital media has spurred a huge upsurge in the amount of users who view information online that may have previously been viewed in magazines or books.
The great thing about the internet is that it allows media to stream which basically makes traditional books and magazines obsolete for obvious reasons. Recently retail giants like Barnes and Noble and Amazon have followed suit by released their own platforms in hopes of retaining market share through their nook and kindle respectivley. These devices are able to pull down books and information for display in the form of a digital book.
Unfortunately neither device has been able to keep up with Apples market shattering IPad which frankly caught most us off guard. Apples IPad is not only more robust visually it also has the backing of itunes which adds an audio / video edge that amazon and Barnes and Noble cant compete with. Recently Barnes and Noble and Amazon have had to reavaulate their business models and both have had significant stock valuation setbacks based on the overwhelming success of the IPad.
Personally I dont think its the end of the road for printed media. Picking up a magazine at the newsstand before a long flight will always be part of my routine. One advantage of magazines and books is that they dont need a powercord or signal so if you end up stranded on an island, they still work.
