January the 27th - or how Apple will change the written word
In case you didn't know, Apple have a special event on Wednesday the 27th of January, where they are expected to announce their much hyped, much anticipated, "tablet" or "slate" or "ebook" depending on who you believe.
Here's what I believe: Apple have managed, since 2001 to literally revolutionise both the music industry (queue the iPod and iTunes) and the phone industry (iPhone). Think what you like of the company, or their products, but you can't deny that no one has cracked the MP3/Player/Phone market like them. Their move in the early 2000s to make the iPod PC compatible was probably THE MOST important thing they did.
And this Wednesday, I believe they will do the same to how we read. I presume everyone reading this blog is a geek, it comes with being a friend of mine :) Now, imagine if you will, a device that's easy to hold (for example imagine an oversized iPhone), on which you can read print-quality magazines (ie proper articles, editorials etc). EXCEPT - the pictures move, the diagrams are animated, the adverts have full videos embedded etc.
Just like a website, I hear you say?
EXACTLY! - except, a website that has been professionally edited to fit your device, to enhance your reading experience, and that is easier on the eye than on a traditional computer screen. In other words, I think their device will beautifully merge the world of print with the world of digital.
Here are some predictions I've made:
1\ iTunes (or a similar equivalent) will sell ebooks, emagazines etc. You can buy a book for a price similar, if not equal to, the print version. Same with magazines (I bet you Wired will have a digital version from day zero).
2\ The device will sync your books/subs/magazines etc wirelessly, over "the cloud". Just like amazon's whispersync.
3\ It'll be entirely touch/gesture based, ala iPhone.
4\ I'll probably run all the apps the iPhone can run, and even have the same app store.
5\ The screen, through some magical Apple formula, will both be backlit but also have some mode in which eyestrain is reduced (like e-ink), so that you can read a book at length.
I, for one, CANNOT wait.
3 comments:
i'd cheer if iTunes didn't frustrate me the way it does every time i start the damn thing.
thinking of yet another device 500Euro tethered by the balls to that program makes me shiver.
my next phone will be an android and no mistake about it.
still, i wish apple all the luck in the world. they might be as frustrating as microsoft, but they are wayyyy more creative.
Thing is, why does everyone moan about iTunes. Seriously?
I use it for nothing other than syncing the iPhone, which it does fine.
covers/lyrics are a bitch to setup, cddb and tags are annoying, horribly limited video conversion process. verrrrryy stupid album management design which managed to screw just about every mixed singles album i had.
oh and you cannot sync an iPhone between two computers, not easily, and not by default.
bastards at apple crippled the iPod inside the iPhone by adding so much DRM shit it flows out of its ears every time i play a song.
coincidentally, the captcha for today is "whien"
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