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Apple's Tablet Effort Aiming to Redefine Print Media?
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Personally, I'm not sold on electronic books in general. There's something about having printed material that you can actually page through.
Here are some of my concerns, from my perspective only.
1. While having all of my textbooks in a small, lightweight device is great, what happens when I run out of juice? The battery life will need to last at least a week in my opinion.
2. If I'm on a plane and I have all of my reading material on an electronic device, I won't be able to read during takeoff and landing. May not be an issue for some (most?) people, but it would be a nuisance for me.
3. Books last forever (well, close to forever). Are we sure that as a society, our history will be properly preserved if everything is digital? Do we want that as a society? We could be setting humankind up a for another "dark age" by moving all of our history to digital. eBooks may be the first step down this road.
NOTE - I know #3 doesn't really pertain to this topic and that it's more of a philosophical objection that I have.
Here are some of my concerns, from my perspective only.
1. While having all of my textbooks in a small, lightweight device is great, what happens when I run out of juice? The battery life will need to last at least a week in my opinion.
2. If I'm on a plane and I have all of my reading material on an electronic device, I won't be able to read during takeoff and landing. May not be an issue for some (most?) people, but it would be a nuisance for me.
3. Books last forever (well, close to forever). Are we sure that as a society, our history will be properly preserved if everything is digital? Do we want that as a society? We could be setting humankind up a for another "dark age" by moving all of our history to digital. eBooks may be the first step down this road.
NOTE - I know #3 doesn't really pertain to this topic and that it's more of a philosophical objection that I have.
Maybe you should use an E-ink display for a while. I don't know anyone who has had any fatigue or eye strain issues from using an e-ink device.
I am afraid you appear to be mistaken on this issue.
I think it lost me.
Am I the only one that could care less right now? I have an iphone... I think this might fall the way of the newton.
It's too bad to. If Microsoft does release the Courier anytime in the future... That could kill this thing. It's a shame. And to the people that post what kind of Macs they own in their signature, you make me sick. I love Apple just as much as the next fan boy, but you tards have issues. I'm just saying.
Has to much time to list stupid crap
Am I the only one that could care less right now? I have an iphone... I think this might fall the way of the newton.
It's too bad to. If Microsoft does release the Courier anytime in the future... That could kill this thing. It's a shame. And to the people that post what kind of Macs they own in their signature, you make me sick. I love Apple just as much as the next fan boy, but you tards have issues. I'm just saying. Has to much time to list stupid crap
There are entire societies devoted to addressing this issue. On the government side we have Echelon, so we will have hundreds of copies of every book there too.
But they will be classified.Rocketman
Yep! Now that new Billion Dollar Data Center is starting to show it's need and purpose more so than ever!
Yeah, it keeps me awake at night, what people put in their sigs.
Just disable sigs in your User CP if it bothers you. Magically, none of them will show up.
Of course, it's easier to complain about it, right?
Apparently, you don't.
So glad you stopped by to let us know!
That's what jerks say right after they say something that makes them look like a jerk, but they just can't keep their mouths shut.
Paul Reiser had a whole stand up bit about it.
You raise some valid concerns, allow me to respond though from the perspective of someone who reads both printed volumes and e-books.
1. If you turn off the wireless on the Kindle the battery will last for ~2000 page turns which would typically be enough to read several full novels. I am reading a 600 page book right now and am about 50% of the way through it. I've done many page turns back and forth and my battery is still at about 80%. I last charged it over two weeks ago.
2. Yes, this is a bit annoying. I do expect that eventually such devices will not be required to be shut off if their radios are off since the EMI they generate is negligible.
3. I agree with this in principal. I am not a big fan of digital rights management for media content I have "purchased".
However... the overwhelming majority of the books that I read, I will never read or visit again. For those rare cases where a book is truly a treasure I will probably buy a used physical copy of the book AFTER I read it on the e-reader.
The lack of page numbers has been discovered by Princeton in their student testing and is a major source of concern for them, which leads me to believe that Amazon/publishers will have to address it at some point. If nothing else there should be a reference to what page of a certain printed volume a particular section of text corresponds to.
As to the digital future, in another 10-15 years you won't have to back anything up because it will be backed up in the cloud, with the option of creating archives anytime you so choose to your own media.
I would love to have all my textbooks on a tablet.
Yeah if I can put all of textbooks in there and I can take good notes on it then I'll consider it. I'm majoring in Actuarial Science so it would need good math programs. If it has those things and the other media functions are up to par then maybe. I have no doubt the media will be good, it's Apple. But I can already watch movies and listen to music. It needs to do something I can't do with my laptop or iPod.
Yep and what I would be most interested in is how the powers that be will let us print as some things in a book or an article needs to be printed for future reference and I wonder if printing will be crippled in some manner?
that sounds like the best "killer"application for the tablet that I have heard so far.
the iphone became a success because of Safari as a real webbrowser. the tablet could become a success if it provides a new form of internet/magazine/book/video/movie device.
the iphone became a success because of Safari as a real webbrowser. the tablet could become a success if it provides a new form of internet/magazine/book/video/movie device.
I'm buying one on day one! A device more powerful than the iphone, multi-touch, rich media content, easier to use than a laptop in more places. I really hope this rumor turns out to be true.
See I can imagine Apple saying the same thing about the AppleTV. That, according to Jobs, was the 3rd leg on his chair (OS X, iPod, Macs being the other 3 I think). Something tells me this may not be the hit everyone thinks it may be. Not to mention I haven't seen a single concept that would be interesting. Everything so far has been a mock-up render of a giant iPod Touch/iPhone form factor. And the newest one is, books. That's not interesting, that's practically expected.
So for me to buy one, yes this is going to have to be really really good. But for the rest of the market, it only has to be so so to sell.
I have tons of eBooks in my computer, which is great on a 24" screen in dual-page mode, in its native size, but I am confined to my desk fixated to the screen and at times I just want to have a booksized screen that I can bring outside like in park, in the car, on a bench, etc. My 10" netbook can do that, but its still awkward placing it on your lap you so have to find a flat surface to put it on. Its mobile but not ergonomical. The iPhone which is a truly mobile device, the problem with that is the screen is too small so then I have to enlarge it, but then you have to scroll back and forth as you read a long.
When this comes out, I'll be the first one in line.
I surely would.
But most people who would probably be watching YouTube or playing music or games probably don't own the device or bought it for that purpose. I've got youngsters whom I let them borrow my iPhone to what? play Tap-Tap. If the Kindle had games on it I wouldn't buy it just to play games.
Ok, let me focus on battery life. We know that some sources say its going to have mobile parts like the iPhone and an ARM based cpu. Given by the wattage rates of the internal components, LCD being the largest, the iPhone gives us about 5 hours at max usage. Now a device as big as 10" with mobile components, who knows how the battery will be setup(maybe it spans 80% of the device. Just look at iPod nano teardown), we could get 10 hours or more.
I don't often have to recharge because its always charged! When I'm not using my iPhone, its docked to my computer. When I'm using my netbook, instinctively I gravitate to the nearest socket. The only time I resort to using its battery when there is no other electrical source but the battery. I understand why there was a backlash on the Unibody models because all they can think of is replacing the battery forgetting that there are other ways to get electricity. I just had the habit of keep everything charged.
No more papercuts? We save more trees? Everlasting, no deterioration? Times are changing...everything is going digital, have you noticed that? I wouldn't mind receiving an SD card from a loved one or finding an old floppy disk under the couch curious to find a science report document I wrote in grade 8.
When this comes out, I'll be the first one in line.
I surely would.
But most people who would probably be watching YouTube or playing music or games probably don't own the device or bought it for that purpose. I've got youngsters whom I let them borrow my iPhone to what? play Tap-Tap. If the Kindle had games on it I wouldn't buy it just to play games.
Ok, let me focus on battery life. We know that some sources say its going to have mobile parts like the iPhone and an ARM based cpu. Given by the wattage rates of the internal components, LCD being the largest, the iPhone gives us about 5 hours at max usage. Now a device as big as 10" with mobile components, who knows how the battery will be setup(maybe it spans 80% of the device. Just look at iPod nano teardown), we could get 10 hours or more.
I don't often have to recharge because its always charged! When I'm not using my iPhone, its docked to my computer. When I'm using my netbook, instinctively I gravitate to the nearest socket. The only time I resort to using its battery when there is no other electrical source but the battery. I understand why there was a backlash on the Unibody models because all they can think of is replacing the battery forgetting that there are other ways to get electricity. I just had the habit of keep everything charged.
No more papercuts? We save more trees? Everlasting, no deterioration? Times are changing...everything is going digital, have you noticed that? I wouldn't mind receiving an SD card from a loved one or finding an old floppy disk under the couch curious to find a science report document I wrote in grade 8.
I love my iPhone and my Air. It won't take much for me to think a giant iPhone is incredibly cool.
But that won't make me (or many others) buy it! It can't replace a full computer for productivity and traditional apps, and it can't replace a pocketable device you always have with you.
So it does need a reason to exist (which tablet PCs have lacked along with ease-of-use). Even if it's just a beginning aimed at a small niche, it needs SOME reason. I would have thought that mobile video viewing (comparable to portable DVD players) might have been the reason, and maybe games. Reading? That works too
But that won't make me (or many others) buy it! It can't replace a full computer for productivity and traditional apps, and it can't replace a pocketable device you always have with you.
So it does need a reason to exist (which tablet PCs have lacked along with ease-of-use). Even if it's just a beginning aimed at a small niche, it needs SOME reason. I would have thought that mobile video viewing (comparable to portable DVD players) might have been the reason, and maybe games. Reading? That works too
And not that long ago Jobs said that people don't read anymore...
puhlease...
Hmmm... I wonder what's more ecologically sound, print media or electronic tablets? Over the long haul...
so we must assume now on what steve hints us, not happening now(?)->
see what Apple would come up in 3 years(!)
I don't think he is at all. I own a kindle and the default text styles/fonts that the kindle comes with reeks havoc on my eyes. And if you own the kindle as you state, then you know that thread on their forums that was huge with many saying this very same thing regarding the font's on the Kindle 2.
I installed the font hack that improved it a lot but still I would prefer a larger screen with selectable font's and sizes that DO Format properly. Now when you get to contents I miss the books that I read that have photo's cause they display like Crap on the kindle and to say otherwise would be misleading.
I can't wait to see what Apple comes up with, plus color, proper formating and hopefully a great screen that can be used any where's is a must for this device.
Essentially yes. It is not about the technology behind it, but the way it is presented.
Do you people understand what iTunes LP and iTunes Extras really are now???
Yes, they are essentially self-contained websites powered by webkit and standard web languages, but they are going to be HUGE!
This is all part of the plan people! The more I think about all these things and the industries involved and the tech behind it all, the more I realize that I have a LOT of job security in the future as a film-maker and digital content producer!
The field of digital media is just going to grow and grow and grow!
I don't think he is at all. I own a kindle and the default text styles/fonts that the kindle comes with reeks havoc on my eyes. And if you own the kindle as you state, then you know that thread on their forums that was huge with many saying this very same thing regarding the font's on the Kindle 2.
I installed the font hack that improved it a lot but still I would prefer a larger screen with selectable font's and sizes that DO Format properly. Now when you get to contents I miss the books that I read that have photo's cause they display like Crap on the kindle and to say otherwise would be misleading.
I can't wait to see what Apple comes up with, plus color, proper formating and hopefully a great screen that can be used any where's is a must for this device.
So you are going to argue that the reason people get eyestrain with LCD devices is the angle being fixed as he did? Wow.
I have read books on virtually every kind of device available and the only one that has approached reading on paper is e-ink.
There are also thousands of blog posts comparing Kindle to reading a book on LCD and they almost universally acknowledge that the e-ink display is far superior for text reading than an LCD.
I personally hope that we see high performance hybrid displays sooner rather than later. Give me e-ink with no backlight for reading text and then a vibrant backlit color LCD in the same device for other applications.
kindle dx + ipod touch
Check out the Kindle DX introduction video. In it, Bezos talks about Amazon already having talked to a whole bunch of the same class of publishers for textbooks and news.
But what Amazon doesn't have is an iPod Touch which can support iTunes, video, Mobile Safari, 3D games and thousands of other apps. Combine all that with a color DX sized reader, and you end up with a much more versatile tablet, perhaps enough to hit the next level of critical mass in market acceptance.
Everybody except that smaller percentage who get eye strain reading on LCD displays (e.g. likely people who didn't grow up playing their gameboy for hours and hours and hours).
Check out the Kindle DX introduction video. In it, Bezos talks about Amazon already having talked to a whole bunch of the same class of publishers for textbooks and news.
But what Amazon doesn't have is an iPod Touch which can support iTunes, video, Mobile Safari, 3D games and thousands of other apps. Combine all that with a color DX sized reader, and you end up with a much more versatile tablet, perhaps enough to hit the next level of critical mass in market acceptance.
Everybody except that smaller percentage who get eye strain reading on LCD displays (e.g. likely people who didn't grow up playing their gameboy for hours and hours and hours).
Yes, you're right, people over 30 who probably make up the bulk of book buyers and readers don't matter.
Cater to the crowd that doesn't mind having their eyes burn out of their head while they skim through a 500 page book on their LCD display.
The Steve has previously said that print is dead and that no one reads books so I don't expect a strong play for that market from him any way.