E Publishing verse Print ...The debate goes on

I remember reading this very obvious question a week back .How long would the ipad or Kindle rule the e-reader industry? And ironically a week later LG announced that its launching its epaper reader. This ultra thin, flexible and easily portable epaper would definitely bring in another wave of excitement in the publishing world. Its sustainability and acceptability in the markets already flooded with Apple’s ipad, Kindle loyalists and smartphone partisans is yet to be seen.
I know it would be wrong to compare an iPad with a Kindle reader because an ipad is much more than just a reader but here I am looking at the two gadgets from a publisher and a readers point of view.
The recent turmoil within the Blackberry industry , and although I am absolute fan of that technology , has set minds racing and questions surfacing as to how much time does each technology have. The race to be different, achieve the unthinkable and to be the “latest” has only intensified.
Despite the on going debate it would not be correct to say that print is a dying industry but it would definitely not be able to lead. Print , digital and online ( web based ) mediums would have to share space with each other , each one justifying its presence and uniqueness eventually . Some how it reminds me of the time when internet posed a threat to print media. They still co exist and the importance of each medium is characteristic. Print’s monopoly did get a hit and internet as a medium got its boost as it could break geographical barriers without burning pockets. Internet gave speed, life and ease of distribution to publications , the new media today , the iOS, Android and Blackberry, are taking it a step further but making it easily portable, more interactive , easily accessible and storable due to the feature of these new media devices have. It is revolutionizing the way we view or ingest content .
Just like the internet as a medium had developed a few years back , e- publishing too is evolving and the final call of how much share each one would get lies between the customers and the technology providers. Publishers and agencies would need to re look at their digital strategy once again if they want to stay ahead , as the channels and technology evolve.