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What’s So Cool About the New iPad?

By Beacon Staff

In a tornado of media excitement and speculation, Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs unveiled Apple’s new iPad last week. Everyone seems to be quite excited about Apple’s new project. The unveiling has definitely been accompanied by the “Apple is Cool” factor. Even Stephen Colbert pulled a tablet out of his coat during the Grammy Awards show, asking his daughter in the audience if it made him look cooler. And people like me, being an Apple geek, have been totally caught up in the hype.

One thing I’m disappointed in, however, – besides the name iPad – is the lack of a camera. I think our society has become a little camera obsessed, installing one in every nook and cranny of every technological device. But in this case, this is one device that could really use one. When I first head of the tablet, I pictured myself sitting at a café somewhere exotic, taking advantage of the 3G network to upload images from my latest shoot while teleconferencing with my editors back at home base – but alas, no camera.

There is a Camera Connection Kit that allows users to upload images and video through either of their camera’s USB cable or SD Card reader.

The bells and whistles do entice me. I would like to think that I would always choose to hold and read a real book over a virtual one, but I won’t knock it until I try it. Knowing how much I love my iPod Touch, I can only imagine how much fun pinching, squeezing and navigating a larger touch screen can be.

Another aspect of the tablet being watched closely is its possible influence on the publishing industry.

A recent National Press Photographer Association article reads:

For publishers of newspapers, magazines, and books, the device offers a new way to charge for digital, online publications. Media companies such as The New York Times Co., Time-Life Inc., and Condé Nast have for months had development teams working on building electronic versions of their publications that are “tablet ready” in hopes that an electronic newsstand concept will move them out of the red ink and into a money-making position.

(Read the full article “Apple’s New iPad: Publishers’ Salvation or Photographer’s Tool?”)

This comes after the New York Times announced its plans for charging for online content beginning next year. Undoubtedly, newspapers and magazines published for the iPad will be able to deliver something not seen before, the ability to interact directly with your publication. But a new toy does not equal revenue. It will be on the shoulders of innovative thinkers and designers to invent new ways of delivering interactive content and there must be a new business model to make it profitable. Check out the article A Free iPad with Your Paid Subscription on Joe Zeff’s Design Blog.

Zeff points out, using the Sport Illustrated prototype tablet edition as an example:

Its chances for success hinge entirely on the public’s willingness to buy tablets like the iPad. Those chances improve with help from Time Inc. What if they bundled every one of its 23 titles into a single offering that includes a brand new iPad? A multimagazine subscription needn’t be real-time, so the entry-level iPad would do the job. Build into the monthly fee the cost of the iPad, enabling the consumer to repay Time Inc. for the device over 24 installments rather than shelling out $499 at once. That’s one way to get people to reach for their sneaker phones and pay for a tablet edition — throw in the tablet.

So will the iPad save journalism? No. Is it a great tool and opportunity to push publishing in a direction we haven’t seen before? Absolutely.

The final setback for us here in Montana – I can’t even get an iPhone because we lack AT&T 3G coverage. Give me that first Apple, and then I’ll consider forking out the big bucks for an iPad.