This isn't the 80s anymore. It's not good enough to just pump out lusty hardware like the Walkman in order to drive generous profit streams. In the modern age of consumer electronics, it takes content and an entire ecosystem of software and services to keep customers locked in and buying your gear. That's why we're paying close attention to content deals for the suddenly hot tablet category of devices.
Conde Nast has been teasing
custom content for next generation tablets for months, lead by mock-ups of its
Wired magazine property. So it's no surprise to hear Charles H. Townsend, president and CEO of Conde Nast say he wants to "take a leadership position," on Apple's iPad. According to the
New York Times, the company will announce plans today (via an
internal company memo) for its first custom iPad digital pubs: the April issue of
GQ (there's already an iPhone app for that), followed by the June issues of
Wired and
Vanity Fair, and then
The New Yorker and
Glamour sometime in the summer. This first cut represents a broad swath of demographics as Conde Nast trials Apple's newest platform in order to see what works. We should also expect a variety of prices and advertising models during the initial experimentation period. Also noteworthy is Conde Nast's two-track development approach: the iPad version of
Wired will be developed with Adobe (as we heard) but the others will be developed internally -- all the digital mags will be available via iTunes although
Wired will also be made available in "non-iTunes formats." Assuming it finds a model that works, then Conde Nast plans to digitize other magazines in the fall.
posted March 1st 2010 4:06AM
Hm, i don't really want an ecosystem. all i want in a tablet is to be able to play some divx movies on its 16:9 widescreen and do some flash-enabled internet browsing. For $199.
@(Unverified)
Oh, and it needs HDMI-out too.
@(Unverified)
Also it needs to support .mkv videos and it needs to have some USB ports for dongles, mice and keyboards, you never know when you might need some of that stuff.
Ah well, maybe ASUS will make a tablet good enough for me in a few years.
@(Unverified)
I'm just curious... why would anyone who already has an iPod or MacBook buy an iPad? Seems a bit redundant if you ask me. You'd think after all these years people would wise up to buying something that lacks features that are considered standard fare amongst devices such as this.
I don't know, maybe I'm just over-analyzing this whole "iPad craze" to be something more than it really is?
*shrug*
@(Unverified)
Maybe you need a laptop. Remember, the iPad is for doing basic functions, web surfing, video, audio, pics, word processing etc. Just get a lappy if you need one. Currently, the technology can't support a thin slate that does all that. It's too intensive, hot, battery draining etc. in a form factor of a slate.
@Unverified User For $199 you were never going to buy from Apple, unless you want an iPad shuffle
@r34p3r
Sorry for the double post -- Engadget doesn't allow comment editing.
Can someone tell me what the iPad does differently that makes it stand out from its peers and brethren other than having a larger screen?
@r34p3r
You're right- you could do the same things on an iPhone or smart phone, but web surfing would be a lot better, as would reading books. Have you tried to read a book on a smart phone? I have; Call of the Wild, Dracula, and others. It. Is. Not. Enjoyable. While you could do so much more on a laptop, using the iPad as a newspaper right beside your breakfast, or reading your news when you wake up, flying on an air plane with it in you hands, etc., you can see that the form factor is indeed better than a laptop. The other thing Apple managed to do was to keep it as a peripheral so it won't cannibalize on their iPhones or MacBooks. AND truth be told, minus the Flash content, it doesn't miss much of BASIC computer tasks. Adding to the previous points, those that were lucky enough to play with an iPad all had one opinion in common- SPEED. The iPad is FAST. Sometimes, you don't want all the other sh!t on your computer, just a swipe with your finger and your on the internet, email, etc. I'm excited to see how this fares. I'm may flop, but seriously, I doubt it. We'll see in a month won't we?
@r34p3r
Yeah... the iPad definitely a confusing device. Not really replacing anything... it's its own thing.
You could buy it to browse the web on the couch or in bed, being smaller than a hot, heavy laptop but bigger than a cellphone.
You could use it to read these new specially formatted magazines that this article is talking about. Plus, it runs all of the iPhone apps and games which are wildly popular... and I'm sure there will be tons of new apps that are specifically made for the iPad.
So, yeah... if you already have a laptop and a cellphone... it seems like a silly device. But, I'm sure people will find ways to use it.
@think before you react
I already have a laptop, but i'd like to have a more compact version that's cheaper and maybe has some simplified OS and an ARM processor to save power. So these are a few of the good things about the iPad, but as i said above it's still quite a few features away from me considering buying it. And the $199 i mentioned might have been a bit too optimistic, $499 is ok if it does everything i need.
If it does not, i simply don't need another device between my smartphone and my laptop.
@r34p3r
@think before you react is absolutely right about all those iPad benefits. In my opinion though, the main thing an iPad does differently than its competitors is give you access to Apple's massive content library. Sure the Notion Ink Adam has an impressive (albeit not perfect) Pixel Qi screen and maybe even a longer battery life than the iPad, but it doesn't have the iTunes Store, the App Store, or the iBookstore. You could argue having Flash on other devices gives you access to Hulu and therefore a number of TV shows, but if you easily want to consume content (and what is a tablet like an iPad or Adam if not a content consumption device?) I would say the iPad offers the most choices in which content you want to consume. And if you want to create content as well, iWork is a truly awesome, productive, and dare I say it, fun suite, the likes of which we won't see on iPad competitors.
@r34p3r
I think your question should have been "Can someone tell me what the iPad does differently FOR ME that makes it stand out from its peers and brethren..."
What the iPad does differently is that it meets certain needs. Nothing more, nothing less. But that, in itself, is more than enough.
The iPad like every other device out there on the market (and in development labs around the world) is nothing more than a series of compromises. That's why no product will ever be perfect... we all rant & rave about why this sucks & that rocks but in the main, that's just us whacking off about what compromises we're prepared to make or NOT make!
So, will the iPad be successful? If there are enough users out there prepared to live with the compromises they feel they need to make in order to use the iPad for what it will do well, you betcha!
My guess is that there may be more than enough uncles & aunties, mums & dads with a decent amount of loose change in their pockets who will not have a big list of 'must have' features - other than, "You mean I can replace all my favourite magazines with this device?". For them, it'll be a no brainer.
That it has nerd-worthy shortcomings... seriously who, other than us nerds, will give a hoot!?! :-)
@r34p3r im buying one purely to sit as a digital photoframe when not in use and when im heading to bed or lying around being a bum on the sofa and fancy doing a bit o web surfing (ill live without flash) or play one of the numerous games ive downloaded from the app store then i can do all that without having to lug my 17" XPS around.. i positively cannot wait to put all my graphics novels on it and play games like Monkey Island on the bigger screen.. again while lying in bed or bumming about on the sofa, if i want to do serious work ill go sit at my desk at my laptop... you see, the ipad does have a market and its me! and dont give me that iphone/touch bollocks.. i make do with using my iphone cause i dont have an ipad..
Seriously folks, i cant get the hate or the "whats the use" cries, this thing is perfect for my needs, heck i can see my girlf trading in her macbook for one as all she does with it is surf the bloody net on a £1000 machine!?
@(Unverified)
You can keep dreaming. And the real work just don't work for you.
But I will buy iPad and enjoy the current state of art.
Some people just like dreaming of un-realistic product.
Unlike other hype product like joojoo or slate.
iPad is real one and you can get it NOW.
@Unverified User
After inital pfft and then some serious thought.
What can the iPad do? Well, see, it's simply a platform with a delivery system and tight integration from battery up. I'll tell you this, it does an f load more than the launch demo.
Out of the box day 1, with devs retweaking existing apps (not thinking up new ones). It's a great corporate thin client. the best wireless controller for sound and lighting in studios and theatres hands down. Maybe the best/equal as a front end for server farm administration. Pretty good point of sale unit. From a IT admin perspective in schools, labs and corporate it is the most secure, easiest to customize and lock down, nigh on cheapest (has an exchange client built in) client box you could want.
That's some basics, with no new apps, just ones tweaked to use the full screen, not pixel double.
If you consider accessories (not cases), a HDMI out would be twaddle, at minimum you could adapter the VGA to HDMI anyway. Storage, wired networking for the base station. All types of card slots, instrument anaylsis connectors.
Anyway, it's a platform. A lot of the more interesting apps for the iPhone aren't in the AppStore or Cydia, they are on corporate iPhones and we never hear about them.
It's up to the devs, not Apple.
@r34p3r
I'm getting my parents the high-end non-3G iPad to use around the home. They can check stuff out online while they're watching TV, or take the iPad up to bed and watch movies, etc. Of course, it's a book reader, which (hint) is why this product exists. Apple doesn't make any other book readers.
A college student will pay 500 bucks for the first semester of textbooks, in that sense, getting the low-end iPad could do that for the same price, after the second semester, he's already seeing returns on his purchase (super cheap digital textbooks).
This is how Apple does things, its how they did it with portable video too... they knew it was a corny niche thing, so they said, "Ok, portable video is pretty stupid, BUT, if we include it with all the other stuff that people already want --a color iPod-- then we can help bring this to the masses"
The killer app, is that, the iPad is a huge iPod, with a gorgeous screen and gorgeous apps. The reading thing will take a few years to catch on, and when it does, Apple owns the market (digital magazines, books, newspapers).
Now get out there and buy some stock, dammit.
@(Unverified)
OMFG, check this out: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/01/keepin-it-real-fake-part-cclvii-ipad-meets-windows-7-sparks
this baby does everything i wished for, even HDMI
now i just want some more reliable company (like ASUS) to make the same product because i don't want to buy something chinese with no warranty
for me the iPad is history.
@(Unverified): Send in the clowns.
The iPad just revolutionized computing. Say goodbye to Windows desktops, laptops and netbooks - what purpose do the serve except to cost more, weigh more and are more prone to malware? iPhone OS, Apple ecosystem, ease of use and brand power is victorious. Desktop OS share is a thing of the past. I'll be running the superior iWork suite on my iPad with full MS Office compatibility - what else is there?
@Ariel Bender
"I'll be running the superior iWork suite on my iPad"
Comedy gold.
@MarkAnderson: I've used Word, Excel and Powerpoint on the Mac pre-Office, and presently run it on Mac and Windows, and if you're trying to tell me that any incarnation is superior from a usability or stability perspective to iWork, try again.
@Ariel Bender
Right. That must be why the Mac version of Office outsells iWork then.
It's nice you prefer it but, Keynote aside, it's not as good.
@Ariel Bender
What purpose do they serve?
They run the software that you want, rather than what Steve allows.
They use the content you actually have, rather than what Steve allows.
They talk to your other devices like cameras.
That's pretty much the instant-summary of why the iPod is inferior to a proper Mac, a PC running Windows, a PC running Linux or even an Archos 5.
Macs and PCs are for people that make stuff and use stuff that other people made.
The iPad is ultimately just a fancy VCR with limited selection.
@d0mth0ma5
iPad Shuffle.
No screen. All touch.
@MarkAnderson: The sells more so it must be better argument. Wow. You win!
@jedi: Let's check out the circus philosophy of computer:
1. It runs the software I want to run. Unlike apps created for Android and WebOS, apps created with the iPhone OS SDK are full featured and relatively cheap. Enjoy dropping 2K for Adobe's CS. Oh, you don't pay for SW? Fail.
2. My content is legitimately purchased and managed by iTunes and syncs with my iPad. Oh, your content is pirated? Be sure to send an note of thanks to all of individuals who are now out of work thanks to your childish selfishness. Fail.
3. Let's see, WIFI, 3G, Keyboard, Dock connectivity. This is simply the first of many iPad devices, the announced accessories cover all the major bases, and more are sure to come.
The old paradigm of computing is over, the new one is here, and once again, just as it was for GUI, plug & play, and on and on and on, Apple is first.
@TonyMontana2367 I envision it being more of a collaboration with StumbleUpon, shake it to bring up random content.
Whatever happened to the progress on the Koreans and Japanese working on e-paper? I'd pay money to read and watch content on sheets of those- the iPad is only gonna give me pain in the wrists.
@horchata
Nah. I don't think so. The iPad is a mere 18 ounces which is less than some beers.
@think before you react
If you can't handle that, hit the gym or spend a few extra minutes in the shower. Just not too much or you'll go blind;)
@think before you react
LOL
win
This news has got me really excited for the potential of this thing. Man I forgot how gorgeous it looks, I haven't looked at it for a couple of weeks. Hopefully it's not too much longer until I can get my hands on one of these, or should I say two since I that's what I saved up for.
Whatever..I'm still going to buy the ADAM over this.
@genomecop
Until Adam have real spec and real price on it.
Otherwise I won't debate on hype product from start up company.
This is very sad news for open content/web standards. Content should be accessible regardless of device; that's what HTML5, mp3 and epub are for.
Locking content into an ecosystem is not good for the consumer, although I'm afraid this is just the start of a slippery slope into an Orwellian world.
@ZSX
It's all about making money.
Why should they do "open standard" if they can't make money?
I hate the open xxx shit. I just want awesome product/service.
@zetman Unfortunately, like you, most people are happy to live in a walled garden with shiny things.
I cannot convince you of the value of openness, but it was the principle upon which the internet was created, and this, and other erosions we are seeing to the web, are very worrying trends.
Money is an important motivator, but it should not be an end in itself.
@ZSX: Unfortunately for most people 'open' translates' not paying for content. It's about time we kick these brokesters to the curb. Can afford to pay decent price for art, music, literature or web content? Get a job or get lost.
@madmac
Because PC user don't like pay ?
T3 (UK TECH MAG) are thinking about doing it, i got sent a survey asking if i would buy it if they were to make a online mag
@madmac
You want to talk about Zero userbase? Go talk to the hundreds of people that have bought HP Slate-esque devices over the past ten years.
In a year, there will already be 5 million rabit iPad owners on the market. The fact that Apple is price discriminating the shit out of this thing just makes me that much more bullish on the iPad.
@Wesscoast
haha rabit?
*rabid
Here's what I don't get.... There is all this talk about the ipad saving the publishing industry but how is this going to work exactly? Sure, itunes has been a big success for Apple since the launch of the ipod, but in that time the music industry has continued to implode.
We can already get magazine content online for free. I can't see how touch navigation (which is all that will distinguish the ipad/tablet versions of sites) will be enough to make people pay when they haven't been willing to previously.
Even if the ipad is a really big success (I'm pretty sure it will be at least a moderate success whatever), the proportion of people accessing web content on the device or other tablets will be dwarfed by laptops for a very long time indeed. So what of the costs to publishers of producing two version of everything?
I can see how the desperation of publishers has lead them to see Job/Apple as their saviour, but I think their faith is misplaced.
@gersam .. yeh I am sure you know more about the economics of publishing more than they do. Come on. Be serious. The initial cost of upgrading their content management systems should be more than met by the profits from years of e-magazine sales.
@taligent
Of course. Gersam is not Big Brother. Therefore, he cannot possibly have anything useful to say.
I just don't see the market for this. Who's gonna pay $500+ for a large iphone if they can get a subscription to any of these mags for, what is it these days, $50 bucks a year?
@madmac: Anyone who owns an iPhone or iTouch can sync their content. The 'anyone' represents the most sought after customer base in the world, Apple users.
@Wesscoast
"You want to talk about Zero userbase? Go talk to the hundreds of people that have bought HP Slate-esque devices over the past ten years."
So if it has "zero" userbase, how can you then talk to the "hundreds of people"?
"In a year, there will already be 5 million rabit iPad owners on the market. The fact that Apple is price discriminating the shit out of this thing just makes me that much more bullish on the iPad.""
They havent sold a single unit, yet they have sold 5 million?
Oh wait, I'm respond to Wesscoast. Nevermind looking for logic.
I agree with most people here. Although to me, the iPad is compelling for multi-media and other uses, something like a digital iTunes magazine subscription would have to be compelling enough for me to pay for that versus the cheap (or free library) version.
For instance, if I *pay* to subscribe to a mag on iTunes, I don't want to see any advertising/video pop up ads. It's not the same as a paper version, as you can just flip the page--- versus an embedded digital ad.
Also, a group subscription, say a month over month, or year over year subscription to a wide range of iTunes magazines and newspapers would also be useful, and should be----*this is important*--- easy to cancel.
I would love, for example, a subscription to The Economist, Scientific American, The New York Times, The Financial Times, Variety, Atlantic Monthly and Rolling Stone for one low yearly price. Oh, and back issue searches---free for subscribers--- is a requirement.