Apple’s rumoured iSlate (will use that name purely for convenience) which is set to appear in January is expected to be built around a 7″ touch sensitive screen which will come with a revolutionary way of allowing the user to interact with it. We can expect the legendary Apple design to create an object which millions of people will want to own from the moment it is announced. The iPhone created lust around the world when it was first demoed, but the iSlate could be a game changer the like of which even Apple has not managed to create before.
eBook readers are big business at the moment and new manufacturers are popping up every week with new tricks to entice bookworms to the digital age. The iSlate sounds to me like the kind of device which would fit well in this market, but with Apple behind it the marketing machine could well bring eBooks to the wider market which even Amazon has failed to truly conquer with the Kindle. The iSlate will have the extra advantage of doing so much more yet could still dominate the eBook market by utilising its multi-use abilities.
If Apple manages to offer an experience which makes eBooks feel like paper, or even close, that will be all that is needed for a device like the iSlate to conquer the market and make ‘eBook’ a standard word in the vocabulary of the masses. With the power of iTunes behind the device and the potential to sell millions of titles the sky is the limit for the iSlate and eBook publishers once the format has been accepted by the buying public.
What else will the iSlate conquer? More tomorrow…
I’m sure there’ll also be some “lock-in” to Apple services so not for me.
Didn’t Jobs say that nobody reads any more! I seem to remember a big fight to get an ebook reader on the iPhone.
Of course, he was against cut & paste as well.