What is the Ultimate Role of the Apple Tablet?

[LagunaSol]

The lack of clutter in my house is worth something. The ability to have with me/us anything we might want to read is worth something. To be able to grab on device when leaving the house - that contains textbooks, magazines, dictionary, magazines, video lectures, novels... and still have room in the bag and not need a dolly is..... priceless?

And how about the ability to easily search - with a few keystrokes - that once-huge pile of books and magazines that now reside on your portable digital device? Have you ever spent time digging through a stack of old magazines to find that one article you really need right now? I have. It stinks.

How about the ability to easily copy and paste information (say, to your Evernote notebook) to assemble it in ways that best suits your needs?

How about the ability to annotate (highlight, circle, cross out, whatever) those digital books/magazines with a layer that can easily be hidden or revealed? Try that with paper.

The list could go on and on.

 

[Arran]

That would be great but doubtful due to the ongoing cost for Apple. So, how do they subsidize such a service? Ads?

I'm guessing the actual data cost per device would be a tiny fraction of the full retail price of (for example) an unlimited iPhone data plan. Apple will most likely negotiate a cheap bulk data rate with the carriers - or do some sort of revenue share deal with the carriers (5% of sales, say?) to spread the risk. Apple can fund that 5% cost from the 30% they get from the content producers.

My percentages are for illustration only - but you get the idea.

(Ads are irrelevant, btw. Once the customer is in the e-store, the product IS the ad. And you certainly don't want to advertise other products, not available in the store, since that's just a distraction to the sales process)

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

And how about the ability to easily search - with a few keystrokes - that once-huge pile of books and magazines that now reside on your portable digital device? Have you ever spent time digging through a stack of old magazines to find that one article you really need right now? I have. It stinks.

How about the ability to easily copy and paste information (say, to your Evernote notebook) to assemble it in ways that best suits your needs?

How about the ability to annotate (highlight, circle, cross out, whatever) those digital books/magazines with a layer that can easily be hidden or revealed? Try that with paper.

The list could go on and on.

Guys, almost all of this and all of TraceyS/FL response is arguing for the merits of taking our favorite print media in electronic form. What's the Tablet's part? Why is it the catalyst for all these benefits to come to pass?

If I can enjoy the e-magazine on my laptop, that also gets rid of the clutter, makes it easy to search back issues, annotate, highlight, and so on. I don't have to spend several hundred dollars more for a device to gain these powers; I already have that device in a laptop, and possibly in the iPhone or Touch too.

I completely agree about the marvelous benefits of the print medium going digital. But that's largely separate from why one needs a Tablet... unless one doesn't have other iTunes-connected gear. This is how support for the Tablet seems to keep running:

• arguments for how we will benefit from this print media gone digital (as if we can't get those same benefits without a Tablet)
• arguments that all of the supporting players- mostly publishers- are going to heavily discount their products in support of Apple's drive to sell lots of Tablets (but why would they cut their own revenue throats?)

The question that kicked off this thread is "what's the ultimate role of the Tablet?" but the answers that keep coming back seem to be answering different questions:

• what's the benefits in getting print media in digital form?
• how much lower will the prices of magazines be when they are available in iTunes?
• how many millions of new paying subscribers are going to buy these e-magazines through this tablet (saving the print industry)?
• and so on.

What I'd really love to see is the best answer to the thread's question, along with what you think this Tablet will cost. I'm genuinely interested as a potential buyer. But I keep mostly seeing posts answering other questions, most of which won't require the purchase of a Tablet to be realized.

 

[ronb]

There is going to be a significant difference between tablet and laptop (at least in the Apple based solutions space); price.

Not disagreeing with your points, but you took my sentence out of context. We were discussing why the tablet is going to be so different to the laptop in regards to digital media content—why will the tablet make the difference to magazine publishers in subscribing their information digitally widespread? It's not the hardware or price points per say, it's the subtle conveniences and GUI that will make the tablet a publishing breakthrough, IMHO. Because it will be a step closer to simply a physical "printed" magazine platform.

 

[Pelorus]

If I can enjoy the e-magazine on my laptop, that also gets rid of the clutter, makes it easy to search back issues, annotate, highlight, and so on. I don't have to spend several hundred dollars more for a device to gain these powers; I already have that device in a laptop, and possibly in the iPhone or Touch too.

I have yet to ever enjoy a book, magazine or anything but a web page on a laptop. Reading text on iPhone is actually more enjoyable (though more labour intensive).

I think the screen quality - the contrast and other factors - will be a differentiator.

The other, in my opinion, is being able to use it in portrait and landscape. The aspect ratio of the MacBook screen is just not right for reading (and though you can rotate it in software on some models, that's an awful solution.)

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm guessing the actual data cost per device would be a tiny fraction of the full retail price of (for example) an unlimited iPhone data plan. Apple will most likely negotiate a cheap bulk data rate with the carriers - or do some sort of revenue share deal with the carriers (5% of sales, say?) to spread the risk. Apple can fund that 5% cost from the 30% they get from the content producers.

But put yourself in the shoes of AT&T, Verizon, etc. Why are you going to allow Apple to have such a fantastically low rate for reasonably open 3G? Understand that as soon as someone had- say- a nationwide unlimited 3G plan for- say $10- even if that was just data- VOIP would explode. Right now VOIP is mostly hooked to wifi or as a benefit within a cell carriers existing plan, so its not as flexible, call-from-anywhere-at-anytime as cell phone network.

But, have anyone roll out cheap 3G and you would have a flexible, call-from-anywhere-at-anytime VOIP capability, which would be a MASSIVE draw vs. much more expensive cell phone plans. Since the same players that might be negotiating with Apple for this 3G access know this is true, they are sure to avoid any kind of deal that cuts the very lucrative cash stream of cell phone service "as is".

Look for example at these mifi devices that give you a data-only plan so you can wirelessly connect to the internet from anywhere. Those could be priced a whole lot lower than they are, but they aren't. Why? For the reason shared above.

 

[Arran]

...If I can enjoy the e-magazine on my laptop...

Some locations where that wouldn't work.

• One handed, on on a tube train, in rush hour, standing up, dangling from a strap.
• Lunchtime on a city park bench(sunlight, bulk, and where do you put it on the walk back to the office?).
• Any public place where the size of a laptop might draw unwanted attention (personal security issue).
• In any crowded public place where the bulk of a laptop and fragility of it's hinge makes it a larger target for damage (device security issue).
• On a coach-class seat in a plane. Either I'm growing, or seat pitch is shrinking. Prob the latter
• Any crowded place where you want more privacy than a laptop affords. Plane is a good example. Or stading in line at the post office (and you'll need long-lasting batteries for that!)

In short, it'll be convenience that does it.

 

[Arran]

... Why are you going to allow Apple to have such a fantastically low rate for reasonably open 3G?...

Sorry, I was only referencing data use associated with browsing the e-store as a precursor to making purchases. Should've made that clearer.

I agree that cheap, wide-open data won't happen anytime soon.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Some locations where that wouldn't work.
One handed, on on a tube train, in rush hour, standing up, dangling from a strap.

That sounds pretty scary for an expensive(?) Tablet too, though I'll agree smaller, lighter will be easier to hold in one hand.

Lunchtime on a city park bench(sunlight, bulk, and where do you put it on the walk back to the office?).

OK, there's a tangible benefit. You believe that the Tablet's screen from Apple is going to work very well in bright sunlight while a laptop screen does not.

And where do you put a 10" Tablet on the walk back to the office? If that's a (smaller) shoulder bag...

Any public place where the size of a laptop might draw unwanted attention (personal security issue).

But this hot, latest-and-greatest new thing you're holding won't draw the attention of those same bad guys?

In any crowded public place where the bulk of a laptop and fragility of it's hinge makes it a larger target for damage (device security issue).

I'll give you the bulk argument, but if we're going to talk fragility, aren't you worried about just one drop of a super-thin Tablet? I mean, up above you are holding it in one hand on a moving, bouncing tube train, during rush hour, dangling from a strap.

I've road-warriored a Powerbook G4 for 5 years and never had a hinge issue at all (and this laptop has really been pounded around). If I wanted to have a Tablet-supporting bullet along these lines, I'd talk about the risk of loss in cost terms (I'd rather lose (via damage) a $799 Tablet vs a $1099 Macbook).

On a coach-class seat in a plane. Either I'm growing, or seat pitch is shrinking. Prob the latter

I can definitely identify, and smaller, lighter will always win the cramped quarters points. But, if you are traveling for business, do you take both the 10" Tablet and the 15" Laptop in your travel bag, or choose to leave one bigger screen at home. And if so, which one... considering that those cramped quarter scenarios will be fewer and far between compared to trying to get a lot of (content producing) work done.

Any crowded place where you want more privacy than a laptop affords. Plane is a good example. Or stading in line at the post office (and you'll need long-lasting batteries for that!)

I don't understand how a 10" screen will give you more privacy than a 15" screen, other than something scaled to fit both will be harder for the nosy people to read on the smaller screen (if resolution matched up). If they can see your 15" screen from the seat next to you, they should be able to see your 10" screen too.

In short, it'll be convenience that does it.

I get the general concept that smaller, lighter could be more convenient in some situations. I wonder if there is enough of those kinds of benefits to move me to pay (my guess) $799 for it. If I'm a content consumer, I easily see a thin, light Tablet in the travel bag and leaving the Laptop at home. If I'm a content producer, it is conceptually very much the other way. In few scenarios do I see BOTH in the bag.

 

[Friscohoya]

Be Real

I love how people complain about the lack of a physical keyboard as if they are composing novels or screen plays on public transit. People generally create content suited for keyboard entry when they are in fact not mobile and mobility is what the tablet is about. If you want to write that novel connect your bluetooth keyboard at home or at the coffe shop. Perhaps Steve will be so kind as to provide a stand to aid I the process of converting your tablet to a desktop computer.

As for form, I think the skiff reader design if implement in color would go a long way towards solving the durability concerns as this is thus far the coolest form factor I have seen.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/skiff-reader-is-largest-reader-yet-will-be-hitting-a-sprint-sto/

Imagine Phil Schiller throwing a tablet to Jobs on stage frisbie style fro
the 10th row. Jobs picks it up off the floor and turns it on as says how's that for a durable computer?

 

[peterdevries]

But will they want to pay a couple of hundred dollars so that they don't have to get up to get an issue.

But why do we need a Tablet to do this? They can sell those articles to a much larger market of non-Tablet owners now (the whole Internet).

The point is why a Tablet? So many posts seem to be finding real marketing opportunities because new content will be added for sale on iTunes, etc which is most definitely true. But why do we need a Tablet for all this other stuff to work?

Never did I say that THE point of the tablet is to read electronic magazines. My point IS that it could be a killer app that could suck in many people (just look at many posts on this board). The same as you don't buy the iPhone for the app store alone, you also won't buy a tablet just for the magazines, but for the whole experience.

Then you don't disagree. You are saying that existing readers will hang on or switch to electronic versions. I said that "if they don't subscribe now, they won't subscribe to the electronic versions." Unless you are making a case that somehow electronic versions will bring new (paying) customers, which I don't see in your post.

I though I did make that case, but I guess I wasn't clear enough.

With respect, but many here are thinking in single variables: e-magazines won't work because it doesn't work now, so changing it only to an electronic version won't work, and so on..
My point (and maybe I'm not clear enough) is that in order for a tablet to work, many variables (and probably paradigms) need to be changed. So, e-magazines will only work when they change the distribution, subscription, production etc etc. models. This is also the reason why current tablets are unsuccessful and many people are in their right to be skeptical. Most tablets have only ditched the keyboard, but the producers failed to change the OS to and introduce worthwhile apps to support the experience.

In my line of work we use the same kind of process that Apple also uses. Visioning workshops to facilitate free thinking about a new products, processes, solutions to problems - no restrictions. Star trek stuff, little green men, floating skateboards etc etc.. From that a concept will be built with help from developers and production, who weren't involved in the visioning part The advantage of this process is that no false restrictions are imposed on the design process.

Many people on this forum still think in what is there now. How are current products built? What does current software look like? I'm sure if Apple would design their products this way, we would have never seen the iPhone and unibody macbooks.

I'm not saying that Apple + Steve Jobs = pure genius, but what they do have (and have more than many other electronics companies) is a simple process that facilitates VISION and the creation of INNOVATION in their products.

 

[cmaier]

In my line of work we use the same kind of process that Apple also uses. Visioning workshops to facilitate free thinking about a new products, processes, solutions to problems - no restrictions.

I have no inside knowledge on this, but if I had to guess I'd say that any Apple employee who uses the phrase "visioning workshop" would immediately be fired

 

[peterdevries]

I have no inside knowledge on this, but if I had to guess I'd say that any Apple employee who uses the phrase "visioning workshop" would immediately be fired

It's actually an accepted and regular term in the part of consulting that I work in (process and IT solution design) . Maybe it's a European term, but it's definitely not a phrase that would be known in lawyer circles (I couldn't help looking at the links in your sig)..

 

[apolloa]

So, if I'm understanding your post, you are suggesting that Amazon- a massive book etailer can't get the prices of the publishers low enough to be "priced right" but Apple- who does not sell books at all right now- will somehow get those publishers to cut much better deals than they have with Amazon? Why exactly would they do this?

No IMO ebooks are way overpriced, why should you pay what 18 pounds or 24 dollers for something which cost practically NOTHING to make? Music albums were and still sometimes are cheaper in MP3 format. There is no physical substance involved, just licenses, so why should you be forced to pay as much as the physical book for an ebook?

And remember, Apple never had anything to do with selling music, Apple never had anything to do with selling mobile phones and applications for it. Apple used to ONLY make computers.......
Just look at what happened to Napster and the entire retail music industry after Apple? Then ask yourself the same question you quoted above.

 

[cmaier]

It's actually an accepted and regular term in the part of consulting that I work in (process and IT solution design) . Maybe it's a European term, but it's definitely not a phrase that would be known in lawyer circles (I couldn't help looking at the links in your sig)..

I was an engineer for far longer than I was a lawyer. But my point is that steve jobs would never participate or allow such things.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

No IMO ebooks are way overpriced, why should you pay what 18 pounds or 24 dollers for something which cost practically NOTHING to make? Music albums were and still sometimes are cheaper in MP3 format. There is no physical substance involved, just licenses, so why should you be forced to pay as much as the physical book for an ebook?

And remember, Apple never had anything to do with selling music, Apple never had anything to do with selling mobile phones and applications for it. Apple used to ONLY make computers.......
Just look at what happened to Napster and the entire retail music industry after Apple? Then ask yourself the same question you quoted above.

The "they" I referred to in my question was not "Apple". It was the "Publishers". And just because you think e-books are priced too high won't get them priced lower through iTunes, just like Amazon can't/won't get them priced much lower for Kindle. Publishers like Movie Companies like Music Companies, etc. could all give away their creative content in digital form for next to nothing because "it costs nothing to make a digital copy"... BUT, they want to make money for their hard work. The goal is to make a profit, not kill their profits to help Apple sell a bunch of Tablets.

I agree with you conceptually- that such content could be sold for less. I disagree from a business standpoint, as the market is willing to pay for digitial movies at about the same price as the DVDs, music at about the same price as CDs, etc. Print media pricing will likely be no different when it is available in iTunes. Amazon has already shown us the digital version price of such works.

 

[peterdevries]

I was an engineer for far longer than I was a lawyer. But my point is that steve jobs would never participate or allow such things.

Check this: Apple's design process

One comment on that site is right on the mark:

Actually, the idea of paired design meetings is fairly original, and ingenious. Too often during the design phase we constrain ourselves by what can be done. If someone suggest something a little far fetched, they're shot down for "dragging out the meeting" and wasting peoples time. Having one meeting a week specifically scheduled to allow designers(of all flavors) to present their most wild ideas, without the boundries of feasibility is a great way to push the evelope. The iPhone and MacBook air must have both started this way. Someone had to suggest that there would not be a removable battery, which at the time was a completely insane idea, but has since proved to be brilliant.

 

[cmaier]

Check this: Apple's design process

One comment on this page is right on the mark:

I don't see "visioning workshops," or, for that matter, "workshops" mentioned at all. I see, at most, brainstorming meetings, but i've never heard of an engineering organization that didn't have brainstorming meetings.

At Apple, like at most other engineering companies, vision comes from the top.

 

[SirHaakon]

Consumption of content created elsewhere will be great. Creating your own content seems like it will not be so great.

I think that's the entire point... the Tablet will be the ultimate content consumption machine. Email, music, pictures, videos, web browsing. I don't expect to be running Final Cut Pro on my Tablet.

Personally, I think the inclusion of cell phone features is useless as well... though people seem to be pretty divided on this.

I think certain aspects of the tablet will be very nice, but I think they will disappoint when it comes to size, screen resolution, and interfaces.

 

[Pelorus]

Apple 10-to-11 inch tablet confirmed by Wall Street Journal.

Price: $1,000? http://bit.ly/7JaECP by @paulboutin

 

[peterdevries]

I don't see "visioning workshops," or, for that matter, "workshops" mentioned at all. I see, at most, brainstorming meetings, but i've never heard of an engineering organization that didn't have brainstorming meetings.

At Apple, like at most other engineering companies, vision comes from the top.

Semantics...

It's not about creating a corporate vision, which indeed comes from the top.

Visioning workshops are used to create a "vision" or "image" about how the product or solution could look like. Basically the same as a brainstorming session. Apple chooses to separate the creative brainstorming or "visioning" from the brainstorming about the implementation. This way ideas are not snuffed by assumptions about restrictions.

I regularly facilitate workshops like these and they ALWAYS create more and better ideas than combined brainstorming sessions.

A large part of the equation is the selection of the right people for those workshops. You don't want "devil's advocates" and "techies" in the first brainstorming sessions, since these tend to block the creative process. These people you need in the second session.

 

[cmaier]

Semantics...

It's not about creating a corporate vision, which indeed comes from the top.

Visioning workshops are used to create a "vision" or "image" about how the product or solution could look like. Basically the same as a brainstorming session. Apple chooses to separate the creative brainstorming or "visioning" from the brainstorming about the implementation. This way ideas are not snuffed by assumptions about restrictions.

I regularly facilitate workshops like these and they ALWAYS create more and better ideas than combined brainstorming sessions.

A large part of the equation is the selection of the right people for those workshops. You don't want "devil's advocates" and "techies" in the first brainstorming sessions, since these tend to block the creative process. These people you need in the second session.

That's nice, but you've shown no evidence that Apple does anything other than brainstorming sessions.

 

[SirHaakon]

The only chance is for this thing is to be a computer. The main questions are is how close is this to Mac OS X and how do you type on it.

I think this is exactly on point. Of course, Apple is the only entity that can answer these questions.

 

[peterdevries]

That's nice, but you've shown no evidence that Apple does anything other than brainstorming sessions.

OK, I give up... You have won..

 

[KnightWRX]

Some locations where that wouldn't work.

Thinking it through might have shortened your list some.

[*]One handed, on on a tube train, in rush hour, standing up, dangling from a strap.

Same for a tablet with a Touch UI. One hand to hold it, one hand to do input. So one handed is out the window with anything bigger than a smartphone. An iPhone fills this need much better than a Tablet.

[*]Lunchtime on a city park bench(sunlight, bulk, and where do you put it on the walk back to the office?).

Except a tablet with a LCD display will be as bad in sunlight, e-ink displays don't let you do 95% of what your tablet does (web, games, videos...) and a tablet is as bulky, so where do you put it on the walk back ? In the same bag you would have carried your laptop in.

[*]Any public place where the size of a laptop might draw unwanted attention (personal security issue).

You mean an expensive Apple Tablet would not draw unwanted attention ? This one is your worse one yet. If a guy is ready to jump you for a Macbook, he's not going to have any qualms about taking that tablet for a ride either.

[*]In any crowded public place where the bulk of a laptop and fragility of it's hinge makes it a larger target for damage (device security issue).

A tablet won't be much more solid than a unibody aluminium macbook and not much less bulky. If someone manages to knock your macbook over, he probably also would've shattered your tablet's screen.

[*]On a coach-class seat in a plane. Either I'm growing, or seat pitch is shrinking. Prob the latter

Yet people use laptops on airlines in coach class all the time. Non-argument. A tablet would also not give you as much liberty in what you want to do on the flight (limiting you to content consumption vs content creation).

[*]Any crowded place where you want more privacy than a laptop affords. Plane is a good example. Or stading in line at the post office (and you'll need long-lasting batteries for that!)

How would a 10" tablet offer more privacy ? Especially if you hold it up at the same angle as a laptop to read it. Are you suggesting setting it down flat ? Then what stops someone from peeking ?

This one is pretty bad too. Standing in line at the post office, be it a laptop or a tablet, if you want privacy, just keep it in your bag.

In short, it'll be convenience that does it.

Except a tablet is not really more convenient than a laptop, and not as convenient for many other uses.

And how about the ability to easily search - with a few keystrokes - that once-huge pile of books and magazines that now reside on your portable digital device? Have you ever spent time digging through a stack of old magazines to find that one article you really need right now? I have. It stinks.

How about the ability to easily copy and paste information (say, to your Evernote notebook) to assemble it in ways that best suits your needs?

How about the ability to annotate (highlight, circle, cross out, whatever) those digital books/magazines with a layer that can easily be hidden or revealed? Try that with paper.

The list could go on and on.

All this magazine, e-book, publishing talk is getting ridiculous. A tablet does not enable the iTunes Book Store. You can read books on a laptop, an iMac, an iPhone or an iPod Touch. You can read comics on those too. You can even read full books. A tablet doesn't suddenly make all of this possible.

So seriously, all the iTunes e-book are just a seperate rumor. I really doubt Apple would require you to buy a 799$ tablet to use the content they sell. They would happily sell it for all your other Apple devices or non-Apple iTunes capable devices (like a Windows PC).

If there is ever a iTunes Book Store, it won't be related to the tablet. If there is a tablet that is iTunes enabled, it's going to be sold as a media consumption device, not the "new e-reader for iTunes books!".