Posted on 10/04/2009 6:43:29 PM PDT by Swordmaker
The focus of Apple's long-rumored tablet device could be the transformation of newspapers, magazines and other print media, a new rumor suggests.
With anonymous information from people within various facets of the publishing world, Gizmodo has said that Apple has been reaching out to print publications about putting their products for sale on iTunes via a new piece of hardware. The report cited people familiar with The New York Times, publishers McGraw Hill and Oberlin Press, and a trip that "several executives from one of the largest magazine groups" took to the company's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.
Apple's tablet has been through a number of different iterations, and the project has been reset numerous times by company co-founder Steve Jobs. The report said that Jobs was presented with a tablet device that ran a modified version of OS X years ago, but the device was shelved because the company could not determine what use people would have for the hardware.
The focus of the hardware now is said to not be the playback of media, which the iPod and iPhone lines already handle well. Instead, Apple is reportedly working to have publishers place their print content on iTunes.
"The eventual goal is to have publishers create hybridized content that draws from audio, video, interactive graphics in books, magazines and newspapers, where paper layouts would be static," the report said. "And with release dates for Microsoft's Courier set to be quite far away and Kindle stuck with relatively static e-ink, it appears that Apple is moving towards a pole position in distribution of this next-generation print content. First, it'll get its feet wet with more basic repurposing of the stuff found on dead trees today."
Gizmodo also corroborates what sources have told AppleInsider -- that the device will debut in early 2010.
Two people from The New York Times were allegedly contacted by Apple in June about putting their product on a "new device." And McGraw Hilll and Oberlin Press are said to be working to put their textbooks on iTunes, possibly in a DRMed format that would allow use for a period of time. And magazine executives are alleged to have presented their ideas on the future of publishing on Apple's campus. Given the evidence, the report asserts that Apple is looking to go beyond e-readers, like Amazon's Kindle, to "redefine print."
There is.
>> I simply could not believe the size of the buttons ... they were smaller than a pea. More like lentil sized. I don’t know how people use them.
Got news for you. Our talented “yutes” can balance one of these babies on the STEERING WHEEL of their CAR — which incidentally is usually a Scion or a Honda Element :-) — and text their brains out while they are DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. I have seen this with my own eyes.
I have zero concept of the talent required to do this. I can barely hold my beer and dial my Big-Button Old-Peep Cellphone at the same time. Of course, I drive a stick shift.
I am convinced today’s gadget wielding “yutes” are the product of normal women plus space-aliens who briefly took over the mailman’s body eighteen to twenty-four years ago.
They write pretty good code, too.
Great tagline, Terpfen!
Now that I think of it, people assure me that you adapt very quickly to onscreen keypads. And, yes, those kids “text” very fast.
[I have a stick too ... never had a car without one]
http://blackberryblog.com/images/blackberry_ui_large.gif
http://www.slipperybrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/blackberry-8820-wi-fi-at-t.jpg
http://www.capmac.org/iphonesig/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/iphone-vs-blackberry-9000jpg.jpeg
Ah, now I see!
Is that that new product that came out in early April? ROFL!
>> Once you get used to it, it really is convenient and speeds up your typing.
I guess I’ll have to try one and see for myself. I learned to touch-type in the 8th grade, and that was a LONG time ago — I may have worn ruts in those neural paths and be worthless to learn a new way.
Been following the thread and I agree with you. Apple comes up with stuff that surprises me all the time. The touch screen on the iPhone is pretty incredible, even though we take it for granted now, it was amazing a couple of years ago. What’s being discussed here, though, doesn’t seem to have any advantages over a laptop or netbook. A Mac Air with 3G added to the Wifi would do the job and you’d have the whole web.
The other advantage of a laptop or netbook over what’s being discussed here is that they fold into a self protecting shell, whereas a tablet with a keyboard at the bottom or a virtual keyboard would still need something to protect the screen. I keep thinking of dual screens that fold together so you could hold it like a book and read it. Something waterproof would be nice, also.
Yup. Only takes 40 minutes to write an email. :)
May be reasonable to think that the iPod Touch (isn’t that the ‘big one’?) was a toe in the water for this tablet product.
Thank you.
And I like having email that says “MacBook Wheel”... that way people you know have one.
Lol!
I still have my Newton -- and the optional separate keyboard for it.
Since the Newton, I've had pocket e-address books and a couple of Pocket PCs. All of them wiped out lots of important contacts, schedules, etc., when their CMOS battery died (or lost contact briefly).
I love the handy form factor -- but I will not own (much less depend on) another hand e-device until I am convinced that data security is guaranteed for years -- even with all batteries removed.
That’s quite interesting.
Do you know about the “Dvorak” keyboard?
The “ASDF” keyboard was designed with that letter layout not because it’s efficient, but because it minimized the collision of key arms on the old mechanical typewriters.
Of course that reasoning is archaic, so over time others developed more efficient key layouts that placed commonly used letters under the strong fingers of the typist. The most successful was Dvorak’s layout (as far as I know), but even it was a commercial failure. The ASDF layout simply had too much history and “mindshare” for a new, albeit technically better, alternative to overcome.
Critical mass is a tough thing to beat. Maybe Apple can do it with a device like this. Or maybe not.
One of the big differences is that the iPhone's keys only register when the finger is removed from the surface. That means you can slide your finger around without invoking keys and you can slide your finger off the keyboard to cancel a keystroke. Pressing and holding a key brings up stressed and accented versions of the key's letter... for example holding the "o" key can bring up eight different "Os" including careted, unlauted, etc,. Holding the zero key will bring up the option for the degree "º" symbol.
Good point.
I was a beta tester for the Palm Pilot first generation. It makes a nice paper weight.
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