Opinions. Lots of them.
Amazon is being forced to rethink many of the design decisions of its Kindle e-book reader after the introduction of Apple’s iPad.
Wait a minute. You’re saying the Kindle was designed?
The “iTablet” rumors seem to be heating up ―it will probably be introduced this January.
A lot has been written about the iTablet as a solution to the magazine and newspaper industry problems. AppleInsider reports that “Various publishers have prepared for the tablet, even though it has not been officially announced. But numerous rumors have indicated that Apple has reached out to various print publications about providing their content on a new form factor.”
Here is a feature that would make the device all the more useful for this puprose: a full color backlit screen (like the iPhone) that can also be switched to e-paper mode (like the Kindle).
A lot of people already read books on the iPhone, despite the poor form factor and annoying backlighting that makes it unfit for reading large volumes of text. Now, if Apple provided a dual-purpose screen on a larger form factor, they would totally toast the Kindle.
Such an e-reader slash tablet would give Apple the e-book market, the e-magazine market, and the educational market (think course-books, iTunes U and educational software).
Psystar has several legal moves left to make, Camara said today. “Psystar will proceed to litigate the legality of Rebel EFI through the motion process described in Judge Alsup’s order,” Camara said. “Psystar will also proceed with its antitrust case in Miami.” (CW)
“Flogging a dead horse”, (alternatively “beating a dead horse” in some parts of the Anglophone world) is an idiom that means a particular request or line of conversation is already foreclosed or otherwise resolved, and any attempt to continue it is futile. (Wikipedia)
After last week’s Sports Illustrated’s design concept, here is another take on the “future of magazines”.
One that, once again, actually describes the future of web portals on handheld devices.
(Via kottle)
“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place,” Eric Schmidt, Google CEO on CNBC.
Or you could consider doing it as an Apple product development project.
A week ago, a Sports Illustrated’s design concept for a tablet-based magazine made the rounds of the Intertubes, raising commentary about how this is the future of magazines in the digital era.
Now, if by this people mean that magazines will be forced to become websites ―and perhaps that we will also be able to read them on tablet devices, that’s OK by me.
For I don’t really see how this concept is any different from a regular news website enhanced with multi-touch gestures.
This design concept is the future of magazines only in the sense that it is the future of news websites, who already are the present of magazines. It doesn’t solve any problem with the magazines’ business model or design that the web doesn’t already solve.
