Above: estimated worldwide daily sales for each of these platforms, for Q2 2010. This does not show cumulative sales or sales growth. What it does give you is a snapshot of what's shifting on a daily basis right now.
The iPad figure is based on Apple shifting 3 million units from launch to June 21. So it would be reasonable to expect that this will decrease in time (Rupert Murdoch disagrees however, with a sweaty prediction of iPad sales in the "hundreds of millions").
This is Wired's iPad app, breathlessly showcased at TED. Chris Anderson describes the iPad as "a groundbreaking opportunity for magazines such as ours". Here's what it illustrates to me:
1. Adobe creating a publishing product for iPad: Adobe are all over this presentation (amusing, given the teeth-gnashing over flash support on the platform). Publishers want to use existing teams & skills and Adobe are embedded in this industry. So, an 'export to iPad app' plugin will sound like a 'push button to do job' godsend. Adobe could perform that bridging role ('Adobe Bridge', ha, ho). I detect they may do this (as the Adobe guy says they will create a platform for publishers, right there in the video).2. Fusion of advertising & content: Creepy chap with tie: "Advertising is as important as the editorial in all of our magazines". True for the big Conde Nast titles (Vogue, GQ etc.), where ads can be legitimately described as valuable content in their own right. Fair enough. For publishers who get this wrong, there is punishment, in the form of a failed iPad app. But I have no problem with a creative, compelling ad which entertains and informs.3. Pricing model: Only briefly mentioned here; but this is the most exciting & challenging battleground. Let's speculate? Download the app free. View free samples each week/month. Push notifications of new updates. Subscribe through the app store to the full app, at a low rate. Or buy per-edition at a higher rate. The pricing sweet spot will be found.4. Distribution & development costs: Question: Does no more printing, and no more distribution, mean a tight editorial team can create and release an iPad magazine as simply as creating a downloadable PDF? Answer: Only if Apple sort out their app store approval process and make it easier for these magazines to be discovered, rated and purchased. Otherwise the electronic slush pile will grow rapidly in the coming months.
One last note: I'm not convinced the platform suits the long-format article. But it's clearly going to be simply brilliant for pieces which tackle complexity through use of visualisation and illustration.
