In a move that should bring substantial more money to author JK Rowling, the blockbuster ‘Harry Potter’ book series is expected to go digital for the first time ever, 14 years after the 1997 release of ‘The Sorcerer’s Stone.’
All seven of the books will soon become available via the iPad and the Kindle e-reader, and should net Rowling £100 million.
Scotsman cites Rowling’s agent as confirming the imminent deal.
Rowling has an estimated fortune nearing $1 billion USD, following the record sales of the books, the films, the DVD/Blu-rays and other merchandise.
One editor added:
Experts believe that move could revolutionize the world of electronic publishing, triggering rocket sales of e-book readers such as Kindle and the iPad.
Result for: money
Amanda Foote, a student at Manhattan Community College spent 41 hours in line at the flagship Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York City before selling her spot to an app developer for $900.
Foote began waiting on line at 5pm on Wednesday, and was there (through a huge downpour on Thursday) before giving up the spot to Hazem Sayed at 9am on Friday, hours before the 5pm launch.
Sayed said he was willing to pay the large premium for the spot because he wanted to take the tablet on a business trip for which he was leaving on Friday night.
After the sale, Foote says she will probably use the money to see Lady Gaga in concert.
Result for: money
Apple has allegedly cornered the glass capacitive touch panel market, prepaying for 60 percent of the world’s entire capacity in 2011.
The move will leave many other companies fighting for the remaining 40 percent, which is expected to cause component shortages throughout the year and delays.
Apple has reportedly prepaid suppliers Wintek and TPK $3.9 billion for long-term contracts, enough money to cover 136 million iPhone displays or 60 million iPad 2 displays.
Gigaom explains that Apple has done this before:
Prepaying for a bulk, long-term contract allows Apple to control pricing, causing scarcity in the market, which raises the prices of remaining component stock. Apple’s pre-bought parts then give it a price advantage when it comes to production costs, and one that could grow as the contract progresses. It’s something Apple’s been known to do in the past, specifically with NAND flash memory in 2005.
Apple can successfully make moves like this because their devices (as history shows) are almost guaranteed to sell, and sell well. iSuppli is expecting 44 million iPad/iPad 2 tablet sales in 2011, after the company sold 14.8 million in 2010. Even the most radical analyst expectations in 2010 had sales at 9 million.
