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- Have we seen the end of the $9.99 eBook?
Filed under: Portables, Apple, Books
At the roll out of the iPad, our old friend Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal chatted up Steve, and when asking about the pricing of buying books from the iBookstore, Walt was told that the price would be the same as Amazon. Amazon currently charges $9.99 for most books, which, according to AppleInsider, means that Amazon is losing $4.50 per book to keep its leadership position in the eBook market and keep Kindles selling. This strategy is similar to the loss-leader marketing popularized by Gillette who sold razors at a loss in the hopes of more than making up for it in the sales of blades.
Apple proposes prices that would actually be profitable, wanting to position best sellers between $12.99 and $14.99. AppleInsider notes that Apple's plan is a similar one to the App Store where the publisher takes 70% and Apple takes a 30% cut. Under the Amazon plan, including the $4.50 Amazon subsidy, book publishers are currently being paid $14.50 while under Apple's model, the publisher of a bestseller would only make $10.49 per copy.
The idea of Amazon subsidizing books is unsustainable in any competitive market and with more than one big razor in town, or at least one showing up soon, the market will inevitably settle on one method or the other.
[via AppleInsider and WSJ]
The first shot over the bow was reported in the Wall Street Journal today when Amazon conceded defeat of its $9.99 pricing policy to publisher Macmillan, who proposed charging between $12.99 and $14.99 for eBooks of hardcover bestsellers. This is exactly the same pricing suggested by Apple. The day after the introduction of the iPad, Macmillan CEO John Sargent met with Amazon to discuss new pricing arrangements, and a day after that, Amazon pulled all Macmillan titles from their online store. Now, just a few days later, Amazon has announced that it will give in and accept Macmillan's terms, stating that Macmillan has a monopoly on its own titles and that they will offer Macmillan titles that, according to Amazon, are priced needlessly high.
It seems to me that the days of $9.99 eBooks are coming to an end and that the market will stabilize at something close to, if not exactly, the Apple 70/30 split, raising the price of eBooks to the consumer. What do you think? Will the threat of the iPad to Kindle sales change the market even before the iPad comes to market? Is there an argument that can be made for keeping eBooks under ten dollars? And just how scared is Amazon to make them do a total 180 degree about-face in under 100 hours?TUAWHave we seen the end of the $9.99 eBook? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Amazon - E-book - Amazon.com - Wall Street Journal - App Store
Переслать - Sikuli can automate any UI by taking screenshots
Filed under: OS, Software, Freeware
This is pretty impressive --of course there are already lots of ways to automate actions on your Mac, and odds are that you may have messed around with scripting or Automator more than once before. But Sikuli is a new app that makes automating as simple as taking screenshots. Instead of programming actions, all you have to do is put screenshots of the particular UI items that you want to automate in a list, and then the app will use visual cues to do whatever you want it to do. Not only does it make things much easier when actually writing scripts, but it also gives you countless options in terms of automation -- the app can automate any app that has a graphical user interface, because all it has to do is recognize that GUI on your screen. That includes web apps, too -- like I said, the possibilities are endless.
And since it's developed with Jython, you Python experts can insert any Python code that you like in the scripts as well. The whole thing is an MIT project, so it's available for free across all platforms, including OS X, Windows, and Linux. If you've been looking for an automator that'll do any rote task for you, give Sikuli a try.
[via LifeHacker]TUAWSikuli can automate any UI by taking screenshots originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPad devsugar: Letting go of iPhone visual design patterns
Filed under: Software, Apple, Developer
The new iPad has lots of space. The screen offers 1024x768 pixels. That's way more room to work with than the iPhone gave you. And because of that room, it's time to re-think the way you designed iPhone applications. Things that worked well with the iPhone's limited space -- things that were meant to expand the device's virtual world beyond the screen's tiny reality -- are the things that you need to readdress and confront. Why keep using visual tricks when you can expand into real pixel space?
Take the traditional UINavigationController class for example. Its entire role on the iPhone is to provide the same kind of tree view used in Mac OS X's Finder windows (View > As Columns, Command-3). The animations as you select and push view controllers and the back button are both there because you can't reasonably see an entire tree structure at once, in columns, the way you do on a Mac.
On an iPad, the rules change. You have enough space to reasonably present that kind of tree based view, whether you use two columns, or three columns, or more. An iPhone-style view controller begins to make less sense, unless it is embedded into a larger visual design where it needs to conserve space on that layout.
Another iPhone space conservation approach is the tab bar. The UITabBarController class allows you to see up to five tabs at once, each tab hosting a separate view. Applications from YouTube to the iPod music player use this class (and its built in "More.." and customization features) to expand an application into multiple view modes. Users can flip between tabs by manipulating the buttons at the bottom of the screen.
On the iPad, with its extra space, tabs may not be needed at all. Instead of a settings tab, for example, you might use some sort of pop-up element or flip part (instead of all) of your interface to reveal details. With the iPad, you can present more complicated interfaces, although I'm sure both Apple and your users would appreciate if they are well designed and not cluttered. Things that needed to be separated due to space limitations on the iPhone might just work together on a single presentation on the iPad.
There's another visual design consequence for working on the iPad that stands out from Steve Jobs' speech last Wednesday. Over and over, he repeated the mantra: "Any orientation. Landscape or portrait or portrait or landscape," as he turned the iPad around and around in his hands. Apple wants you design your applications to work, regardless of how the user picks up the physical device. The interface should always "point up".
So what does this mean to you as a developer? First of all, it's time to give up what I'll call the "Cover Flow mentality". On the iPhone, when you flip the iPod music application to its side, the presentation changes. It goes from a standard UITableView navigation controller to a Cover Flow view, where you can select an album and browse through it. The iPad kills this design convention. When every way is up, every interface must be the same. Sure, you can still use Cover Flow but it's time to switch to that view by introducing a button or gesture rather than by reorienting the device.
It also means that it's time to really start paying attention to those UIView resizing and stretching rules that are presented both at the class level and in Interface Builder. Uncle Steve wants your application to forget about orientation and the best way to do that is to ensure that the geometry stays consistent regardless of device orientation. Your app needs to work consistently whether the horizontal space offers 1024 pixels or only 768.
The key to today's lesson is that you need to step back from your ingrained iPhone visual design patterns. Re-evaluate how you might need to adapt your applications to the new iPad design rules. Sure, most App Store apps will work out of the box on the iPad -- but does that mean you won't want to make your application work better on the iPad? Maybe there are some iPhone habits and design elements that it's time to move away from.
Thanks Emanuele Vulcano, Scott Lawrence, ashH, sneakiness, raingroveTUAWiPad devsugar: Letting go of iPhone visual design patterns originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - The requisite announcement mashup
Filed under: Humor, Steve Jobs, Apple
With every Apple event, we need someone to go in and edit together all of the reality distortion field generators, and this time, it's Neil Curtis, who has cut together most of the "amazing," "great," and "beautiful" adjectives from last week's keynote. Unfortunately, we don't have empirical data (anyone want to actually count up all of them?), but it sure seems to me like "great" and "gorgeous" had a big increase this time around, and "incredible" and "terrific" didn't show up quite so much as previous events.
Also: no boom? Did we not get a single "boom" at all? It was a little more serene demonstration than usual, with Steve lounging on a chair to show off how comfy it is to browse the 'net on the iPad, but the A4 processor didn't inspire a single "boom"? That's disappointing.
[via FSJ]TUAWThe requisite announcement mashup originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iTunes 9.0.3 released
Filed under: Software, iTunes, Software Update
iTunes 9.0.3 is out now for download on Software Update and in the usual places. The update features the option to remember your password when purchasing items in iTunes (finally!), fixes problems with Smart Playlists and podcast synching on iPod, and resolves a few bugs and issues. There's no word of any updates in compatibility for iPad, but it's probably just too soon for that yet.
That "remember my password" fix will definitely come in handy, though. Get it while the gettin's good!TUAWiTunes 9.0.3 released originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Gowalla announces shared trips
Filed under: Software, Freeware, iPhone, App Store
There's a growing battle lately on the App Store over "check-in" apps -- Foursquare, Gowalla, and MyTown have all seen big gains in users lately (and a few other contenders have been roaming the periphery), and it looks like we're starting to see some innovation in the mix. Gowalla recently updated their free app [iTunes link], and introduced a new feature called Shared Trips. These are more or less tours (or a line of check-ins at different places around a given city), but they can feature all kinds of things: a set of bars, interesting buildings to see, the old bookstore/coffeeshop run, or any other ideas Gowalla users have. Trips can be shared and rated, and you'll be able to browse through the most popular trips and even earn badges in the app for creating or going on a popular trip.
The new version also adds bookmarks, which will let you remember your favorite check-in spot -- while you can't add them from the mobile app yet, you can browse them from there, and they're hoping to get the functionality in soon.
Obviously, this might not appeal to everybody -- there are lots of iPhone users out there (including me) who aren't so keen yet on sharing their location with everyone they know every time they leave the house. But it is interesting to note that this is a burgeoning mini-industry, brought on almost completely by the ubiquity of the iPhone and its up-and-coming competitors. Any time you have more than a few apps vying for a growing audience, you're going to end up with some interesting innovation. It'll be fun to see what kinds of ideas Gowalla and its competitors can come up with.TUAWGowalla announces shared trips originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Relax, the iPad isn't going to kill the iPhoneRegardless of what some people may worry about, the iPad is not going to kill the iPhone. Why's that? To keep the answer really, really simple, it's because the iPad does not fit in people's pockets. Can the answer get any simpler than that?
I'm on record as not being a huge fan of the iPhone as a phone. Ergonomics aside, I'm deeply grateful to all those TUAW readers who pointed me to a bluetooth earpiece solution. Sure I look like a dork with that thing in my ear (not much difference, mind you, from my normal look) but with my 8-dollar unit (thank you Tuesday Morning clearance aisle), I can talk pretty comfortably for long periods of time without holding the iPhone to my cheek.
When chatting, that iPhone normally stays either in my pocket or in the front holder in my stroller while in use. With the iPad, it would be pretty darn hard getting it to fit in either location. If I were to use the iPad as my main cell phone, it would have to be dragged along in a backpack no matter where I went. And, frankly, I like grabbing my keys, my wallet, and my phone and heading out the door without a backpack, a purse, or a man purse satchel.
Let me give you another real life example of where the iPhone outshines the iPad. I love tracking my walks using TrailGuru. There's no way, I'd do the same with either a netbook or an iPad. It's just the wrong solution for that kind of need. They're simply too big. Fact.
There are ways I want to use my iPhone. There are ways I want to use my iPad. And I'm perfectly happy owning both. Because there are things the iPhone does really well (GPS stuff, iPod listening stuff, and so forth) that make it pocket-awesome and there are things the iPad does and will do well (eBook reading, bigger Web pages, better movie size, iWork) that make it backpack-awesome.
Loving one does not mean you have to stop loving the other. Any parent can tell you that.
Sure, the iPad with its 3G-assisted Skype service may be able to allow me to chat comfortably with others. And that's not a bad thing. In fact, I seriously look forward to doing exactly that while traveling cross country with the family. But the iPad's ability to subsume iPhone functionality does not make the iPhone obsolete.
There's a reason why I haven't hooked up my Mac mini to a portable UPS system to carry along with a keyboard and monitor to my local Starbucks. Form does matter. And it matters just as much as function. The iPhone isn't going anywhere any time soon. It complements the iPad rather than replaces it. Long live the iPhone. Long live the iPad.
Photo credit courtesy Iconfactory.TUAWRelax, the iPad isn't going to kill the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Chinese manufacturer prepared to sue over iPad
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Hardware, Multimedia, Apple Financial
It's Monday, let's sue Apple!
Chinese manufacturer Shenzhen Great Loong Brother Industrial is reportedly considering suing Apple over the design of the iPad, claiming that it bears too close a resemblance to their P88.
in an interview with El Mundo, Shenzhen Great Loong Brother Industrial's president Xiaolong Wu said that the two devices are "completely identical." In fact, the P88 features that are "completely identical" to the iPad include:- Windows XP
- A webcam
- A 250GB internal hard drive
- A thicker and heavier body
- A resistive touch display (the iPad uses multi-touch)
- 1.5 hours of battery life
Ed Sutherland summed it up best at Cult of Mac: "How do you get more attention for a largely unknown netbook at a time when the tech press has the vapors for Apple's iPad? You sue Apple and claim its new device is just a clone of your netbook."TUAWChinese manufacturer prepared to sue over iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Google Email Uploader for Mac available now
Filed under: Internet Tools
The Gmail of a few years ago was quite primitive in comparison to the current incarnation. Still, threading and a nearly-bottomless cup of storage space made it appealing despite early privacy fears. I use Gmail extensively nowadays, complete with a bunch of tweaks, add-ons and lab components. Problem was, all my old email still lived on my "antique" addresses, and worse, I couldn't access those emails within the handy search tool in Gmail. Google Apps came along and while you could now better control email (using your own domain, for example), the same problem existed: your old email didn't migrate to your Google Apps account.
Enter the Google Email Uploader for Mac. It's a simple tool allowing you to upload your old mail to your Google Apps account. That's it! Apple Mail, Eudora and Thunderbird all seem to be supported, but note there are some real limits if you have a ton of email. Here's what Google says to keep in mind:
- Start small. Due to server upload rate limits, the uploader is fast for up to 500 messages, and slow thereafter (1 message per second.) Pick a small subset of your mailboxes when first trying out the uploader.
- Be patient. Even after uploading completes, the server requires a while to process uploads.
- Do assign a custom label (this is checked by default.) This lets you effectively "undo" the uploads later by deleting all messages with the label. Deleting the label itself will not delete the mail.
- If you have many mailboxes in your archives, creating labels for each mailbox probably is not a good idea, as this could create far too many labels.
TUAWGoogle Email Uploader for Mac available now originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple acknowledges continuing 27" iMac screen issues
Update: MacNN reports that a "reliable source" (read: rumor) has told them that Apple has ceased production of Core i5- and i7-based iMacs until they've fixed this issue for good.
At the end of last year, customers who bought 27" iMacs reported screen flickering. Apple acknowledged the problem and released a firmware update intended to fix it back in December. Unfortunately, the problem persists.
According to Ars Technica, Apple's internal support system is aware of the continuing problem and working on a fix. Customers who complain about the issue are to be told that their faulty display can be replaced "...in about three weeks." Note that the units currently for sale have a 3-week shipping time, so you might want to wait a month before making a purchase Ars suggests, and we agree.
The shipping delays began in December when Apple declined to comment on why, but discussion threads pointed to the display. The delay was pushed ahead even further in January, which is how we got to the present 3-week wait.
Here's hoping this gets fixed soon and all you owners can enjoy your 27" iMacs in all their non-flickering glory.TUAWApple acknowledges continuing 27" iMac screen issues originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Analysts project iPad sales
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Hardware, Apple Financial
Some people hate it, some people love it and some people attempt to predict its future.* Members of the last group include Shaw Wu of Kaufman Brothers and Needham's Charlie Wolf, both of whom are cautions about the iPad's performance.
Wu brandishes the obvious like broadsword, noting that the Wi-Fi iPad will probably sell better than those with a data plan because it will cost less and that 3G users can expect slower speeds that those with Wi-Fi. He feels that Apple's prediction of 10 million units sold in 2010 won't be realized. Instead, Wu surmises, they'll sell about 5 million.
Kaufman holds that the iPad is "...not a revolutionary product" that won't take off without certain 3rd-party solutions, like books and customized iPad apps. His sales prediction is even more conservative than Wu's at 4 million units sold.
They both like the entry price however, and we agree with them there. When the pundits were saying $1,000 before the announcement, we knew that wouldn't jibe with Steve's ambition to get one in as many homes as possible. Wu notes that the displays alone may be costing Apple $100 each, yet they've been very aggressive with the pricing.
Here's my prediction: Apple will sell a mountain of these things and by this time next year, the nay-sayers will be downloading Humble Pie 1.0.
*But none have USED it, so let's keep that in mind.TUAWAnalysts project iPad sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Wil Shipley: Apple "copied me"
Filed under: Apple Corporate, Software, Bad Apple
When Steve Jobs was introducing the iPad last week, a number of us familiar with Delicious Monster had the same reaction during the iBooks demo: "That looks like Delicious Library."
Developer Wil Shipley noticed, too.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Shipley complained about the striking similarity.
"But the thing about iBooks is, it's a book-reader. So, of course they looked around, found the best interface for displaying books (Delicious Library's shelves), and said: yup, this is what we're doing."
He notes that he didn't copyright the idea of showing photo-realistic books on wooden shelves, and that if Apple had called ahead of time they would have revealed a secret on one hand, and admitted that the two apps were similar on the other.
"...they can't write someone a check unless they got some value in return. And if they got value, the lawyers would ask, how much was it? How was it determined?"
Before you call "coincidence," note that many former Delicious Monsters employees are now at Apple. Of course, you can't say that this was malicious. In fact, Shipley's assertion is probably correct: They felt that Delicious Library's implementation was the best and ran with it.
In a way, it's flattering. Something he made has been acknowledged by a huge corporation known for design. Still, it's gotta sting. Shipley again:
"But your [designs] aren't really yours. They have lives of their own. So when your designs do change the world, you have to accept it. You have to say, 'Ok, this was such a good idea, other people took it and ran with it. I win.'"TUAWWil Shipley: Apple "copied me" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPodcaStudio brings easy podcasting to the iPhone / iPod touch
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review
Podcasting is an art best learned by experience. In order to be a good podcaster, it helps to have a good speaking voice, excellent topics to talk about (or fun guests), and equipment and software to assist you in recording and editing your podcast. It also helps to make a lot of mistakes, since you'll learn from them.
A while back, I wrote a post about how to use an iPhone 3GS, Garage Band, and Posterous to do "quick and easy" podcasting. While that method has the desired results -- your podcast has a feed that can be subscribed to, and it actually sounds pretty good -- it forces you to stick with one website on Posterous to create the feed. Many podcasts are associated with a website, so it's important in many cases to have the ability to upload a podcast file to an FTP server.
That, and my continuing quest to make my podcasting as easy as possible, is what got me interested in iPodcaStudio from Vault Multimedia. iPodcaStudio [$0.99, iTunes Link] is an iPhone app for recording, editing, and uploading your podcasts easily. While it isn't as full-featured as it could eventually be, iPodcaStudio is a good start at a complete podcast studio on your iPhone or iPod touch running iPhone OS 3.0 or greater.Podcasting is an art best learned by experience. In order to be a good podcaster, it helps to have a good speaking voice, excellent topics to talk about (or fun guests), and equipment and software to assist you in recording and editing your podcast. It also helps to make a lot of mistakes, since you'll learn from them.
A while back, I wrote a post about how to use an iPhone 3GS, Garage Band, and Posterous to do "quick and easy" podcasting. While that method has the desired results -- your podcast has a feed that can be subscribed to, and it actually sounds pretty good -- it forces you to stick with one website on Posterous to create the feed. Many podcasts are associated with a website, so it's important in many cases to have the ability to upload a podcast file to an FTP server.
That, and my continuing quest to make my podcasting as easy as possible, is what got me interested in iPodcaStudio from Vault Multimedia. iPodcaStudio [$0.99, iTunes Link] is an iPhone app for recording, editing, and uploading your podcasts easily. While it isn't as full-featured as it could eventually be, iPodcaStudio is a good start at a complete podcast studio on your iPhone or iPod touch running iPhone OS 3.0 or greater.TUAWiPodcaStudio brings easy podcasting to the iPhone / iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Where's the iMag store?
Filed under: Features, Odds and ends
You know, at first I wasn't so impressed with the iPad, but the more I thought about the ways in which you can use it, the more excited I got. As a piece of leisure technology - something you just have laying around your living room like a newspaper - it's a lot more user friendly than a laptop or an iPhone.
However, I don't think the iPad is revolutionary. By now we're well familiar with multi-touch devices and apps stores. And let's face it, ebooks are nothing new. The iBooks app isn't going to be breaking any ground, but you know what would? An iMag store.
Sure, there're sites like emagazines.com that offer browser-based magazines, but there's no one universal storefront for emagazines that's easy to use. Even Zinio doesn't make the emagazine buying experience as easy or pleasurable as buy a song from the iTunes store. Can you imaging what an iMag app might be like? Bjørn Rybakken, creative director at Tangram Design, an Oslo based design agency, sent me these mock-ups (and you guys know how I love mock-ups) which got me thinking what the iMag store might be like.
Now, before someone stops me and says "But the Kindle does magazines..." It does, but not how magazines should be done. In my first journalism class we learned of how in the early part of the 20th century (I think the year was 1913, but can't be sure - sorry professor), the editors at National Geographic were putting the finishing touches on an issue that was a day away from going to press when they discovered that they came up short in the articles department that month. In a last-ditch attempt to fill the space the editor-in-chief decided to publish eleven full-page photographs a journalist had sent him. Before that issue, National Geographic (like all magazines of the day) had been what we would consider a journal - a lot of text articles with few photographs. When the issue hit newsstands, the editor-in-chief was sure the publishers would fire him. They didn't. That issue turned out to be their best-selling issue since the publication started in 1888. People loved the photos and since then, National Geographic has become synonymous with iconic photography and every other magazine in the world has used photography as a way to enhance and highlight their pages. Magazines aren't like books. Magazines rely heavily on photography, charts, sidebars, page-bleeds, and even cartoons. E-ink readers like the Kindle just can't give you the magazine experience that a full-color display can.
An iMag store could allow you to find and purchase magazines from all over the world, in any language. You could search by title, subject, or even author (a cool search feature because most authors write articles for many magazines). Indie magazine publishers would also now have a wider distribution network - and a chance at a wider audience. The magazines could feature videos in the articles, live polls, and even integrated chat rooms discussing the current article.
iMag store pricing? Yearly magazine subscriptions for $9.99. Single issues for 99 cents. There's been countless times I would have liked to buy a magazine I don't normally read off the newsstand, but the $4.99 cover price kept me from doing so. However, if I could get that same magazine for 99 cents instantly in electronic form, I'd buy it in a heartbeat - especially if they were all as slick as this.
Existing emagazine sites charge between $9.99 and $34.99 per title for an annual magazine subscription. I think most publishers would agree to a $9.99 price through an iPad iMag store if they could supplement the lower pricing with revenue generated from in-page dynamic advertising (it's 2015 and you decide to peruse a 2014 issue of MacWorld: the ads in the iMag MacWorld magazine have updated to advertise the current 2015 iCar) - especially if the forecasts are correct that there will be 12 million iPads in homes across the world by the end of 2011. Not to mention 12 million potential iPad customers is a hell of a way to get their subscription rates up.
But the best thing about an iPad iMag store? No more of those annoying magazine subscription cards falling all over your lap.TUAWWhere's the iMag store? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPad's multifunction appeal and sub-$500 price point a formula for disruptive technology
Filed under: Apple
T minus a little over a month and a half until retail liftoff of the Apple iPad and, similar to the launch of the iPhone 3 years ago, the device is not without its share of criticism -- be it the lack of support for multitasking or the missing front facing camera (or any camera, for that matter). However, it's unlikely that anything short of a sub-$1,000 multitouch cancer-curing device could have lived up to expectations, for the hype coming into the keynote was of epic proportions.
Expectations aside, however, the iPad's price point and feature set put Apple in a position to disrupt the low-end notebook computer market, while also providing it a foot in the door in the eBook market as well as traditional print media.
Though multipurpose in functionality, the iPad will likely find its largest appeal in the low-end notebook computing space, primarily the sub-11 inch variants dubbed "netbooks." As implied in the nomenclature, netbooks place less of a focus on raw computing horsepower and instead aim toward providing an extremely portable and affordable means to surf the net. While the ultra-compact form factor of netbooks makes them extremely portable, it brings compromises -- namely cramped keyboards that, unless you're an Oompa Loompa or haven't yet reached middle school, are difficult to type on. While the iPad lacks a built-in physical keyboard (it's an optional accessory), its multitouch-enabled 9.7 inch LED display provides a clearly differentiated and, on initial impression, a superior web browsing experience.
While still priced at a premium over most netbooks, the iPad's $499 opening price point places it in the pricing pantheon of affordable computing, as crossing this sub-$500 psychological purchasing barrier increases its attractiveness in competing for the mindshare of consumers considering a netbook.
With the iPad, Apple is also looking to make inroads into the eBook reader market, where it will be joining Amazon and Sony, two of that market's bigger players. Unlike the iPad, Amazon's Kindle and the Sony Reader offer a "book-like" experience through e-ink technology -- in contrast to the LED-backlit screen of the iPad. Despite the virtues of e-ink and carrying hundreds of books with you, eBook readers haven't yet hit mainstream status, in spite of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' claim of selling "millions" of Kindles.
While the reading experience on the iPad -- most notably eye strain and battery life -- has yet to be thoroughly fleshed out, the device's other features will help mask whatever e-reading deficiencies it has against existing e-ink based offerings. Thus, whatever inroads the iPad makes within the eBook reader market will likely be paved by its other virtues.
Although the potential addressable market for a dedicated eBook reader is likely much smaller than those considering a notebook computer, the iPad's $499 opening price point also produces a purchasing conundrum for the former. At $499, the device is priced within reach of the Kindle DX's $489 price tag, while also providing the ancillary benefits of a multitouch portable computing platform.
Such an approach may be the best way to grow the eBook category mainstream, and is in line with Apple thinking. At Apple's September 2009 special event, Steve Jobs noted that while "there will always be dedicated devices, and [that] they may have a few advantages in doing just one thing...general-purpose devices will win the day because...people just probably aren't willing to pay for a dedicated device." And while the iPad lacks an e-ink based screen, its color LED-backlit multitouch display could provide consumers with new ways to consume traditional media (newspapers, magazines, etc.) and traditional media companies new avenues for revenues.
But at the end of the day, the Apple iPad is a computer and, as such, could possibly serve as a substitute for a MacBook or MacBook Pro purchase for some consumers. For many, computing could boil down to surfing the web (i.e., "checking my Facebook"), email, and basic productivity apps, such as word processing and spreadsheets.
However, the slightest footstep outside of this sandbox demands more, be it a video editor demanding more processing power to render and store h.264 videos or a college student who needs a torrent or P2P client and codec support to play DivX videos. Add to this formula the iPad's lack of support for multitasking as well as its smaller screen display, and the potential for cannibalization is likely marginal.
Yes, many may have found the iPad announcement underwhelming. But expectations aside, the device is a misfit with its cross category functional appeal. And it's these misfit ways that, coupled with a competitive opening price point, arm it with great potential to disrupt multiple categories and serve as another avenue to drive growth for Apple.
*Median price of Netbook based on top 15 best selling models at Bestbuy.com.
TUAWiPad's multifunction appeal and sub-$500 price point a formula for disruptive technology originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Stephen Colbert and his iPad at the Grammys
Filed under: Odds and ends, Apple
It must be nice to be the host of your own popular Comedy Central show and a host on the Grammy Awards. Why? You get to play with an iPad.
No, it's not one of Tim Meehan's faux iPads - this was a working unit that flipped from portrait to landscape mode when Stephen Colbert pulled it out of his jacket... or pants. Enjoy this short piece of video from tonight's Grammy Award ceremonies.TUAWStephen Colbert and his iPad at the Grammys originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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