If you believe the hype, tomorrow will see the start of a revolution... a revolution I believe is inevitable and will change the way read.
When Apple created the ipod, it wasn't the first mp3 player, it wasn't the best sounding mp3 player, and in fact, it technically wasn't even an mp3 player. But it struck a chord with a large part of the population and flew off the shelves. It pushed the concept of a digital music player into the public spotlight (as opposed to just the geeky gadget buying section of it) and revolutionised the way we buy and listen to music.
However, Apple's ipod did something far greater than than just revolutionise music....it also made apple cool. the majority of people who have bought a macbook or imac in the last 5 years would never have considered a mac with out the halo that the ipod provided. This brand awareness makes any launch of a new apple product a big deal.
It happened for a second time three years ago apple announced and launched the iphone. It changed the way people use their mobile phones and access the internet when they are out and about. As with the ipod, before the iphone there were touchscreen smartphones. Most with more features and for a much cheaper price. But, the iphone had two things going for it: the magical Apple brand and the benefit Apple's user interface design.
Tomorrow we are going to see the new apple tablet. If we don't millions of people will be very surprised and very disappointed. And while it won't -yet again- be the first, cheapest or most powerful, it is going to have a huge impact and change the way we interact with the internet, video and especially the written word.
E-readers have been trying to change the way we buy and read books for a number of years, but small black and white screens have limited their usefulness when it comes to colourful magazines, large format newspapers or just the familiarity of turning pages.The Apple Tablet will gradually integrate into peoples everyday way of thinking that their information -be it from any of the traditional forms of publishing- can be just as successful and user friendly as traditional routes. Just cooler, more accessible and more fun. The key to this is the user experience.
The iphone plays host to an number of reader apps such as amazons Kindle and the New York times which provide a custom interface for reading content from a certain provider. While these work reasonably well, each is unique with different layouts, interfaces, and more importantly payment models. This could be all about to change
Apple are all about the interface. You don't -and can't- revolutionise the publishing industry by providing a large hand held screen for publishers to use as they wish. What would be the point in investing so much in development of new interface? What is more than likely to happen is that they will create a new format, telling publishers "that's the way its going to be" and put themselves in the middle claiming their 30%.
Apple's new e-publishing format will provide a quick and easy way to adapt written content for the digital age. Apple's book store will provide a way to get that content in front of users and more importantly, get paid for it. Advertising revenues are falling and few websites have found a good model for charging for online content. Even major publishers such as News corp and Conde Naste and suffering from falling profits. So are they going to sell their souls to Steve Jobs -like music industry has- and sit back and ride the revolution?
Of course they are.
