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The most interesting hardware news involving the publishing sector in many months has to be Apple's new iPad. Although the majority of the launch presentation focused on consumer use there was one major business publisher which participated in the San Francisco show.
The New York Times clearly see the iPad as a natural and important extension of its presence on the iPhone. Have a look at their iPad demo on YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wKSorejP-E
Experienced media and technical correspondents have also hinted at the iPad's potential for delivery of heavy-duty communications. On the question of accessibility and pricing The Guardian's Charles Arthur said: "For newspapers and magazines, getting onto the iPad is simpler. All it takes is a custom-written app in which the only requirement is that it doesn't use Flash. The app can be free, paid-for or subscription. It's a business model in its own right; just figure out what you can get people to pay for." And the FT's Chris Nuttal, who was at the launch presentation, commented, "The most obvious challenge it mounts is to e-readers. The size of the screen, the vibrant colour, quick response times, sensitivity to touch, stylish page turns and side-scrolling through chapters made it a far better experience than any e-reader I have tried to date. While books are easily rendered, newspapers and magazines were something of a revelation, with original layout styles preserved, navigation improved and video embedded."
We don't, for a moment, expect the iPad or e-Readers in general to revolutionise the controlled publishing industry but we do expect that the ability to deliver so much more impact and information will be of great interest to our more innovative clients. |
