iPad 3 rumors bring hope

I’m en route to a conference and read about Apple coming out with its next version of the iPad. I skipped version 2, though I find it appealing. I am glad I didn’t invest and waited. Apple is good about separating people from their money.

There are many rumored features on the iPad, such as facial recognition and Siri. But the rumor that interests me the most is that there could be two versions of the device. One, smaller, lower priced version, would be targeted toward the middle market — whatever that is. The other, bigger, version, would be for the upper end — however you define that.

If true, what this suggests is that Apple is feeling some pressure from competitors, such as the Amazon Kindle Fire, on pricing. But it should also tell us something else. Digital publishing is only going to become more popular. The lower of the price point, both through these new products and the older versions, will put more tablets in the hands of consumers. This will increase the prevalence of the tablet platform, enabling publishers to distribute their titles to even greater audiences. And with greater audience comes the hope of monetization.

Stay tuned. I will.