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Media trends digest – 2010

15 December

THE TABLET WARS
Several months ago we purchased a Kindle 2, the smaller of the two electronic readers produced by Amazon (there's also a bigger Kindle DX) and a basic model Apple iPad. Since that time, we've seen a few other tablets come on the local market.

For the time being, we'll stick to what we know.

Kindle
This is first and foremost a text-reading device designed for book lovers. You can also subscribe to magazines (we get Time and New Statesman for around $5.00 per month each) but in Australia you miss out on the pictures.
The advantage is it can be read in ambient light (there’s no backlighting on the screen) and the battery use is very light, if you leave the wireless connection switched off.
Getting a new title is generally cheap and instant, via a dedicated roaming wireless service. There’s no additional cost for the wireless and your books can be synchronized with your iPhone or iPad.  Your library can also be backed up on a PC.
The available library is large but not comprehensive, with a mix of books generally priced from free to $15. There are lots of options for $5.00 and under.
If you’re an avid reader, it’s a great device to have. It’s an easy way to take a library traveling and, for those who read in bed, it works well.
Those used to multimedia devices will be frustrated by its limited abilities. If you treat it as little more than a convenient electronic book, you’ll love it.
A note here for would-be book publishers and authors: Amazon offers relatively easy access to its market, and charges a hefty percentage for the privilege. However it is currently the most affordable option for frustrated authors.
Good for: cheap and convenient reading
Hopeless at: anything more than the above

iPad
Apple’s iPad lives up to much of the hype of being a revolutionary personal multimedia device and, frustratingly, has some monumental flaws.
What it does well is act as a PC you can use on the couch – it makes a laptop seem like a clumsy dinosaur in these situations. For example, it can check the weather, TV guide, IMDB movie database, email, web pages and so-on, run your videos and photos, and make phone calls (via Skype), all from a hand-held that is light and easy. People used to wryly defend print by saying you could take a magazine or paper into the toilet with you for a quiet read, but not a computer. That’s no longer true.
As a reading device, it has the inherent problem of being backlit, which eats battery power and is not great for long-term comfort.
What is absolutely unforgivable is that Apple has so far stubbornly refused to support Flash animation. This is used to enliven many websites, and as the default standard for many web videos. YouTube has set up an iPad-dedicated option (not as good as the real thing), but many publishers have not.
The background is that Apple and Adobe (the creator of Flash) have ongoing hostilities. No end-user with any sense could care and the end result is iPad users are being robbed of a huge chunk of functionality. For me, this problem is squarely in Apple’s court – it needs to swallow its pride and open up its operating system.
You can convert an iPad to accept Flash by ‘unlocking’ it, but the process is arcane and fraught with problems.
Apple is in danger of coming across as the Microsoft of the 21st century by being overbearing in its haste to dictate restrictions that no-one other than the corporation cares about.
There are countless applications out there for the iPad, with publishers scrambling to meet the demands of this make. It is potentially a game-changer for anyone selling content. However the quality of the offerings varies considerably. For example, News Limited has struggled to make its local newspapers a compelling buy on this platform.
Perhaps the best example of getting it right is the USA mag, Wired.
Our particular unit has shown signs of battery failure and is currently in the workshop.
Good for: extends the PC into more intimate surroundings, light and easy
Hopeless at: unforgivable restrictions on web use
Guy Allen

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