Comic tablets and the future...

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

I think the price of the tablet or phone is bound to put some people off but I think it's a great idea. If I recall corretly there was a few discussions in the media a few years ago about 'convergence' where your phone was also your computer/camera/entertainment player all wrapped into one.

It does all seem to be rolling into one multifunction device so maybe the digital frontier is the future for aspiring comic creaters/artists and illustrators to exploit.

 Wasn't there a boom in the late eighties/early ninties that sort of coincided with new technologies for computer colouring and new artists like Todd Mcfarlane and Jim Lee?

[Pete Wells]

Hmmm, muted reaction to the slate PC. Lets hope things start moving soon though...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8444672.stm

[pauljholden]

The Slate really feels like something hurried out by Microsoft and HP as a way to be on ensure they aren't on the backfoot when apple introduce their tablet like device on the 27th (assuming all the rumours are true, of course).

Interestingly, MS had introduced tablet computing several years ago and it was underwhelming then, too. The Slate name, arguably, has been lifted by MS because (as rumour had it) Apple where looking at the name iSlate.

It's kind of odd how MS vs Apple is like a David vs Goliath battle with the Goliath absolutely petrified of David and quiet prepared to turn up to the battle copying everything David does.

The MS/HP Slate was introduced at the CES show, where, according to my RSS feed (which links to engadget, and many more) there are a dozen or so tablet/slate/e-ink devices all in the offing... Things are starting to get really interesting...

-pj
(not sure if the beeb showed it, but the MS/HP Slate demoed Mark Waids comic Irredeemable on the device - which was a really introducing choice of thing to show off, wasn't it?)

[Mardroid]

I checked the link on the PsP comic reader ad in this week's prog, and I was interested to see the comic reader is free! It has an autofocussing thing too which tracks panels in order of viewing, etc. (I don't know how well that'd work, considering different people's rate of reading, whether it could be adjusted, etc. A good idea though considering the smaller screen size compared to dedicated comic readers.)

I checked out some of the comics they have online, focussing on 2000 AD, the price was around £1.19. They weren't the most recent but weren't too far back. And being a fairly new thing there might be expansion.

Not a bad option if you want to take the e-comic option and don't mind waiting a bit longer for issues.

I might consider that myself, except I don't have a PsP yet. Heh.

[Pete Wells]

The Slate really feels like something hurried out by Microsoft and HP as a way to be on ensure they aren't on the backfoot when apple introduce their tablet like device on the 27th

Yeah, it seemed strange that in that video they never took the time to show any functionality or properly state what the delivery method would actually be. It was also quite amusing to see just how much the slates looked like a giant ipod/iphone too...

As for the PSP reader, it's quite exciting (and a good way to get younger 2000AD resders) but the screen of a PSP would be too small for me I think. I want something approximately A4 sized.

My other gripe would be waiting a few weeks for the prog. For me, one of the major draws of this technology is the almost immediate way you could get the prog. I know it's rare, but I think the current adverse weather conditions resulting in some subbers getting their progs out of sync demonstrates how cool it would be to be able to grab the current prog digitally on the day of publication. It would also alleviate the more common 'Where's my prog!?!' threads too. We just need s decent anti-piracy method and the moon on a stick and we're sorted!

[pauljholden]

We just need s decent anti-piracy method and the moon on a stick and we're sorted!

I think the best anti piracy measures are:
a) have the digital version available on the same day as the printed prog
b) have it nice and cheap (99cents/60pence)
c) have NO DRM
d) some neat, easy way to subscribe to the comic AND a way to buy digital issues easily.

Actually, rebellion and clickwheel are to be applauded for NOT placing DRM on their digital copies-and although clickwheel is a bit of a nightmare to find a particular prog- it's a fairly painless process to buy an issue. I just wish it was cheaper and was available on the day of the prog. (AND I had some decent device to read it on...)

-pj

[Mardroid]

I like the look of the kindle devices. Unfortunately the display is just monochrome so not ideal for comic reading, but the dimensions are idea, particularly the larger one (for comics and mags anyway).

Considering the price, it makes me wonder how much a colour version would be. Mind you I think these types of thing will always be pricey. Screen size really increases cost.

Edit- Ok, just checked that video showing the HP Tablet, and it seems that's essentially a colour version anyway. Even runs the kindle software!

[Jim_Campbell]

Similarly, I'm a little dubious about the Windows offering ... I actually really, really like the form factor, but Microsoft have a habit of leaking prototype/development projects to reassure their shareholders and the markets that they're on the ball, but which don't actually pan out.

Microsoft Courier: not gonna happen.

HP Slate:also not looking good.

In other news, DC inexplicably want to reinvent the wheel where digital comics are concerned -- there's an interview on CBR, but their site is timing out on me, so I can't get to the relevant page. According to Jim Lee, DC's back catalogue wasn't designed to be read on a screen, so they don't see the value of releasing it in that format. Instead, they want to invent something new.

Yeah, sure, chuck piles of money at developing something with bells and whistles that there's no evidence the market is looking for and ignore the tens of thousands of CBRs and CBZs that are downloaded every frickin' day but which make you zero revenue!

*shakes head in bewilderment*

Cheers

Jim

[Jim_Campbell]

I should probably mention that I was in my local Apple retailer last week and the manager had in iPad that he let me play with for a few minutes. Reading comics on this thing is quite, quite lovely and all the reviews that say "You can't really understand the device until you've held one" are completely right.

I won't be buying one because I really can't find a niche in my computing needs that it fits. For the 90-odd percent of people who own a computer at home, the ones who really only use it for leisure activities ... e-mail, web, media consumption, some light gaming, for all these people it'll meet their needs in a smaller form factor with a ten-hour battery.

I was dubious about whether people would view it that way, but since Apple have sold a million of 'em in 28 days and can't make them fast enough to meet demand, it appears that they do.

I think we're seeing a pivotal moment in the development of the computer: the desktop as we understand it will be relegated to a pro-tool for video editors and CGI houses, a laptop (and possibly an external monitor) will do for the rest of us that use our computers creatively, and everyone one else will be happy with low maintenance sealed appliances like the iPad.

Interesting times. Worth reading Charles Stross's thoughts on the matter, too.*

Cheers!

Jim

Actually, Stross' blog is worth a bookmark -- it's always a good read.