Apple tablet to feature Barnes and Noble bookstore? Not likely!

TechCrunch believes there's a strong possibility that Apple's new tablet endeavor will feature book content fulfilled by Barnes and Noble:

But one unanswered question so far is whether Apple will add books and magazines to iTunes or create an entirely new e-book store from scratch.

I don't believe this is a likely scenario at all. When Apple went into music - they did not contact a music retailer. When they went into television, they did not contact a cable company. When they went into movies, they did not talk to Blockbuster. This is the company that designs their own hardware, builds their own software, and increasingly (iTunes, App Store) provides their own content. Having had such great success as of late, I can't see them partnering just to get a head start in the content business, especially when you look at the lackluster formatting of ePub books - they work great for readers, but wouldn't scale well to a gloriously color tablet. That's why companies like Blio think there's room in the marketplace for new products and new file formats.

While going with B&N might be a nice way to "stick it to Amazon", I don't believe that's their modus operandi. The tablet isn't about "books" the way the original iPod was about music. Even the iPods have moved on, with all but the shuffle supporting video and the hottest selling segment (Touch) supporting the majority of the iPhone apps.

The tablet (assuming it exists - and don't we all assume that by now?) is going to be about media, not books. Video, TV, music, games, the web, magazines, newspapers... you name it! It may not replace your laptop, newspaper, magazines, books, iPod, personal media players and television, but it will seriously augment the use of those products, and probably replace at least a couple of those items for the purchasers of the product.

What Apple will probably do, is offer a well defined SDK for interactive books as part of their overall media strategy, similar to the iTunes LP setup, where studios are given information on developing more interactive releases then previous tracks and maybe a booklet. And make no mistake about it, Apple has given early access to that kit, and there will be books available at launch time. It's the indie publishers that will be playing catchup.