TABLET EDITIONS ARE NOT THE ANSWER

Regular readers will know I've been less than optimistic about whether the iPad, and other tablet devices, will be the salvation that many print publishers expect them to be.

In Thailand we've seen publishers falling over themselves to launch tablet versions of their print publications, but I've questioned whether (a) readers will pay the same price for a digital version as they would for a print magazine, and (b) whether advertisers will invest in the advertising that publishers will need, especially when you consider the instant track-ability of clicks and views.

I'm not alone with these views. Several publishers in the U.K., quoted in an article in Guardian Media, share my pessimism.

Mike Soutar, founder and chief executive of the U.K.'s Shortlist Media, in the Guardian story, said: "[The iPad} simply hasn't turned out to be the great saviour that even six months ago most publishers were hailing it to be. All the evidence has shown that beyond the novelty of the launch edition, consumers are not happy to pay anything like the same amount [on a tablet] that they might pay for a magazine."

"There are just not enough tablets out there to generate enough scale to turn the investment publishers are making into real revenues," added Rob Lynam, head of press trading at the media agency MEC. "There has been a race to put iPad apps out there but when media agencies talk to publishers there just isn't enough critical mass of users to turn into real advertising cash."

I couldn't have put it better myself.