dllavaneras said:
I surely hope so, comics and manga would be a huge hit especially in Japan.
The next big thing can be games via iTunes, talk about a controllable environment for the publishers.
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Next Apple iPod to do eBooks?
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I surely hope so, comics and manga would be a huge hit especially in Japan.
The next big thing can be games via iTunes, talk about a controllable environment for the publishers.
inkhead said:
3P apps and games? I'm all for it but it would blur the simplicity of the ipod and effectively make it a PDA, i'm not sure Apple/iPod/iTunes is ready to take this step.
I agree that comics etc would be big.Bonte said:
However - I'm also interested in the electronic Ink technologies that are easy on the eyes and require almost no battery. I doubt Apple would make such a simple device, but who knows.
It would be very interesting to read Lord of the Rings and have the soundtrack playing - synchronised to where you're up to in the book. Or the book with excerpts from the movie.
Bonte said:
The competition is ready. Wether they have a good product or not is besides the point. Apple needs to enter that "merged market" soon or the iPod will lose its edge.
The fact is, the less gadgets we have to carry around, the better it is. Except that the "merged gadget" needs to be able to do all things perfectly, no half-baked solutions.
I wouldn't mind an iPod that could play music, play movies, have games/apps, Safari, Mail (and Wi-Fi, obviously). How about a built-in iTMS access too? These things wouldn't make the iPod "not an iPod" as long as its well implemented.
No need. You'll have the IV for the continuous Kool Aid drip applied subcutaneously at the Apple store when you pick up your new iPod with Kitchen Sink.quigleybc said:The new iPod is going to Play Movies, TV, Music, Nintendo games, eBooks, and have a big touch screen....will it have a flip out knife and spoon too?
B
stunna said:
You're right. Apple is a prime example of making otherwise foreign technology mainstream with a little cachet. Sounds simple, but it ain't.
GregA said:
WOW! Either you're a really fast reader or that's one long soundtrack!
Seriously, from comic books to my college textbooks to CD booklets, this feature would rock! Don't remember exactly how cAMP regulates a particular intracellular reaction? Just head to page XX on your Cellular & Molecular Biology ebook. Wanna read your comic book collection on the bus? Done. Don't remember the name of the Orchestra Director in S&M? (The Metallica album, nothing dirty
) there you go, check out the booklet.I see a lot of possibilities!
This option would be cool. I wouldn't really use it much, but I guess it is nice to know it is available. I read a lot, but I really enjoy books rather than ebooks. They make a nice collection.
Text to speech a must, ditto iTunes downloads
Most iPods are used in situations where our eyes aren't free to focus on a screen however good--commuting, jogging, biking or whatever. To compete with ebooks from Sony and others, this ebook iPod needs to be able to read text aloud as well as display it on screen.
It also needs to bookmark text and audio files well, so we can resume where we left off and shift between reading and listening without losing our place. And that means multiple bookmarks, not just a mark for the last place we were. (Marking text like a post-it note would also be a plus.)
In addition, iTunes needs to be able to download text books and newscasts (free and by subscription) as easily and automatically as it now does podcasts. Pushing content is always better than pulling it.
Those are things existing ebooks don't do. Add those features to an ebook iPod, and Apple will be miles ahead of the competition. Sony and (soon) Microsoft will be eating their dust.
--Mike Perry, Inkling Books, Seattle
Author: Untangling Tolkien (the one & only book-length chronology for The Lord of the Rings
Most iPods are used in situations where our eyes aren't free to focus on a screen however good--commuting, jogging, biking or whatever. To compete with ebooks from Sony and others, this ebook iPod needs to be able to read text aloud as well as display it on screen.
It also needs to bookmark text and audio files well, so we can resume where we left off and shift between reading and listening without losing our place. And that means multiple bookmarks, not just a mark for the last place we were. (Marking text like a post-it note would also be a plus.)
In addition, iTunes needs to be able to download text books and newscasts (free and by subscription) as easily and automatically as it now does podcasts. Pushing content is always better than pulling it.
Those are things existing ebooks don't do. Add those features to an ebook iPod, and Apple will be miles ahead of the competition. Sony and (soon) Microsoft will be eating their dust.
--Mike Perry, Inkling Books, Seattle
Author: Untangling Tolkien (the one & only book-length chronology for The Lord of the Rings
iPal
This is getting closer to an iPal - a handheld computer that does it all. That is my next purchase. It needs to be small but with a full screen and real-world-rugged. Will Apple release it this year?
This is getting closer to an iPal - a handheld computer that does it all. That is my next purchase. It needs to be small but with a full screen and real-world-rugged. Will Apple release it this year?
Sounds like we are getting an iPod Pro if that is at all possible. Personally I think putting too much functionality in to an item like the iPod is a bad idea, I use my iPod Video for music and sometimes a movie or TV episode.
The beauty of the iPod is its simplicity, elegance and ease of use once you start stuffing around with a winning formula then it's doomed to fail.
With that said if an iPod is released with a bigger LCD or OLED screen and a PDA type function I probably would buy it
The beauty of the iPod is its simplicity, elegance and ease of use once you start stuffing around with a winning formula then it's doomed to fail.
With that said if an iPod is released with a bigger LCD or OLED screen and a PDA type function I probably would buy it
re: return of the ibook
At this point, I hope they split the iPod line into iPods (music / video) and iBooks (music, ebooks).
I, like many on this forum given the comments, cannot read an LCD for a long period of time. Also, the power consumption of a LCD for reading the text probably wouldn't be good. The real promise of the Sony and Royal (?) readers is the eInk. Looking at eInk displays, you get the true white with no eye strain (you have to be told that is not a sticker of the screen it is an actual image on the screen). The power consumption is measured in pages (it has to redraw, not refresh like an LCD). There is a color version, but it doesn't look as developed. All this is perfect for books, but would not work for video. This would seem to be a real problem with an all in one unit. You could allow reading on the LCD, but it would be a pain.
Since Apple just freed up a great trademark, come out with an iBook ebook reader. Allow it to play music, but not video. Make it paperback size with a good interface / spotlight search / bookmarks. Use the standard iPod cord and iTunes. Allow it to read PDF, RTF, DOC, HTML, Text and whatever format Apple uses for the DRM version. Get a lot of textbook companies to sell their books on it and replace a lot of backpacks. A color version would be better so you could get comics / anime.
mi5moav said:
At this point, I hope they split the iPod line into iPods (music / video) and iBooks (music, ebooks).
I, like many on this forum given the comments, cannot read an LCD for a long period of time. Also, the power consumption of a LCD for reading the text probably wouldn't be good. The real promise of the Sony and Royal (?) readers is the eInk. Looking at eInk displays, you get the true white with no eye strain (you have to be told that is not a sticker of the screen it is an actual image on the screen). The power consumption is measured in pages (it has to redraw, not refresh like an LCD). There is a color version, but it doesn't look as developed. All this is perfect for books, but would not work for video. This would seem to be a real problem with an all in one unit. You could allow reading on the LCD, but it would be a pain.
Since Apple just freed up a great trademark, come out with an iBook ebook reader. Allow it to play music, but not video. Make it paperback size with a good interface / spotlight search / bookmarks. Use the standard iPod cord and iTunes. Allow it to read PDF, RTF, DOC, HTML, Text and whatever format Apple uses for the DRM version. Get a lot of textbook companies to sell their books on it and replace a lot of backpacks. A color version would be better so you could get comics / anime.
No. Please god no. I don't know how many of you have done e-books but e-books on anything smaller then a 4" screen sucks. HARD.
What Apple needs to do is come out with a dedicated device. Integration seems the only way they can push into another market at this point. (Shades of MS Windows with [insert anything here.] integration.)
What Apple needs to do is form an alliance with E-Reader / Peanut Press and having it integrate with iTMS. Then come out with an e book reader that uses digital ink. This is the tech that can paint a screen then cut power to the screen yet still have the image remain. In cases such as this we are talking WEEKS of battery life. Use digital ink + Apple's standard design flare + iTMS and I can guarantee people will eat it up.
Does anyone know how big this would be? It would be huge. No beyond huge. Literature is as universally accepted as music. It's used everywhere from text books in schools, to training manuals, to maintenance manuals, to entertainment in the home, to entertainment while you are sitting waiting for the dentist. Imagine subscribing to a magazine and having it downloaded off of iTMS like a podcast.
In short I would sell my first, second, third born sons, and cut off a pinky toe for Apple to release an e-book reader. This is Sony's attempt:
No one in the market has done the design right yet. There is this huge market waiting for someone to step up to the plate and get it done right, easy, and elegant. Sound familiar?
But above all please PLEASE PLEASE dont integrate it into the iPod. It would be doing major disservice to the emerging industry.
What Apple needs to do is come out with a dedicated device. Integration seems the only way they can push into another market at this point. (Shades of MS Windows with [insert anything here.] integration.)
What Apple needs to do is form an alliance with E-Reader / Peanut Press and having it integrate with iTMS. Then come out with an e book reader that uses digital ink. This is the tech that can paint a screen then cut power to the screen yet still have the image remain. In cases such as this we are talking WEEKS of battery life. Use digital ink + Apple's standard design flare + iTMS and I can guarantee people will eat it up.
Does anyone know how big this would be? It would be huge. No beyond huge. Literature is as universally accepted as music. It's used everywhere from text books in schools, to training manuals, to maintenance manuals, to entertainment in the home, to entertainment while you are sitting waiting for the dentist. Imagine subscribing to a magazine and having it downloaded off of iTMS like a podcast.
In short I would sell my first, second, third born sons, and cut off a pinky toe for Apple to release an e-book reader. This is Sony's attempt:
No one in the market has done the design right yet. There is this huge market waiting for someone to step up to the plate and get it done right, easy, and elegant. Sound familiar?
But above all please PLEASE PLEASE dont integrate it into the iPod. It would be doing major disservice to the emerging industry.
a move to text based mediums would be great. It's easy to see that increases in technology should lead to increasingly technically difficult entertainment (hence ipod -> photo -> video), but it's not about the technology. It's about the entertainment of it and it's suitablility to the medium (ipod).
And in the hightech, fast paced world we live in, books, magazines, and newspapers are a welcome change and a fantastic form of entertainment, as they have been for centuries. Combining written text with the technology in the form of screens you want to read on all day long would be an excellent advance. It would be very cool if the ipod got wifi capabilities and you could download print media from ITMS and work RSS into the ipod too.
Imagine- wherever you go, the ipod finds internet access and updates itself automatically, and allows you to purchase books whenever you like. Fit the whole library in your pocket if you like.
The clincher is going to be the screen, though. Particularly because nothing is nicer than reading outside on a sunny day, but LCDs tend to suck at that. Also important would be wireless capabilities- could it use phone networks for internet access? Speeds wouldn't be a problem for text.
mmm, now if only all the rumors come together in one device without it becoming muddled or oversized, this could be spectacular.
And in the hightech, fast paced world we live in, books, magazines, and newspapers are a welcome change and a fantastic form of entertainment, as they have been for centuries. Combining written text with the technology in the form of screens you want to read on all day long would be an excellent advance. It would be very cool if the ipod got wifi capabilities and you could download print media from ITMS and work RSS into the ipod too.
Imagine- wherever you go, the ipod finds internet access and updates itself automatically, and allows you to purchase books whenever you like. Fit the whole library in your pocket if you like.
The clincher is going to be the screen, though. Particularly because nothing is nicer than reading outside on a sunny day, but LCDs tend to suck at that. Also important would be wireless capabilities- could it use phone networks for internet access? Speeds wouldn't be a problem for text.
mmm, now if only all the rumors come together in one device without it becoming muddled or oversized, this could be spectacular.
SiliconAddict said:No. Please god no. I don't know how many of you have done e-books but e-books on anything smaller then a 4" screen sucks. HARD.
What Apple needs to do is come out with a dedicated device. Integration seems the only way they can push into another market at this point. (Shades of MS Windows with [insert anything here.] integration.)
What Apple needs to do is form an alliance with E-Reader / Peanut Press and having it integrate with iTMS. Then come out with an e book reader that uses digital ink. This is the tech that can paint a screen then cut power to the screen yet still have the image remain. In cases such as this we are talking WEEKS of battery life. Use digital ink + Apple's standard design flare + iTMS and I can guarantee people will eat it up.
Does anyone know how big this would be? It would be huge. No beyond huge. Literature is as universally accepted as music. It's used everywhere from text books in schools, to training manuals, to maintenance manuals, to entertainment in the home, to entertainment while you are sitting waiting for the dentist. Imagine subscribing to a magazine and having it downloaded off of iTMS like a podcast.
In short I would sell my first, second, third born sons, and cut off a pinky toe for Apple to release an e-book reader. This is Sony's attempt:
No one in the market has done the design right yet. There is this huge market waiting for someone to step up to the plate and get it done right, easy, and elegant. Sound familiar?
But above all please PLEASE PLEASE dont integrate it into the iPod. It would be doing major disservice to the emerging industry.
On second thought, silicon addict, you just might be right. big enough to read on just might be too big for the ipod. hrm.
mccoma said:
I agree that a split might be in order, but I'd have to disagree on that split. If a split makes sense (and i'd have to see potential products to commit one way or the other), it should be between iPods (music) and multi-media pods (ebooks, video, and no reason to get rid of music, so leave it in). video and reading both require looking at the screen and less frequent input, and therfore would work well with a big screened, controls on back or sides style device. But if my ipod could fit in the credit card slot of my wallet and somehow still be able to be controlled, I'd buy it and put it there.
The big problem is that the best display technology for reading (eInk) does not work for video, currently (too slow refresh rate). I would love one device for video and books, but it comes back to the ease of reading / power issue.dontmatter said:
Evan_11 said:
I think this would be great - I already read news articles on my 3G phone, and the iPod screen is bigger than that. Novels? No thanks.
Syncing today's news to my iPod in the morning to read on the way to work sounds great. No need for pesky slow download from a 3G network, or fiddly applescripts to download a website to notes on the iPod (sure someone would suggest it - sounds pretty awful to me!).
SiliconAddict said:No. Please god no. I don't know how many of you have done e-books but e-books on anything smaller then a 4" screen sucks. HARD.
What Apple needs to do is come out with a dedicated device. Integration seems the only way they can push into another market at this point. (Shades of MS Windows with [insert anything here.] integration.)
What Apple needs to do is form an alliance with E-Reader / Peanut Press and having it integrate with iTMS. Then come out with an e book reader that uses digital ink. This is the tech that can paint a screen then cut power to the screen yet still have the image remain. In cases such as this we are talking WEEKS of battery life. Use digital ink + Apple's standard design flare + iTMS and I can guarantee people will eat it up.
Does anyone know how big this would be? It would be huge. No beyond huge. Literature is as universally accepted as music. It's used everywhere from text books in schools, to training manuals, to maintenance manuals, to entertainment in the home, to entertainment while you are sitting waiting for the dentist. Imagine subscribing to a magazine and having it downloaded off of iTMS like a podcast.
In short I would sell my first, second, third born sons, and cut off a pinky toe for Apple to release an e-book reader. This is Sony's attempt:
No one in the market has done the design right yet. There is this huge market waiting for someone to step up to the plate and get it done right, easy, and elegant. Sound familiar?
But above all please PLEASE PLEASE don’t integrate it into the iPod. It would be doing major disservice to the emerging industry.
First Off, that's sony's Attempt?? Talk about a stupid design for an ebook reader. Whats all that keyboard/bezel/page margin doing apart from wasting space? Compare the enormous size of the device vs the actual size used to display the book:
Remember folks, its supposed to be an ebook reader. We dont need any of that other crap thats on the Sony device, just a huge screen and small bezel to be able to see the document effectively.
Now i dont know too much about industrial design, but apparantly neither does Sony. Apple could do so much better than this.
I do some third-party writing for Sony. I'm so sick of writing about how beautiful and elegantly designed their products are. They aren't. They always look like what a 5-year-old would draw if you told him to imagine product X. Oh, and we'll put a cool blue light here! ...and a neat racing stripe here! ... and a really cool airfoil (who care's if it's a notebook computer?) here!
Tacky, gaudy. Ugh. Their desktop VAIO makes me want to puke.
In any case, an Apple eBook reader would probably be done right, but as it's been said in this thread, there has to be a BIG, non-glare screen in order for it to be of any use.
Tacky, gaudy. Ugh. Their desktop VAIO makes me want to puke.
In any case, an Apple eBook reader would probably be done right, but as it's been said in this thread, there has to be a BIG, non-glare screen in order for it to be of any use.
I think this is a cool idea but I dont think that the screen is big enough to read a book, youll only be able to get a few lines on the screnn, sony's idea looks cool but its too big.
If it was to come out I think that you would have to have free downloads or downloads at a very little cost eg $0.10 for a downloadable newspaper, that is the only way I can see it working.
PS. I think Apple will have to do more with this iPod with all the features coming with Microsoft's Zune, I cant wait to see.
If it was to come out I think that you would have to have free downloads or downloads at a very little cost eg $0.10 for a downloadable newspaper, that is the only way I can see it working.
PS. I think Apple will have to do more with this iPod with all the features coming with Microsoft's Zune, I cant wait to see.
GregA said:
Or pictures synchronized with an audiobook, or an ebook together with the preferred music from the author. This ads a whole new dimension to everything, Music, text, pictures and movies can all be combined into 1 work of art.
TheAnswer said:
For students taking Spanish in the US this would be really good. It would really help with some people's grades. Maybe people would learn that "No havo my homeworko" doesn't mean anything.
I also like that newspaper idea - it would be really nice if it came from an RSS feed so you can pick any source, not only Apple's sources.