The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Time Inc. wants to take us on

Another classic Fake Steve post, and one with some interesting implications: if the Apple tablet is more like the current iPhone/iPod market, with Apple in monopolist mode, Apple may be able to dictate terms to magazine/book/newspaper/etc. publishers, just as it does to music publishers today. If instead the device category the Apple tablet competes in is more of a general-purpose PC++ market (which I suppose we can assume IBM won't opt to compete in, being a commodity market...), however, Apple will have to compete on the merits of its general-purpose device value rather than a monopolist position. imho the history of the Mac market and Apple’s overall modus operandi under Steve Jobs suggest things won’t go so well for Apple if the latter scenario comes to fruition.

As Kafka [see full reference] points out:

Apple for instance, refuses to even acknowledge to Time Inc. executives that it plans to produce a tablet device, let alone provide them with specs.

So it's one big game of chicken. We're sticking to our guns, and pushing ahead with the Tablet, and we won't let them play in our sandbox unless they play by our rules. They're going to hold back their content until we agree to play by their rules. And what it comes down to, really, is which seems sexier to the average consumer: a gleaming new Apple tablet that's overflowing with a sense of childlike wonder, or Time magazine?
We'll see who wins, but I know one thing: I like our chances.

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs: Time Inc. wants to take us on#more