If Jobs says "people don't read anymore," does this headline really exist?

Jobs to NYT on Kindle: "It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore. Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don't read anymore." Yes, it's true, the only books Steve thinks we need are MacBooks.

Irony: You're reading right now.

Further irony: You're probably not reading Engadget on a Kindle (at least not through its regular RSS reader).

Is this like geeky Koan or something? Does this mean Engadget doesn't exist? Either way, we get his point. It's a damn shame fewer people aren't reading real books.

[fourthletter @ Jan 31st 2008 10:46AM]

I love books, they offer a unique way to enjoy story telling that movies can't touch.
Everyone knows Americans are cultureless illiterates whats so surprising ?
Mind you why listen to Steve he's just grumbling because Apple didn't launch an ebook reader.
They hit the target with a MacBookAir instead HA HA !

[puxpux @ Jan 16th 2008 3:08PM]

Books: The original gadget.

[SteveS @ Jan 16th 2008 3:27PM]

Books are overrated. Why is it a "damn shame" that fewer people are reading books? Less trees die? Less fuel wasted hauling around these antiquated, inefficient methods of communication?

Books offer NOTHING over newer forms of media other than maybe less eye-strain (and even that is debatable). It's the content that matters and that goes for ALL media...

[John @ Jan 16th 2008 3:38PM]

@SteveS

Simple, books cost less. For the price of a Kindle I could've gotten around 50 books. And those 50 books can be bought individually which makes it a lot easier on the wallet.

[LC @ Jan 16th 2008 3:42PM]

"It's the content that matters and that goes for ALL media..."

Excellent point Steve. Books have the same weaknesses/strengths as any other form of media. There are plenty of crap books to match the crap television out there. The same goes with the good stuff. I find that I haven't read less, but rather I have read less novels and more news stories over the last several years.

I think a hell of a lot more people are reading more now than they have in the past with internet usage increasing in huge numbers over the last decade or so.

[puxpux @ Jan 16th 2008 3:49PM]

Not to mention the obvious:
- Books dont run on batteries
- Books dont smash when you drop them
- You wouldnt prop up your wonky table with a kindle or PSP, would you? (well, some might)

Books have their place, just as Kindles and other electronic media do. Lets not go all Farenheit 451 just because el'Jobso says people don't read.

[BrianB @ Jan 16th 2008 3:51PM]

Quick, some do a novelization of "The Office" for Steve.

[nerdtalker @ Jan 16th 2008 3:53PM]

I think it's pretty obvious that steve didn't mean his words to be taken completely serious, obviously people still read.

But the number one reason I think kindle is a success: finally a way to read all those warezed PDF textbooks/fiction/nonfiction books we all have laying around (er... or not).

[zzz @ Jan 16th 2008 4:02PM]

Seriously, it's high time Steve pulled his head out of his ass.

[nh @ Jan 16th 2008 4:15PM]

@nerdtalker "obviously people still read"

Never a truer word was spoken. Thank you, that made my day.

[Mike10010100 @ Jan 16th 2008 4:27PM]

Wow. What a serious misquote. He said that people don't read as many books. I believe that is true. People read for pleasure, sure. But they mostly read for information, in which case, people wouldn't use the kindle or the sony ebook for it's main purpose: reading books.

Just a massive misquote taken out of context, said by a person everyone on this blog loves to rage at.

[pixelator @ Jan 16th 2008 4:53PM]

I own an 80GB iPod and an iPhone and I say Jobs is a two bit huckster and a selfcentric jackass. He promotes his overhyped, overpriced gadgetry at the expense of whomever or whatever he thinks will reap the most consumer cash. Just look at the inane and lie-laden 'better than you' Mac vs PC ads and the ways he's handled his old allies who have fallen out of favor.

The last (and first) consumer innovation to come from Apple that was unfettered by snakeoil bullshit and adhype/media distortion was the original Apple Computer.

I find it a bit ironic that the written word is somehow DEAD now according to Jesus H. Jobs, yet the main reason the Mac survived at all during the 80's and 90's was ---- desktop publishing...

[Dale @ Jan 16th 2008 5:03PM]

@Steve S: Books offer plenty that other forms of entertainment don't.

- They are primarily made of a renewable source: paper. You can plant more trees, you can't plant more dead dinosaurs to make more plastic when the oil eventually runs out.
- They do not require a power source - you just need natural light, which there is plenty of.
- They cannot be region locked or encrypted needlessly so you can guarantee that a book bought in one country will work in another.
- To read a book, you just need to know the language. You don't have to go on a fruitless hunt for a codec, driver or obscure program to enjoy them.
- A book you bought ten, twenty - heck, even a hundred years ago can still be read without hunting down some old device or emulation software.
- There are no rival formats, so you don't have fanboys. "NINTENDOE RIID IS TEH REVALUSHUN!" "O NAE, SONY READSTASHUN IS DA BEZT!" "AH LUV DA READBOX 360!"
- They are always better than the films and video games based on them.

[paul @ Jan 16th 2008 5:13PM]

Wow. People like SteveS are an embarrassment. I love reading stuff online too, but to say it's the equal of classic literary works is a joke. Get a clue.

[SteveS @ Jan 16th 2008 5:48PM]

In a post about reading and books, I would think more people would have actually "read" my original post. I agree, books cost less (hell, they had since 1450 to get prices down). Other than that, books are just as destructible as any other media (except for dropping). And oh BTW, the Kindle is not the only piece of technology invented by man that one can read on.

@Paul: You are an embarrassment to reading comprehension. Did I even mention "reading online" or that the "classics" suck? The literary classics are available online, does that make them inferior? Media DOES NOT equal content. Repeat it for me.

[yaya @ Jan 16th 2008 6:10PM]

"Simple, books cost less. For the price of a Kindle I could've gotten around 50 books. And those 50 books can be bought individually which makes it a lot easier on the wallet."

And the price of those 50 books, if purchased second hand or paperback like a normal person, would be less than half that of 50 obscenely overpriced books for the Kindle. Yay price-effective ebook readers. That said, a normal PDA or Internet Tablet and the Gutenburg project have a pretty strong case to be made for them, without the media transfer price.

[Derbeste @ Jan 16th 2008 7:23PM]

What would you rather carry around?

A kindle......or 50 books?

[JhonQPoster @ Jan 16th 2008 7:33PM]

Steve's job is done. He drop the line, and you bit.

Looks like he wins once more.

Job's 1, You 0.

I will keep the score.

[jere @ Jan 17th 2008 11:27PM]

@ Derbeste:
I don't think I'll ever be reading 50 books at the same time so that's a non-issue.

[michas_pi @ Jan 16th 2008 7:39PM]

@Dale:

Books have rival formats: hardcover vs. softcover.

[ByronGman @ Jan 16th 2008 7:56PM]

"It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore. Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don't read anymore."

I guess that businesses like Barnes & Noble and Borders are flawed at the top as well. The same probably goes for publishing companies.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

If you ever need proof that Jobs is a moron this is the definitive point. The fact is that plenty of read, there is a huge industry built up around reading. Even if people didn't read for pleasure, reading will never go extinct given that reading is pretty much irreplaceable as part of the educational system and academic pursuit. Thus, ideas like Kindle are not flawed from the top-down (although you can tear apart for bad design or what have you for all I care).

Arguing about whether or not Kindle is good is an issue of product design; Jobs is basically saying that the entire concept of an E-reader is useless and a waste of time.

[webon @ Jan 16th 2008 8:05PM]

would you take your kindle to the beach? I wouldn't.

[Fslade @ Jan 16th 2008 9:19PM]

@ SteveS

Man, I gotta say you're the stupidiest guy I've ever read.

[ozziebear @ Jan 16th 2008 10:58PM]

So..now that everything is moving towards wireless...Air this and Air that. When can i expect to be able to wirelessly sync my iPod Touch or iPhone to my fancy new Macbook Air?

[Ian @ Jan 17th 2008 11:30AM]

"Books offer NOTHING over newer forms of media"

Apart from the fact that when the latest media is no longer readable, the books will be. Libraries are full of books that are centuries old, even millennia, that can still be read or translated. Let me know when you've got something that can extract data from that Kindle in 500 years time and make sense of it.

Books are physical media. They offer permanence. You'll never get that with digital downloads - should electronics of any form fail, the data is gone. As long as the physical book exists, the data remains and without any DRM nonsense.

Now tell me that books are overrated.

[Chebwa @ Jan 16th 2008 3:08PM]

Steve Jobs apparently doesn't read anymore.

If he did, he'd realize everybody hates his new product.

[Jm @ Jan 16th 2008 3:10PM]

true

[Neebs @ Jan 16th 2008 3:50PM]

I'm not sure. I READ the Air specs and I thought "lol."

[Froggy @ Jan 16th 2008 3:51PM]

hehehe... so right. I read every day. lots. I still don't think I'll buy a Kindle, but the concept intrigues me.

[Mike10010100 @ Jan 16th 2008 4:27PM]

Wow. What a serious misquote. He said that people don't read as many books. I believe that is true. People read for pleasure, sure. But they mostly read for information, in which case, people wouldn't use the kindle or the sony ebook for it's main purpose: reading books.

Just a massive misquote taken out of context, said by a person everyone on this blog loves to rage at.

[Eddie @ Jan 16th 2008 4:38PM]

I don't even know what everyone is all hot and bothered about. Maybe I should read the post?

[pixelator @ Jan 16th 2008 5:07PM]

The $19.99 upgrade isn't Jobs' stupidest move. See the nearly immediate $200 price cut of the iPhone followed by the 'early adopters can pay us a $100 devotion tax' slap in the face 'rebate'.

[MikeG @ Jan 16th 2008 8:08PM]

lol.

[Derbeste @ Jan 16th 2008 7:30PM]

The best part is...

Steve Jobs thinks 60% of the American public (the arbitrary % he believes reads books) is an insignificant market....

But he's now trying to market a $20 firmware upgrade to American iPod Touch users (< 1% of the populace).

Perhaps Mr. Job's writers are also on strike and he should not speak without them.

[Generic @ Jan 18th 2008 5:04AM]

and I agree with a sarcastic remark:

"how the hell are book publishers making money, what they sell weed?"

[tubes @ Jan 16th 2008 3:09PM]

... unless the first four words in the book title are "Harry Potter and the..."

:)

[Ghen @ Jan 16th 2008 3:16PM]

Must fight urge...

[riggs @ Jan 16th 2008 3:57PM]

Well if youre not then i am *stfuppercuts*

[ScOObyDoo @ Jan 16th 2008 4:04PM]

Which happen to all be books you can't get on the Kindle :(

[Cunthor @ Jan 17th 2008 5:36AM]

Actually, people in America don't read as much... Rest of the world is doing just fine.

[aoeu00 @ Jan 16th 2008 3:09PM]

Maybe people aren't reading because they are too busy listening to their iPods or paying $3-4 to "race" watch a movie on their i.

[aoeu00 @ Jan 16th 2008 3:10PM]

darn html tags... in their i(insertAppleproducthere).

[jamma @ Jan 16th 2008 3:33PM]

People aren't reading because their iPod touches won't get notes, mail or lyrics support without a £13/$20 update

[Anderw @ Jan 16th 2008 3:11PM]

It's a shame indeed. Did I just read that? I guess I did.

[3rdsun @ Jan 16th 2008 3:10PM]

Steve Jobs is a jackass. end of story

[Sergio @ Jan 16th 2008 4:01PM]

but is he right?

[axemte @ Jan 16th 2008 5:08PM]

He changes his tune so freq. that it wouldn't be a surprise to hear him praise reading when the iReader comes out from his company. Doughbag

[josh @ Jan 16th 2008 5:19PM]

"but is he right?"

Well, considering that Amazon built the #1 online retailer out of a bookstore I think there is some evidence that even if a lot of people don't read, enough do. Granted, it is now much more than a bookstore, but it was revenue from their book business that allowed them to expand to the behemoth that they are.

Also, I will throw down even money that amazon sells more books than jobs sells songs from itunes.

[caubeck @ Jan 16th 2008 5:25PM]

But can he play Doom?

[shamste @ Jan 16th 2008 3:12PM]

"It's a damn shame fewer people aren't reading real books."

I'm not sure you are saying what you want to say.