Apple tablet could write a new chapter for e-books

I think it would be best to wait and see what they come up with. I doubt that anyone would get it as a primary ebook reader. Most avid readers don't seem to want a 'do-it-all' device. I think this will be more aimed at the multimedia crowd with ebook reading thrown in as a bonus function.
 
Crusader said:
I think it would be best to wait and see what they come up with. I doubt that anyone would get it as a primary ebook reader. Most avid readers don't seem to want a 'do-it-all' device. I think this will be more aimed at the multimedia crowd with ebook reading thrown in as a bonus function.
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Provided the reading experience is as good why wouldn't an avid reader want an all in one device as much as anyone else? :confused:
 
Because they want to focus on reading. They don't want e-mails popping up or a meriad of other distractions... At least I don't.

The other thing is that unless Apple has some serious new tech then battery life, weight and heat might be a problem.

I doubt that the tablet would be able to match the 2 weeks of battery life or the light weight of most e-ink based readers.
 
Crusader said:
Because they want to focus on reading. They don't want e-mails popping up or a meriad of other distractions... At least I don't.

The other thing is that unless Apple has some serious new tech then battery life, weight and heat might be a problem.

I doubt that the tablet would be able to match the 2 weeks of battery life or the light weight of most e-ink based readers.
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Ok - I'll concede that - I didnt realise you often had to go two weeks without access to electricity. :)

I'm not sure about the rest though - on my computer or iphone emails, notices, etc only pop up when I want them to - I wouldn't expect a table to necessarily be any different in that regard.

Are there colour e-ink readers available?
 
I don't need to go 2 weeks without electricity, it's just less hassle than having to remember to recharge each day.

I don't think there are any commercially available colour e-ink readers available. At least none that are affordable or on par with LCD as far as colour saturation and number of colours go.

It will be very interesting to see what Apple comes up with.
 
Crusader said:
I I think this will be more aimed at the multimedia crowd with ebook reading thrown in as a bonus function.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'm hoping for :)

Battery life could be a problem, but hopefully there will be a "not the price of a second hand car" OLED model which will have excellent battery life for e-reading. The rumors are saying this model could be as much as $1000 :( (if it even exists :D)
 
Yes, rumours say around $500 - $600 with some kind of data contract or $999 without. Also seems to be a 10" screen, but not known what tech. Most likely LCD or OLED.
 
I agree with Crusader's sentiments: I don't see the iTablet as being in competition with the Kindle.

A serious reader requires a device that duplicates the convenience of a book, i.e. is monochrome, light-weight, long time between charges etc - all features of the Kindle that will be missing from the iTablet.

(As an aside: the Kindle's fonts are also razor-sharp: it may be my imagination but when using the Kindle I never suffer eye-strain from prolonged bouts of reading.)

OTOH, the colour screen of the iTablet may offer benefits to readers of glossy magazines, but I don't see this as extending to books.

There is also the matter of content.

At present nearly all ebooks on which copyright exists are supplied in a DRM'd format e.g. Amazon's AZW, Sony's Adobe etc For the iTablet to become an e-reader Apple would have to forge an alliance with the publishers - and said publishers would have to risk offending Amazon ...

Certainly we live in interesting times ... :)
 
the display of an actual e-book and a LCD screen is totally different. people don't want to read off of lcds! (if they did, then laptops have been the answer all along anyway)

One question - will I be able to install windows 7 on it though?
 
rrh said:
A serious reader requires a device that duplicates the convenience of a book, i.e. is monochrome, light-weight, long time between charges etc - all features of the Kindle that will be missing from the iTablet.
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Did the world end when newspapers started printing in colour? :) The only reason most books are in monochrome is to keep printing costs down.

Personally I think oled screen will do as good a job or even better.
Keeper said:
One question - will I be able to install windows 7 on it though?
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Why is there always someone who wants to put diesel in a petrol engine just because its cheeper. :rolleyes:
 
bwana said:
Why is there always someone who wants to put diesel in a petrol engine just because its cheeper. :rolleyes:
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dude, Corel, 3dsmax and Zbrush are for WINDOWS. i'm not interested in fancy icons or safari or ilife or whatever

I just think a touch screen tablet would be cool, But I have no use for the MacOS

does that make sense?
 
Keeper said:
dude, Corel, 3dsmax and Zbrush are for WINDOWS. i'm not interested in fancy icons or safari or ilife or whatever

I just think a touch screen tablet would be cool, But I have no use for the MacOS

does that make sense?
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Aren't there any windows based tablets available?

I'd expect an OS based on OsX that is somewhere between Snow Leopard and the iPhone version. I wouldnt expect a heavy lifting device since apple are unlikely to want to cannibalise their computer market. A 10" screen isnt really suited to the task either.
 
Ok, seems there are now a bit more detail leaking out. Could be true, with a touch of disinformation thrown on:

Web entrepreneur and CEO of Mahalo, Jason Calacanis, has released some interesting details about Apple's tablet computer via Twitter, possibly scuppering some of Steve Jobs' surprises for the official launch in San Francisco at 6pm GMT this evening.

Calacanis said on his Twitter account, that he has had an Apple tablet for ten days already and that: "For background: apple asked me to do press tomorrow on cnbc, cnn, etc."

Of course, it should be made clear that these are just the opinions of Calacanis, who might just be having a little joke with Apple's legions of fans. Quite possibly not, but until we hear it from the mouth of Steve Jobs later today nothing is to be taken as 'official'.

Tablet feature list

In terms of features, Calacanis notes that the tablet has an OLED screen; a solar pad for recharging on the back (the device is mainly battery-powered); is running on an iPhone OS variation; can run multiple apps at the same time; has thumb pads on each side (for mouse gestures) and has fingerprint verification (up to 5 profiles can be registered on one device).

Most interestingly, he adds that the Apple tablet also has a HDTV tuner, a PVR and a chess game built-in; has a back camera and front camera and has a wireless keyboard and monitor connection for external monitors

Justified hype

Calacanis also said the following about the new Apple device:

* It's "the most amazing device ever"
* It's "really amazing for newspapers"
* Video conferencing is "super stable"
* Battery life is "great" when it comes to reading ebooks but not so great (2-3 hours) in Wi-Fi mode or when playing games
* Tailor-made games are "sick", on Wii level
* The customised Farmville app (which Jobs is going to demo tomorrow with the CEO of the company behind it) is "insane"
* The tablet will be offered by Verizon and ATT
* It will cost $599, $699 or $799, depending on the screen size and internal memory

Link, Link to his Twitter account
Click to expand...

A custom Farmville app... Wow, now that's gonna change ebook readers forever! :p
 
So the tablet now has an OLED screen? when there just aren't enough OLED screens being made to even BEGIN to cope with the production numbers Apple would be hoping to shift?

Nobody will know the exact details until Jobs stands on stage and announces whatever he announces.

I agree with some of the sentiments here, if the device is LCD based then it won't compete with the likes of the Kindle simply due to eye-strain from reading it for too long.
 
Crusader said:
Ok, seems there are now a bit more detail leaking out. Could be true, with a touch of disinformation thrown on:

A custom Farmville app... Wow, now that's gonna change ebook readers forever! :p
Click to expand...

Its just a publicity stunt by Calacanis.

Robert scoble just twitted the following:

@Enderle @jason is totally lying and already has been debunked by several sources. Be careful quoting him!

http://twitter.com/Scobleizer
 
And the actual results are starting to come in. So far:

New tablet announced.
It's called the iPad
Will be better than a netbook, iPhone etc
Can tilt it any way and the content will adapt.
Can flick through photo's and emails just like on the iPhone
Can watch Youtube videos
iTunes integrated into device, that's where you'll get content from
 
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Crusader said:
And the actual results are starting to come in. So far:

New tablet announced.
It's called the iPad
Will be better than a netbook, iPhone etc
Can tilt it any way and the content will adapt.
Can flick through photo's and emails just like on the iPhone
Can watch Youtube videos
iTunes integrated into device, that's where you'll get content from
Click to expand...

The following courtesy Engadget:
1. Runs IPhone OS 3.2;
2. No multi-tasking;
3. No support for Adobe Flash [videos];
4. No camera;
5. No voice calling / SMS-ing etc.;
6. Heavy;
7. 3G support is an [expensive] optional extra.

The following courtesy Gizmodo:
1. Apple have tied up with several publishers who will supply e-books - sorry, iBooks - in Adobe's ePub format.
In monochrome :)
2. Currently missing from the list of publishers supplying Apple: Random House, the world's largest publisher.
3. Apple's quoted example price - $15 - is considerably more than Amazon's $9.95 for best-sellers.
4. The ePub format should mean that books are available from other sources.

My guess is that Jeff Bezos won't be losing sleep over this one.

Finally, to quote one of the comments on Engadget: "... all it is is a big ass iPod Touch (one that is on steroids)"
 
rrh said:
The following courtesy Engadget:
1. Runs IPhone OS 3.2;
2. No multi-tasking;
3. No support for Adobe Flash [videos];
4. No camera;
5. No voice calling / SMS-ing etc.;
6. Heavy;
7. 3G support is an [expensive] optional extra.

The following courtesy Gizmodo:
1. Apple have tied up with several publishers who will supply e-books - sorry, iBooks - in Adobe's ePub format.
In monochrome :)
2. Currently missing from the list of publishers supplying Apple: Random House, the world's largest publisher.
3. Apple's quoted example price - $15 - is considerably more than Amazon's $9.95 for best-sellers.
4. The ePub format should mean that books are available from other sources.

My guess is that Jeff Bezos won't be losing sleep over this one.

Finally, to quote one of the comments on Engadget: "... all it is is a big ass iPod Touch (one that is on steroids)"
Click to expand...

Yeah, right. Kindle DX $489 - iPad 16GB Wifi $499 - no worries there at all!
 
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