What is the Ultimate Role of the Apple Tablet?

[LagunaSol]

This is contradictory. If the Web hasn't suitably supplemented them, why is the Web responsible for their suffering ?

It's not contradictory at all. You can certainly replace something with something that's inferior, if people are willing to compromise - say, for convenience sake.

I love Fast Company magazine. And the magazine provides a far more enjoyable experience for me than the Fast Company website. There's no reason the full magazine experience can't be replicated on an electronic device. It's just that no one has managed to do it yet.

 

[AidenShaw]

It's not contradictory at all. You can certainly replace something with something that's inferior, if people are willing to compromise - say, for convenience sake.

Low bit-rate music and videos are nearly perfect examples of convenience trumping quality.

There's no reason the full magazine experience can't be replicated on an electronic device. It's just that no one has managed to do it yet.

Let's hope that there's no Flash on the tablet - too many websites go for flash eye candy, and lose the viewer's interest in the process. A magazine doesn't blink and move and have popups.

 

[skinnylegs]

Yes, it's already available. It's called the Web.

Magazines and newspaper can already publish to the Web to reach a much wider audience than some hacked together PDF format ever could.

Plus the Web eliminates this "periodical" thing. News is available as soon as it happens, not a month later.

Come on. Can we be real here? Of *course* there is this thing called the web but I think you know what I'm talking about.

 

[Speedy2]

Role : fail

 

[KnightWRX]

It's not contradictory at all. You can certainly replace something with something that's inferior, if people are willing to compromise - say, for convenience sake.

I love Fast Company magazine. And the magazine provides a far more enjoyable experience for me than the Fast Company website. There's no reason the full magazine experience can't be replicated on an electronic device. It's just that no one has managed to do it yet.

The fact that Fast Company doesn't know how to properly make a Website doesn't mean Websites can't fully replace magazines and provide a much better user experience than the print version.

If these people can use a hacked up PDF format with DRM to make their magazine, they can make a website accessible to everyone. The web already offers all the same opportunities ebooks do, albeit in a much more accessible way.

Locking down your data in DRM infested proprietary formats is the wrong way to approach the digital magazine industry.

 

[skinnylegs]

Locking down your data in DRM infested proprietary formats is the wrong way to approach the digital magazine industry.

...so says you.

If magazines were to derive monthly income through digital distribution I'm confident they would create much more interesting stuff other than than craptastic websites, which seem to be the norm.

I'm probably a bit older than you but I remember how exciting it was to flip through a new issue of National Geographic, for instance. That experience has yet to be duplicated on their website because, well, honestly...their website is a gateway drug to get you to subscribe to their magazine. Imagine if that magazine were published digitally and imagine the possibilities if the printed media limitations were removed.

 

[KnightWRX]

...so says you.

So you think DRM infested media is better than non-DRM infested media ? Seriously, at least with a paper magazine, I can read it wherever I want, regardless of any limitations on the number of reading devices. I can also lend it, etc..

DRM is all around bad and I'm pretty sure every consumer agrees. Heck, even Steve Jobs agrees.

If magazines were to derive monthly income through digital distribution I'm confident they would create much more interesting stuff other than than craptastic websites, which seem to be the norm.

I'm probably a bit older than you but I remember how exciting it was to flip through a new issue of National Geographic, for instance. That experience has yet to be duplicated on their website because, well, honestly...their website is a gateway drug to get you to subscribe to their magazine. Imagine if that magazine were published digitally and imagine the possibilities if the printed media limitations were removed.

So you're saying the Web's problem is that people haven't found a good way to charge for monthly subscription to it ? Geez, I wonder how all those porn sites are making money then...

The fact is, National Geographic could simply put all the content on their site. Update it in real time vs a periodical release, archive it and charge for it. That they don't do it is not a problem with the medium, and it's not fixed with another medium that is DRM infested.

 

[carmenodie]

what a bad article. This is all about tech tech tech. Go to Engadget and you'll see a new netbook every ten minutes. And don't forget Apple is a publicly traded company that is controlled by wall street for the so-called good of the investors. And don't act like you have never seen a tablet pc before. YOU HAVE.

 

[greygray]

After the flood of comments, I'm starting to be unsure if I should get the Tablet. After all, I already have a 32GB 3GS and a 17" UMBP which serve me well. The final question is still whether those who own both a Macbook [Pro] AND iPhones will actually need a Tablet in the first place.

 

[Ironduke]

After the flood of comments, I'm starting to be unsure if I should get the Tablet. After all, I already have a 32GB 3GS and a 17" UMBP which serve me well. The final question is still whether those who own both a Macbook [Pro] AND iPhones will actually need a Tablet in the first place.

Thats very interesting I mean what would make you put your make book down to pick up a 10" Touch Tablet, apart from it being so damn coooool

seriously if this device is going to be a winner its going to have to easily beat the Macbook for price, maybe one day it will replace the macbook but that would need a totally new OS that is better then OSX using a touch screen.

Otherwise This device will only excel in certain environments like Colleges, Hospitals etc..

 

[nastebu]

So you're saying the Web's problem is that people haven't found a good way to charge for monthly subscription to it ? Geez, I wonder how all those porn sites are making money then...

The fact is, National Geographic could simply put all the content on their site. Update it in real time vs a periodical release, archive it and charge for it. That they don't do it is not a problem with the medium, and it's not fixed with another medium that is DRM infested.

Porn sites often make money by stealing content from porn producers, and then selling advertisements. They make money, in other words, but leeching off the content producers, who are actually in real crisis now. Here's a link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fi-ct-porn10-2009aug10,0,3356050.story. In particular, this sentence: "At least five of the 100 top websites in the U.S. are portals for free pornography, referred to in the industry as "tube sites," according to Internet traffic ranking service Alexa .com. Some of their content is amateur work uploaded by users and some is acquired from cheap back catalogs, but much of it is pirated."

National Geographic could simply put all their content on a website, but no one has figured out how to make a website pay enough to support traditional content creation. This is why the New York Times, for example, is in real financial trouble. Gathering the news, paying editors, proofreaders, reporters, etc. is very expensive. And their website, which is very successful, has cut into their subscription sales. It's a terrible bind. Without the website you risk irrelevance, but with the website you risk bankruptcy.

This is where Apple has a chance to make an impact. If Apple can offer a way to distribute the intellectual content of the dead-tree printing industry profitably through electronic media, they'll have a huge hit.

DRM is fine if it's both unobtrusive and helps publishers keep their profit margins intact. Do you object to it simply on principle?

 

[grapefruitx]

I just don't see an Apple product in this Space, buy one and what do you leave behind, your Phone, your laptop? The ergonomics bug me as well, to big for you pocket, or no keyboard to enter text and it will only lay flat on the table to view. Yes there are people who would find such a product "cool" and buy it, but theres not enough of them and for what?
A reader and browser are the only things were there may be a market, as a small handheld device for browsing the web on the move. A jumbo ipod touch if you will. With some sort of paid content delivery system for periodicals and newspapers and for playing games and internet messaging. However i am sceptical I think Apple have to have some other lever or angle to make this viable.

 

[KnightWRX]

This is where Apple has a chance to make an impact. If Apple can offer a way to distribute the intellectual content of the dead-tree printing industry profitably through electronic media, they'll have a huge hit.

DRM is fine in it's both unobtrusive and helps publishers keep their profit margins intact. Do object to it simply on principle?

I object to DRM because it's never unobtrusive. Fairplay, the least problematic DRM was still problematic.

Going back to locked-down mediums for information vs the open web is a step back in information dessimation. No one said you had to provide your website content for free. You can charge, and you can splatter ads all over (most magazines on newstands today are 90% ads anyhow, and very little content).

And no, the porn sites make money off subscriptions. At least for the subscription based ones. This is still one of the most lucrative business on the Internet, and it's always one to adopt new technology first and in a very profitable way.

Newspapers could learn a thing or two from them.

 

[MattInOz]

So you think DRM infested media is better than non-DRM infested media ? Seriously, at least with a paper magazine, I can read it wherever I want, regardless of any limitations on the number of reading devices. I can also lend it, etc..

With printed content your limited to one full quality reading device, sure you can lent it to others and take photocopies (at your own cost) which are no doubt lower quality.

DRM has only real purpose it helps the content produces feel like they can risk going in to the market that way. It can always be dropped out later when confidence is established.

 

[Alte22a]

being hopeful

I've always wanted a Netbook type tablet. Something a little more useful than an ipod touch. I guess it depends what your line of work is, what would be most useful to you.

Wish list.
160GB HD
Wifi/bluetooth
Firewire 800

 

[nastebu]

And no, the porn sites make money off subscriptions. At least for the subscription based ones. This is still one of the most lucrative business on the Internet, and it's always one to adopt new technology first and in a very profitable way.

Newspapers could learn a thing or two from them.

Sorry, I provided a link above: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,3356050.story. In particular, this sentence: "At least five of the 100 top websites in the U.S. are portals for free pornography, referred to in the industry as "tube sites," according to Internet traffic ranking service Alexa .com. Some of their content is amateur work uploaded by users and some is acquired from cheap back catalogs, but much of it is pirated."

The upshot is that the industry is taking big losses exactly because the free sites make paying for subscriptions pointless. (Do you know anyone who watches porn? Do you know anyone who *pays* to watch porn? Of course yes, of course no. That's the problem.) And the free sites get their content through amateur videos and through piracy.

 

[greygray]

Thats very interesting I mean what would make you put your make book down to pick up a 10" Touch Tablet, apart from it being so damn coooool

seriously if this device is going to be a winner its going to have to easily beat the Macbook for price, maybe one day it will replace the macbook but that would need a totally new OS that is better then OSX using a touch screen.

Otherwise This device will only excel in certain environments like Colleges, Hospitals etc..

Exactly. I'm guessing that this device has got to be cheaper than a Macbook but for the OS, I really hope that it is SL Touch-Optimized and as slick as the iPhone's OS or I'm not going to buy one.

 

[grapefruitx]

Sorry, I provided a link above: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,3356050.story. In particular, this sentence: "At least five of the 100 top websites in the U.S. are portals for free pornography, referred to in the industry as "tube sites," according to Internet traffic ranking service Alexa .com. Some of their content is amateur work uploaded by users and some is acquired from cheap back catalogs, but much of it is pirated."

The upshot is that the industry is taking big losses exactly because the free sites make paying for subscriptions pointless. (Do you know anyone who watches porn? Do you know anyone who *pays* to watch porn? Of course yes, of course no. That's the problem.) And the free sites get their content through amateur videos and through piracy.

The thing is about news and periodicals is that it expires, DRM is not an issue as the content has built in obsolescence. For books it is a bigger deal. With a paperback you can lend it to one person at a time and get it back, maybe! at some point in the future, its hardly piracy and nothing is copied. But electronically you can just "print" as many duplicates as you like. So I agree DRM even if it is obtrusive is necessary and desirable.

 

[peterdevries]

Yes, it's already available. It's called the Web.

Magazines and newspaper can already publish to the Web to reach a much wider audience than some hacked together PDF format ever could.

Plus the Web eliminates this "periodical" thing. News is available as soon as it happens, not a month later.

I agree with you for up-to-the-minute news, but you are wrong where it concerns quality and in-depth articles. I have yet to find immersive and detailed pieces as I read monthly in Esquire. Pieces like that cost a lot of money and are financed by the advertising in those magazines. You might argue that most news sites are also financed by advertising, but then tell me, why don't we see such material on the web? GIve me one example of a free site that offers the same depth and broadness of articles as one of the large periodicals does?

Granted we see very detailed articles about electronics and some blogs that are quite good, but they are all one-topic specialized sites. Good newspapers also have more broad and in-depth articles than they post on the net. These are most if not all 250-500 word affairs, whereas magazines still thrive and exist on articles that are several thousand words long.

So what I envision (or would like to see) is the following: a basically digitized version of a magazine with interactive content such as the Wired demo we saw a while back. I expect there to be advertising the same as in usual magazines but moving (in stead of a static image, we would see the TV commercial e.g. I expect to see not a picture of Charlize Theron for the J'adore perfume, but the commercial with her walking around undressing..). As with the concept by Bonnier you could of course just scroll past it. I expect an issue to be delivered over wifi (or 3G but personally I can do without it) automatically, just like newspapers are at your doorstep.

Issues would be searchable (iGuide?) even through backissues you don't own. I could imagine there be in-issue buying functions to buy single articles you don't yet own, or back issues. Links to the websites of the advertisements/commercials etc.

All of these things would be easily technically feasible and are already implemented in Apple products specifically the iPhone (spotlight for iPhone, in-app purchasing, automated delivery).

Would this all be possible on the net? Sure, but tell me how would the magazines earn enough money through that medium in a time and age where people disregard google ads, have ad blockers and click away after a few words? Now, if you sell a person a complete issue with all the advertisements in it, it is in one second completely paid for and nobody gives a **** whether you look at the advertisment/commercial, because you already paid for the thing..

So, what would set this apart is the quality of the articles. Quality, and quality costs money. Last but not least: people are willling to pay for quality. Why do you think all of us have expensive Apple products at home after all?

 

[koobcamuk]

After the flood of comments, I'm starting to be unsure if I should get the Tablet. After all, I already have a 32GB 3GS and a 17" UMBP which serve me well. The final question is still whether those who own both a Macbook [Pro] AND iPhones will actually need a Tablet in the first place.

Probably won't need it at all. I won't be getting one.

 

[hiimamac]

A ten inch touchscreen has unlimited possibilities.

Give it speech to text dragon, whatever for all the writers and students. Nice. And not$700.

 

[kernkraft]

Funny in what way?

Thanks, but you desperately need to apologise for your total and complete lack of any intelligence considering your rather pathetic response. Your a pure genius sir.

It's "you're". Or "you are".

 

[iphones4evry1]

iGuide - the equivalent of an intelligent agent who manages your communication, events as well as data. Sort of like the concept video that have been around for around 20+ years of a professor interacting with a machine.

BINGO!

A stand will fold out like a picture frame, you set it on a table in your home or office, and it is a 3D hologram of your butler, and you say "Steve, what is the the square root of the mass of the earth?" and it answers you. You say "get me Robert on the video conference," and it connects you and displays your friend Robert. You say "research the Coriolis Effect for me and be ready to explain to me how it works later this evening." You say "display my calendar for tomorrow" and "add 'pick up Ben at 3pm'," and it does as you instruct. It will learn your preferences, such as which emails are from your friends and important to you and which emails can wait until later. It may interrupt you and say "you have an important email from your wife. Oh, and don't forget to pick up her contact lenses on your way home from work." And best of all, it may say "it has been 6 months since your last dental appointment, would you like me to call for you and make an appointment?" When you are on hold with a 1-800 number, it will be able to wait on hold and then tell you when a human operator picks up the phone. In some cases, it will be able to talk to the operator and take care of everything for you. It literally will be like a human butler/secretary/assistant for you. Yes. That is the new Apple device.

 

[kernkraft]

Funny in what way?

By the way, Happy New Year, everyone!

One last thing...

We are talking about the cloud, talking about mobile computing, about collaboration, about having our Macs and iPhones with us all the time...

Yet, this is another long weekend, where there is not even a minor news entry, despite the thousands of collaborators. I bet that somebody could write a half-interesting post. Anything would be better than letting people attacking each other over speculations.

 

[Ultranote]

..

So, what would set this apart is the quality of the articles. Quality, and quality costs money. Last but not least: people are willling to pay for quality. Why do you think all of us have expensive Apple products at home after all?

Spot on.

On top of that localised downloaded "bundles" will have less latency than a website. Theorically, a web site could duplicate what the Time Inc. demo does but none have done it so far. Why? The full screen video would need buffering, the widgets-filled index page with moving icons would need buffering etc.

But e-reading is just a part of a highly portable generalist computer.