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- What I Think I Know About the Apple Tablet
I’m a writer for a blog that focuses on Apple and its products, including Macs, iPods and iPhones. So I have a duty and an obligation to write one or more posts about the highly anticipated, much discussed, and completely unknown Apple Tablet device expected to be announced on January 27. But based on the last few years, I have a bit of a unique perspective on the tablet, why Apple might create one, and why you might want to buy one if it does.
Almost four years ago — about 9-10 months before the iPhone was first announced in January 2007 — I decided to give up a rather successful user experience consulting practice to follow a dream. I created a company to build and monetize a product of my own making, rather than continue to provide services to others. After some extensive research, a small team I had assembled helped me develop the product concept and strategy. Essentially, we were going to create what we called the “iTunes of apps,” an online ecosystem of applications that you could easily discover and download to all your digital devices. We determined we needed to build a tablet computer as proof of concept and get hardware manufacturers and content companies on board.
We envisioned a product that looked something like the Notion Ink reported recently, and focused on creating “the first room-to-room mobile Internet device” on the market. Our plan was to focus on lifestyle applications that made daily life easier, including video recipes, home/baby/security monitoring, instructional videos for DIY home improvement projects, and a wide array of similar content. The miBook has since been launched with similar ambitions, but focuses exclusively on “how to” type of content, rather than a full ecosystem of diverse apps serving many purposes. Litl is giving something similar a whirl, but it has a keyboard and limited capability touchscreen so it can’t really be called a tablet. HP’s DreamScreen is a digital picture frame that, while hardwired, is also attempting to address similar needs. Alas, we weren’t able to raise the significant capital required to launch such an animal, in part because no one on our team had a hardware background. We’ve since moved on to creating our own software and advising others in the user experience and mobile space.
For us, the effort was all about the user experience. At the time — and even since with the iPhone, full-screen Blackberries, and Android phones — there was a gap in the user experience between the Nokia N series and similar mobile devices, and full-fledged computers. Something incredibly fun and easy to use, with a screen big enough to be viewed across the room (for watching video recipes, sharing photos with the family, or just watching video content of any type). Of course, the iPhone and iPod touch have addressed much of this need, except the bigger screen. Viewing distance and sharing aren’t the only limitations of the mobile screen for content perhaps best consumed in a tablet style device. iPhone video, for example, takes over the screen, eliminating ability to view related text content or even publish opinions about the content you’re viewing to your social networks. There’s not really a good digital equivalent of reading magazines with imaginative typography, color spreads, and other graphic elements. And I have yet to see a compelling digital textbook that not only includes the original text, but also companion videos and graphics, news feeds on related topics, and updates from and conversation with the author.
That’s the sum total of what I know about the Apple Tablet. That there is a market for one, that many companies are trying hard to tap the market, and that there is a lot of content which would best be showcased on such a device. But what I don’t know is likely far more interesting. So without any inside knowledge, here is my not-so-idle speculation about what it might or could include:
- Keyboard Dock: Perhaps the best use of a tablet would be a replacement for the consumer-oriented, entry-level white MacBook. But to successfully replace a laptop, the Apple tablet might just need a physical keyboard. What better way to integrate one than to simply make it a recharging dock?
- Third OS: My sense is there will be a new operating system for the tablet that bridges the gap between the small size, single-function nature of the iPhone OS and the larger platform, keyboard-driven, multitasking capabilities of Snow Leopard. It might be nice if the OS automatically sensed that the tablet was in the dock, and morphed slightly for keyboard optimized input.
- Publication Wrapper: A new multimedia format will join iTunes LP, allowing publishers of primarily text-based content to release multimedia versions of their book, magazine, or newspaper content that dramatically changes how we consume a lot of content in the home.
- Apple TV & iTunes Integration: The new tablet will basically become the wireless display to the Apple TV, and Apple will offer a ground-up rethinking about how content is shared among devices on a local network.
- Front-mounted Web Cam: Crowding around a MacBook to have a video chat with the grandparents isn’t a terrible experience, but it isn’t ideal. A touch-based iChat application would be far more compelling and fun.
- Home Controls: Expect Apple to position the tablet, an updated Apple TV, new and easier sharing of content among devices, apps like Remote, and integration with other systems as a way to make home controls a mass market.
Personally, I enjoy all the rumors and speculation that some have grown weary of. I’m hoping that none of us are completely right, and that Apple will surprise us all with something that we never realized we couldn’t do without.
Переслать - Apple Event Confirmed for January 27
At least our speculation regarding the date and time of Apple’s special press event this month can now come to an end. Apple confirmed today, via invitations sent to the press, that there will indeed be a special event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco on January 27 at 10AM Pacific time.
Not only that, but the promotional material for the event bears the tagline “Come see our latest creation.” For those who were still skeptical that Apple would release a tablet at all, I think you should consider yourselves quite wrong. That tagline definitely wouldn’t herald a new Core i5-based MacBook Pro, and given that Apple cannot be unaware of the hype surrounding its still-mythical slate, there’s really only one thing it could refer to. Judging by my Twitter stream, not everyone thinks it’s that obvious, though.
Some people are speculating that the evidence points to a software announcement. Creative software that could produce some kind of artistic output, possibly iLife for the iPhone? That’s a reasonable enough prediction, if you don’t take into account the fact that for years now the tablet rumors have been stacking up, and Apple would realize that announcing some lame software when everyone is thinking iSlate would absolutely destroy its stock price.
Another possibility is that this will just be an announcement of the next major iPhone OS upgrade, iPhone 4.0. If the tablet is running that platform, I think we’ll see it discussed here, but Apple is not a company to use words irresponsibly. Not to mention that the last time it held such an event was March of last year, so the timing is off, and the invitations for that event couldn’t have been more obvious about the nature of the announcement. Why be coy now, when doing so could only hurt the company in the eyes of investors?
No, if you ask me, it’s tablet time. Now that we don’t have long to wait, you may want to brush up on all the latest and greatest from the rumor mill. Honestly, if I was going to link to all of our tablet-related articles, I think every word of this article would be hyperlinked, so I’ll just do this and make it much easier for all of us. Now’s the time to start getting those last minute predictions in, so that you can point back to the comments section of this post and tell all your friends “I told you so.”
Переслать - I Gave My 3 Year Old an iPhone: Have I Created a Monster?
A few months back, my wife went on a girls’ weekend trip from East Coast to West, gone for a total of five days. I survived my first long stretch with our three year old daughter alone, but it wasn’t easy. At 43, I came to parenthood late in life, and I have to admit being a father is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. During my wife’s much-needed and deserved vacation, I perhaps relied a bit too heavily on the TV for entertainment and babysitting. But the TV gave me the few minutes throughout each day that I needed to get things done or just take a minute to myself.
When my wife returned, we settled back into our routine, consisting of 1-2 days per week when we eat dinner out as a family. These events can also be challenging, as our daughter is one of those kids who just cannot sit still for anything. She seems well connected to her surroundings and engages with us and others, but she is perpetual motion personified. So imagine my surprise when the littlest tornado actually sat in her chair for an entire meal!
My wife’s new secret weapon was a series of iPhone apps created especially for toddlers that one of her California girlfriends had recommended. The most popular with our daughter is Letter Tracer, which works as the name suggests. So my daughter was occupied by learning to write her letters. The device and screen provided the engagement that pen and paper hadn’t, and she delighted at being able to successfully trace all the letters of the alphabet, smiling and exclaiming “Look Daddy, I did it!” each time she completed a new tracing. My daughter was having a blast learning how to write her letters, and her parents were enjoying not just her growth but a nice restaurant experience as well.
As 2009 wound to a close, I engaged in my typical year-end organization efforts, scouring boxes and folders to discard what I didn’t need and properly file what I wanted to keep. When I found my original iPhone (16GB Edge; no 3, no G), my first thought was to sell it on eBay. I had great success selling an iPhone 3G on eBay, after all, getting $350 for one that had been exposed to moisture but was working perfectly. Then it hit me: why not load it up with iPhone apps for toddlers like Letter Tracer, put it in a heavy duty case with a screen protector, and make us into a three-iPhone family? Better, why not rip all the discs we use on a portable DVD player during long family trips, making it even easier to travel? My schedule didn’t allow me to finish configuring “her” iPhone before our trip to New Jersey for Christmas, but I was able to unveil it shortly after we returned, which turned out to be a good thing as I was home with our sick daughter the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
My three year old daughter now has her own iPhone, though without service so it is effectively an iPod touch. And how did I create a monster, you might ask? Easy. Her first words upon waking from sleep are “Where’s my iPhone?” Her reaction to her parents call to come to the dinner table, head upstairs for a bath or get ready for bed is to clutch her iPhone and cry. Even though I loaded her iPhone with some of her favorite apps from her mom’s phone (by re-downloading to our black Macbook, as I couldn’t get iTunes Home Sharing to work with my wife’s Macbook Air), she only really uses it to watch a small handful of videos that I ripped or downloaded. And she uses it constantly: sitting in a chair, laying on the floor, walking from room-to-room… head down, focused on the iPhone screen, it can be a challenge to get her to disengage with the device and engage with us.
So how can this be a good thing, or at least not bad? For one, I long ago read “Everything Bad is Good for You” by Steven Berlin Johnson, and take solace that her use of the iPhone at this early stage is at least teaching her some valuable skills, including human-computer interaction (for example, she is still mastering the art of touching a video then touching again on the appropriate icon to pause or play it). The videos I loaded are generally good quality educational content, so there are learning moments in them. And her ability to use the iPhone or not has quickly become the “carrot” and “stick” motivation we’ve long needed: she responds to our threats to take it away or promise to let her use it as with nothing that came before it.
As the novelty of watching videos begins to wear off, I expect our daughter to explore all of the possibilities that her iPhone offers. We’re already using the built-in clock to learn to tell time, Camera to take pictures, and Weather to see if it will snow today. I can imagine using apps like Best Camera to learn more about art and photography, or Vocabulearn Tagalog to learn her mom’s families native language (which I need to do before we go to the Philippines in a year or two). In the meantime, she’s already started to use some of the toddler apps I installed, like Kid Art, Voice Toddler Cards, and the Curious George Coloring Book.
The real challenge will be to help our daughter use her iPhone as an educational device, and avoid the trap of becoming too immersed to the detriment of social, motor, and other skills development. The real question is whether I’m a bad dad for giving a three year old an iPhone. What do you think?
Image courtesy of Flickr user jessica.garro
Переслать - TAB Welcomes: Patrick Hunt
Urban Dictionary defines “red-headed step-child” as one who, unlike a stepchild who looks like their step parent, is likely to be singled out for abuse. Which may very well define my stint here at TheAppleBlog. Will you, dear readers, treat me with the respect of someone with a true birthright, or use and abuse me for being the one of us who doesn’t look like the others? Time will tell.
I do know this: I actually have red hair, and I’m excited to join the excellent team of bloggers at TheAppleBlog. My name is Patrick Hunt, and this is my story (well, not the whole story, just enough to give you an idea of who is writing this bile!).
I bought my first mac in 1986, and I haven’t looked back. I stuck with the company and its products as customers left in droves during the Great Jobless Era, buying my own Macs even when my jobs provided me with Windows machines. I bought the first and each subsequent Newton when they were launched, did the same for the earliest iPods, and am now on my third of three iPhones, purchasing each on day one. I still have the Rev A Apple TV and Time Machine on my home network, and at total count, my family of three (me, my wife, and our 3-year old daughter) has five Macs, four iPods, three iPhones, two Airports, and an Apple TV in a pear tree. As I told Josh, I eat Apple for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I’m likely to write a few posts that you really like and a few that get you riled up. Hopefully, I won’t write too many that you’re not interested in, so please use the comments feature to let me know! Look primarily for longer-form essays (which is why I’ve never really become an active blogger) on company and product strategy, design, and user experience. Because in my other life, I’m a strategy, design and user experience consultant, in which I use Macs and the iPhone everyday to get my work done. I won’t likely break any news, but when someone else breaks it, I’ll try cleaning up the mess. Also look for the occasional hardware or software review, and analysis of new product announcements, company/product strategy, and the competitive digital landscape. As a former business partner and friend once said about me, “often wrong but never in doubt.” Hopefully, this approach will inform and entertain.
You can also catch me elsewhere on the web as jpatrickhunt: twitter, facebook, and .com, to name a few. Thanks in advance for the read and support!
Переслать - How-To: Free Calling With Google Voice, AT&T A-List and Your iPhone
Have you heard about AT&T’s A-List? (In my circle of acquaintances, surprisingly few have.) Similar to other carriers, AT&T now offers five to 10 (depending on your rate plan) numbers that are free of charge. If you combine this with a Google Voice account, you can breathe easy as you eliminate the potential of overshooting your allowance of plan minutes. This isn’t new information mind you, but if you’re not aware, we’re about to show you how to set it up for yourself.
First, the disclaimer. I have set this up for myself and it all seems to be working without any issues. I couldn’t find this to be in direct violation of AT&T’s Terms of Service (though I understand it may be for the likes of T-Mobile, and possibly other carriers as well). That said, it is definitely a loophole that is probably not smiled-upon by AT&T — and probably a big reason that there was a huge hullabaloo over Google Voice being booted from the App Store last summer. On the other hand, to have the A-List feature, you have to be paying for a certain rate plan anyway, so AT&T will be getting a guaranteed chunk of cash from you each month anyway. Consider yourself edukated, and proceed at your own discretion.
Set It Up
Okay, now let’s begin. You’ll first need to make sure you’ve got the option to use A-List, based on your AT&T rate plan. Here are the qualifying factors, direct from AT&T’s webpage:
- Individual plans 900+ minutes ($59.99 and over) per month
- FamilyTalk plans 1400+ minutes ($89.99 and over) per month
qualify for A-List
And when you sign up for the A-List feature, here’s what you get:
- No extra charge with your qualifying plan
- Add up to 5 numbers on your individual plan
- Add up to 10 numbers on your FamilyTalk plan
- Add any domestic number, on any network – including landline numbers
- Calls to and from your A-List numbers are not charged against your rate
If you qualify, but aren’t yet using A-List, log into your AT&T Wireless account and go to “Manage Features.” Under the Shared features, you should find the $0.00 option for A-List. Choose that and update your features. After doing so, you’ll have the opportunity to populate your five to 10 numbers (dependent upon your rate plan). This is where you’ll enter your Google Voice number (if you have one, that is).
Obviously the other key here, is to have the Google Voice service. If you’re lacking in this department, don’t despair (we won’t judge you). The good news is, there are options: You can either let Google know you’d like an invite one day, or ask current users who may have up to three invites to share. Unfortunately I’m all out, or you — my favorite TAB readers — would be in luck.
Because Google Voice functions as a forwarding service, the numbers that may be calling you can potentially come through to your phone directly, and unless those numbers are on your A-List, they’ll be counting against your minutes. To avoid this, you’ll need to go into your Google Voice Settings page. On the ‘Calls’ tab, look for the ‘Caller ID (in)’ section. Make sure that “Display my Google Voice number” is selected, and then save your changes. Doing this ensures that any call in or out of Google Voice (to your cell phone) is covered by AT&T on your A-List. Otherwise those calls will be from an arbitrary number that was transfered to you.
The key to success with this setup is using Google Voice for as much of your calling as possible. That means getting the word out to those who call you too. Lifehacker has some good tips for making this transition, if you’re ready to commit. Ideally, you can access either the Google Voice webpage from the browser on your phone, or you have access to the Google Voice app which is only available to Jailbroken iPhones. (Though fear not, our very own Chris Ryan has given some solid tips for getting the most out of Google Voice, regardless of your phone situation.)
When you initiate a call using Google Voice (whichever flavor of access you opt for), the service first rings your phone, and then connects that call on your phone to the number you wanted to dial, so from an A-List perspective, it’s your Google Voice number that’s performing the call.
So that’s about it. There’s not a whole lot to it, but rather, more about connecting the dots. I think it’s a fair solution too. AT&T is guaranteed to get $200 out of my family each month, and with the huge pool of roll over minutes we’ve got built up, it’s not likely we’ll ever have an overage anyway, so we’re all happy at the end of the day. Good luck getting yours setup, and enjoy the free calls.
Related GigaOM Pro Research: How Google Voice Could Change Communication
Переслать - Donate Directly to Haiti Relief Efforts via iTunes
One very impressive thing about the international reaction to Haiti’s recent devastating earthquake is the many, many ways you can contribute to relief efforts. The Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations acted quickly, setting up donations via the web, through partnerships with product makers, and through incredibly simple text messages charged directly to your bill.
The flipside is that it can be hard to know exactly which methods are legit, and in which cases the bulk of your donation actually goes to relief work. Apple and the Red Cross have set up a method for donating money that makes it very simple to make a contribution that will go entirely towards helping Haitians deal with the fallout of this tragic event; you can now donate via iTunes.
At the U.S. and Canadian iTunes stores, and at many European ones, too all you have to do is follow this link and you’ll be taken to a Red Cross donation splash page. You can then choose from six different preset donation amounts, including $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 and $200. Clicking the “Donate” button beneath any amount will then prompt the “Sign in to buy” dialog, where you’ll confirm your iTunes account credentials in order to finalize the donation.
Apple explains where your donation is going and to what end on the donation page:
100% of your donation will go to the American Red Cross (…) Your donation of any size could help save the day by providing food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support to someone in need.
In the even that the American Red Cross reaches its target for the Haiti Earthquake Appeal, any excess donations will be applied to other American Red Cross efforts. Further information about the American Red Cross and its financial administration can be found at www.RedCross.org.
A quick test reveals that the iTunes link to the donation page does not work on the iPhone or iPod touch iTunes store at this time. If you do want to donate from your mobile device, the best way is probably still via text message. Texting “HAITI” to 90999 will donate $10 to the relief efforts on many U.S. carriers, although it won’t work for international donations.
Haiti is nowhere near out of the woods yet, so if you haven’t yet contributed, or if you’d just like to do it again, and donate more than the max $20 or $30 that most carriers allow for the texting method, the iTunes store is a safe and easy way to help out.
Переслать
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