Apple's Focus on Content and Possible eBook Pricing

[SirHaakon]

We didn't post this because it's crap.

arn

It's crap in the sense that Apple wouldn't do it. That doesn't mean the features he suggested are crap.

Imagine if the device actually did all that. Then you'd have a story.

Instead we get a big iPhone based on a crippled OS so we can read books in color. Is that really what anyone wanted out of a tablet?

 

[tibi08]

The fingerprint reader is a security device—if anyone but you touches the tablet, it explodes.

(Seriously, the funniest part is the solar panel on the back, which will always be facing down! Who is this Gomer?)

Not that funny - the front is basically a screen. The back - well, if putting my tablet face down when I'm not using it means it's got more charge when I next pick it uo - absolute genius.

Instead we get a big iPhone based on a crippled OS so we can read books in color. Is that really what anyone wanted out of a tablet?

Don't mock till u've seen it & tried it..........

 

[puuukeey]

As it turns out, Powzek's dream may be in line with some of Apple's plans. Wired posts a last minute story that claims Apple's focus on Wednesday's event will be on "reinventing content, not tablets". The "creation" reference in the invitation reportedly has to do with content providers who will publish their wares through iTunes using HTML5, Javascript and multimedia. Wired imagines that while the tablet will be the focus, this content could also be played back on laptops, iPhones, iPod Touches or even the Apple TV.

A branded DRM infected web browser?!??!?!?! That's the big software innovation?

I really hope not.

 

[JeromeOD]

I was almost with him up until thumb pads and the HDTV receiver. Not a chance.

 

[SirHaakon]

Don't mock till u've seen it & tried it..........

Believe me, there's nothing more I want than for Jobs to prove me wrong. I just don't think Apple is about innovation anymore as much as they are controlling the media space.

 

[srauber]

My eyes are getting tired if I read an ebook a while. For me a paper back is much more better. So what is the point of the tablet. To be "on the Stage" all the time with games and music? Sure there must be some cool effect on the advertising side and a lot of people ( mostly fanboys ) will buy this device even with a new data plan
Just for my understanding ... when people should be all day playing games and be in the internet when do they work to buy all these stuff???
And another thing some here are wondering when it comes to some pricepoints. A lot here believe that Apple is for the good ... Apple is for profit!
This is normal in the economic world today

 

[tibi08]

Believe me, there's nothing more I want than for Jobs to prove me wrong. I just don't think Apple is about innovation anymore as much as they are controlling the media space.

The hardware might not turn it to be so innovative (we will see). But the software sure as hell will be, won't it?

My eyes are getting tired if I read an ebook a while. For me a paper back is much more better. So what is the point of the tablet. To be "on the Stage" all the time with games and music? Sure there must be some cool effect on the advertising side and a lot of people ( mostly fanboys ) will buy this device even with a new data plan
Just for my understanding ... when people should be all day playing games and be in the internet when do they work to buy all these stuff???
And another thing some here are wondering when it comes to some pricepoints. A lot here believe that Apple is for the good ... Apple is for profit!
This is normal in the economic world today

Do you, or do you know people, who keep their laptop in the living room? What do they do on that laptop - read news, technology and other websites, use facebook and email. Isn't that exactly the market which the iTablet is going for?

 

[limesmoothie]

It was only a few years ago when Apple introduced podcasts to itunes, do you think the same could happen with Blogs?

If you think about it you could blog on the move and have it automatically sync to itunes. People can then subscribe to your blog (as you do with a podcast) and they can read it on the go?

I think that would be a pretty good idea. Some people have interesting things to say, but there isn't anywhere they can go to get it out to the public.

I might just be talking complete horse poo though.

Yeeeeeeeeees....or we could just the the internet to read blogs?

Do you, or do you know people, who keep their laptop in the living room? What do they do on that laptop - read news, technology and other websites, use facebook and email. Isn't that exactly the market which the iTablet is going for?

Yep - exactly. I have more than one laptop though. My MacBook and netbook generally live on the sofa/kitchen table or my bed, depending on where I am - streaming, browsing, reading. That's where the tablet needs to fit in. But not if its $1000

 

[till]

We didn't post this because it's crap.

Really, if the HDTV tuner, fingerprint scanner, and solar panel didn't tip you off that Calacanis is kidding, nothing would. Kinda hilarious to see so many people taking him seriously.

 

[srauber]

Yes you are right but am I in use of a tablet when I have already a laptop?
I read in some posts that some where happy cause they are on the way to work with an Iphone (what seems too small ) and they don´t want to pull out the laptop ( cause it is too big ) so they would be excited to have a third device on the hand and that at the same time. I just start to laugh at this cause it would be a nice picture. Everybody is connected with someone but not with the one in front of him
And I don´t understand why people must be connected to the internet 24/7 but maybe when I go to meet my friends next time I will see them "through" a different view

 

[puuukeey]

Yeeeeeeeeees....or we could just the the internet to read blogs?

EXACTLY.

the word is 'middleman'

 

[Thex1138]

Mark

3.17Am San Fran.. Counting.

 

[tibi08]

3.17Am San Fran.. Counting.

Going to be a long night for you!

 

[mddharma]

I have to agree...

Only yesterday we had a story about Apple trying to pressure TV content providers to lower their content from $1.99, and now Apple plan to sell textual content at up to $14.99?!

That price is obscene. You could purchase the physical version (with shipping) for less. IMO there is rarely any justification for an ebook to exceed $4.99 in price, even Amazon's standard $9.99 is vastly overpriced.

Fortunately, with the recent changes to Amazon's Kindle DTP program, things are becoming far more favourable to authors who wish to self-publish. I know that if i ever get around to finishing my book i'll be pushing it out on the Kindle DTP platform for $2.99 (the lowest you can set the price and still receive 70% of the proceeds) and i hope there will be a vast explosion of authors who do the same.

The reason I have not gone to the kindle (I read about 4 books a month) is simply the price (average $9.99) and the fact it has DRAM on it. Most of the books I buy now are from Amazon and are hard covers I buy used in very good to like new condition and almost always the total price is less than the paperback. When I am done I can easily give or lend them to someone else.

The publishing market needs to rethink how their business is changing and that the days of getting the high price for a book is coming to a close. Lets face it, in the digital age costs such as printing, printing equipment, ink, paper, distribution (which is VERY costly) makes the costs come down significantly. As with the music & movie business the large companies do not want to see their operations adjust. If the publishing industry does not do this right, the pirated copies will explode like in music and movies.

 

[glynhughes]

Will the screen be legible in bright sunlight do you think?

I'd be interested in a browser/book reader/video player in a small light package if I can use it on holiday. Otherwise not.

 

[fobfob]

It's the same hole they filled with the iPod. ...
Apple could release a device that makes consuming media fun, is able to show any PDF beautifully (just like the iPod would play any MP3), and offers new media for sale in the iTunes store. If they did it right, publishers like me might finally be able to sell something digital that people would actually buy.

This is a very poor analogy indeed. How how can you compare the qualitative statement "show any PDF beautifully" with compatibility: "just like the iPod would play any MP3"? In fact, the iPod UI was "beautiful", and a key reason for the success of the iPod. Of course, the other is iTunes. And yes, iTunes could be used to sell any digital content whatsoever, and Apple is doing just that. There is no magic here.

 

[fobfob]

Instead we get a big iPhone based on a crippled OS so we can read books in color. Is that really what anyone wanted out of a tablet?

I don't know. Do you? This thing is going to be a lot more uncomfortable to use than a laptop, which is already uncomfortable. Currently we have one use case: surfing the internet on the toilet. I guess there's also public transport.

As these types of handhelds take off our postures are getting worse and worse.

 

[Truffy]

We didn't post this because it's crap.

arn

That's not stopped you before! (it's called page 2 rumours)

 

[markalun]

Screen

Will the screen be legible in bright sunlight do you think?

I'd be interested in a browser/book reader/video player in a small light package if I can use it on holiday. Otherwise not.

Totally agree, for me it's all about the screen. I want a decent screen I can read e-books on for a long time without straining my eyes, that's got to be the starting point, everything else is a bonus....we'll see.....

 

[Truffy]

iPhone OS presumably means appstore, but no 'real' apps (e.g. iWork) will work on it.

Just another way of reading magazines? I do hope not. And hardly a replacement...for a start, you can read the printed word during take-off and landing!

 

[till]

This thing is going to be a lot more uncomfortable to use than a laptop

I'm really looking forward to seeing how they managed to do the on-screen keyboard. I haven't seen any ideas about that, and it seems like a big problem. An iPhone-style keyboard would pretty much only work if you put the tablet on your lap and type. Balancing a 10-inch tablet in one hand and typing with the other strikes me as extremely awkward.

 

[Thex1138]

Is this the spec for iPad?

This dude Jason Calacanis claims to have tested the tablet for 10 days...

www.twitter.com/Jason

and...

http://www.engadget.com/photos/is-this-the-apple-tablet/#2654019

 

[arnoldkn]

its good....

It sounds good if all existing Apps work on the larger platform…
I do hope there is also a line of MacBooks in 13 and 15 inch form factors…

 

[Sternhammer]

The "creation" reference in the invitation reportedly has to do with content providers who will publish their wares through iTunes using HTML5, Javascript and multimedia. Wired imagines that while the tablet will be the focus, this content could also be played back on laptops, iPhones, iPod Touches or even the Apple TV.

This isn't going to do much to help the long term future of Flash.

 

[MrCubes]

Is it just me or were there a few things about Derek's article that didn't quite ring true?
Don't get me wrong, I think it was a poignant article, and the main points stand. But they were let down a bit by some misteps:

1.

Apple could unleash a device that’s sexier than reading a magazine. A glossy screen like the iPhone,...

He appears to promote a "Glossy screen like the iPhone" as being a good thing in the context of eReading. IMHO you couldn't get much worse than "a glossy screen like the iPhone" for prolonged reading (other than a similar display with a lower DPI). I'll concede that he started the sentence with a reference to magazines - but even so the comparison breaks down. iPhone screens are not glossy in the same way as magazine pages are glossy. An iPhone screen is glossy because of the glass in front of the display itself - reflecting ambient light - that and the brightness of the backlight. Both factors are detrimental to eReading credentials.

2.

It’s the same hole they filled with the iPod. When it came out, there were CDs on one side (physical media for sale) and file-sharing on the other (free but dodgy). The iPod filled the media experience gap,..

This simply isn't true. When the iPod came out (in 2001) I'd been ripping my CDs for years and playing them through various jukebox software. Hardware mp3 players were also available, although I didn't own one (although I did use a PDA as a music player at one point). In any case, when the iPod came out your only options, initially, where to rip CDs onto it or use file sharing to get them on. The iTunes store, which did offer a credible alternative, didn't open until 2003.

3.

Apple could release a device that makes consuming media fun, is able to show any PDF beautifully (just like the iPod would play any MP3)

While technically true that an "iPod would play any MP3" (and even then early models apparently had problems with variable bitrates), this comment could be a little misleading. For most, non-technical, users an MP3 means any audio format. iPods certainly don't play all audio formats, including many popular formats such as WMA (although iTunes will attempt to convert them if it can and they are not DRMed). For a non-technical user (and even many technical users) the experience of mixed encodings is certainly not what you'd call, "beautiful". Not that that's Apple's fault - just that I'm hoping the experience with an eReading tablet would be better, but I'm not expecting much.