The Apple Tablet

[SuperSurfer]

For many years I had a theory that with certain products, technology would lead us full circle, in a way back to where we are.

For years I have thought that the natural development of monitors/computer tablets is that they will get thinner and thinner to the point that we can roll them up, fold them etc. They we will in effect become digital paper that we can write or draw on or download newspapers or magazines onto. See? Nothing to worry about. Everyone will be happy.

[pauljholden]

It is for you, but it probably won't be for your kids- and that's where the future market is.

But that isn't the discussion we're having here - in my post I agree that the future is digital, but I don't think it will happen, as PJ suggests, 'overnight', and I don't think this particular device will be the one to do it.

Well, I might have been a little hyperbolic, but the shift from traditional print to digital distribution can we really be marked by a couple of key events and I think tomorrows announcement will be one of them. Look at the states of the phone market post-iPhone, every company with a smart phone is attempting to mimic the look and feel of the iPhone (individual app store, software based keyboards, touch screens, emphasis on style over content). So no - not everything will suddenly change over night (paper won't sponateously combust to be replaced by tablets and comics publishers won't abandon print immediatly - in fact, they won't adandon it long term) but I'm very positive about the future for comics, both digital and print. Suddenly the prospect of a new digital only 2000AD title would be a practical reality and you can bet every penny you have that those companies that are already involved in iPhones comics will pour everything into an Apple Tablet.

-pj

[Matt Timson]

It is for you, but it probably won't be for your kids- and that's where the future market is.

But that isn't the discussion we're having here - in my post I agree that the future is digital, but I don't think it will happen, as PJ suggests, 'overnight', and I don't think this particular device will be the one to do it.

Well I guess that would depend on your definition of 'overnight'.  I tend to think of MP3 being adopted practically overnight.  Obviously, it wasn't literally overnight, but it happened pretty quickly- and all it took was a decent delivery system.  Fair enough, this might not be the right device- but I guess we'll have to wait and see.  The fact is, comics are becoming prohibitively expensive and I don't see them getting any cheaper.

Personally, as a creator and a reader, I'm looking forward to the digital revolution!

[Matt Timson]

For many years I had a theory that with certain products, technology would lead us full circle, in a way back to where we are.

For years I have thought that the natural development of monitors/computer tablets is that they will get thinner and thinner to the point that we can roll them up, fold them etc. They we will in effect become digital paper that we can write or draw on or download newspapers or magazines onto. See? Nothing to worry about. Everyone will be happy.

Heh- I think you're probably right!

[TordelBack]

If I could offer an analogy, the world of academic journals has been totally transformed by digital availability.  As a post-grad and (briefly) lecturer I traipsed around all the libraries I could get access to, tracking down specific issues of the Cambridge Archaeological Review or Hermathena or whatever, or waited endlessly on inter-library loans so I could spend my evenings photocopying relevant articles.  Now I don't need to go near a library for most of my needs, once I can my hands on a JSTOR subscription (over 1000 journals - not 1000 issues, but whole runs).   However, while I use a rake of online resources, I (personally) still prefer to read hardcopy and annotate photocopy, and I prefer to do both in a nice peaceful built-for-purpose library, whch often has the advantage of books that aren't available, and confronts me with books I'd never have thought of looking for.  I note that most of the young folk don't seem to have this ingrained taste.  And it'll be the same with comics and tablets/psychic paper.

[pauljholden]

But that isn't the discussion we're having here - in my post I agree that the future is digital, but I don't think it will happen, as PJ suggests, 'overnight', and I don't think this particular device will be the one to do it.

re reading my original post, no, I've decided, I DO mean literally overnight. Of course, some parts of reality will lag behind - as they so often do (christ, my wife's family didn't get a telephone until the mid 90s - A STANDARD BT TELEPHONE!) but the options available to those making comics WILL change overnight (or, at least, over the hour long keynote speech).

And, I'd also disagree about this particular device, for the simple reason that it's NOT just the device that's going to be the cause of change, rather the infrastructure that comes with it - in the same way that an iPod is pretty much useless without iTunes and that the iPhone without the app store is a phone with some pretty standard functionality.

I TAKE YOUR BETS!

-pj
ps Or I might be wrong and apple will announce a toaster or a steve jobs grill or something, in which case IGNORE EVERYTHING!

[bluemeanie]

How I'd love this to work, and granted this is geared more towards how US comics are done rather than 2000AD

You buy issue 455 (random number) of Spider-Man. Its part one of 5 or 6 as all these books work in 5 or 6 issue arcs now. You like it, you buy 456 etc. When you buy the last part of the story, the last page has a button to order the trade.
The trade costs £10, they deduct £2 (or whatever) for every digital issue you have on your player.
You get to read your comics they day they come out and also get the all important hard copy to put on the shelf and re-read properly

[MIKE COLLINS]

How I'd love this to work, and granted this is geared more towards how US comics are done rather than 2000AD

You buy issue 455 (random number) of Spider-Man. Its part one of 5 or 6 as all these books work in 5 or 6 issue arcs now. You like it, you buy 456 etc. When you buy the last part of the story, the last page has a button to order the trade.
The trade costs £10, they deduct £2 (or whatever) for every digital issue you have on your player.
You get to read your comics they day they come out and also get the all important hard copy to put on the shelf and re-read properly

Yep. That's more like it. 'Actual' comics will end up being like the DVD of a movie you enjoyed. One of the ideas that Longbox and others have been discussing is print on demand. No one cares if the copy of the Daily Mirror they buy in Malta didn't get printed in the UK but done locally as the digital files are ftp'ed over the internet. they just want the content. Most comics readers (and hopefully a new audience of em) wouldn't care that The Adulterating Spider-Man issue they just picked up at FP was actually printed at FP... the hardcore collector could still buy (at a premium) the 'proper' version of the comic, shipped over from Sparta, Illinois or where ever.

[Peter Wolf]

If I could offer an analogy, the world of academic journals has been totally transformed by digital availability.  As a post-grad and (briefly) lecturer I traipsed around all the libraries I could get access to, tracking down specific issues of the Cambridge Archaeological Review or Hermathena or whatever, or waited endlessly on inter-library loans so I could spend my evenings photocopying relevant articles.  Now I don't need to go near a library for most of my needs, once I can my hands on a JSTOR subscription (over 1000 journals - not 1000 issues, but whole runs).   However, while I use a rake of online resources, I (personally) still prefer to read hardcopy and annotate photocopy, and I prefer to do both in a nice peaceful built-for-purpose library, whch often has the advantage of books that aren't available, and confronts me with books I'd never have thought of looking for.  I note that most of the young folk don't seem to have this ingrained taste.  And it'll be the same with comics and tablets/psychic paper.

Thats much the same kind of thinking i have about music downloads.I dont bother with downloads because i prefer a physical format instead of an MP3 because i have an ingrained need for a physical format and i dont want to have to pay twice for music i already own in another format because i wont consider illegal downloads.I think its an age thing partly as its what you know but for the majority of kids they just want the music so they download.It seems to be a generational thing and i really dont buy into this philosophy that the latest format kills off the previous format and makes it redundant because it aint necessarily so because in the case of CDS there is still a demand for them.

There is a LOT of academic material that is not available online because the authors and publishers want you to buy their books and access the material that way and i cant see that changing anytime soon.A lot of these kind of books are expensive because they dont have huge print runs.

Looking at this another way you are not likely to buy an Apple Tablet unless you are going to use it for its main purpose which is to draw on it and create artwork so in that sense its never going to be as ubiquitous as an Iphone or an Ipod so i think this product has its market but its market is never going to be as big as the market has been for Ipods but i can see that it has advantages if you are on the move and if you are happy carrying a laptop around you will be happy carrying this thing around as well.

[Jim_Campbell]

And, I'd also disagree about this particular device, for the simple reason that it's NOT just the device that's going to be the cause of change, rather the infrastructure that comes with it

I await tomorrow's event with interest. As I think I've mentioned before, multiple sources say that this project has pretty much been Jobs' exclusive focus since he went back to work last July. If it was just a giant iPod Touch, I can't see how scaling up the UI would require that much work.

In all honesty, I'm ready to be surprised. People seem to forget that no-one correctly predicted the iPhone. The closest mock-ups were actually touted as being for a touch-screen video iPod, and no-one dreamed at that stage that Apple were going to stick a phone in it! Keep in mind that Apple actually dummied up working prototypes of different versions of the iPhone just to throw people off ...

People have been speculating for a couple of years that Apple will release some kind of HDTV, perhaps even with an AppleTV built into it. I think that new tablet is going to be Apple's assault on the living room -- they realize that the family sitting round the TV is a relatively rare occurrence these days. I think the tablet will be your own private TV, rolling all your existing media management up along with it and adding the functionality of at least a netbook. Add to that the unexpected success of the iPod Touch as a gaming platform, and I imagine any number of companies may be feeling a bit nervous ...!

Cheers

Jim

[pauljholden]

Looking at this another way you are not likely to buy an Apple Tablet unless you are going to use it for its main purpose which is to draw on it and create artwork so in that sense its never going to be as ubiquitous as an Iphone or an Ipod so i think this product has its market but its market is never going to be as big as the market has been for Ipods but i can see that it has advantages if you are on the move and if you are happy carrying a laptop around you will be happy carrying this thing around as well.

I've not seen anything to suggest the main purpose of the Tablet is create artwork - if you can do it, like the iPhone, it'll be a secondary function that may or may not be preloaded.

I see the tablet as being a device for consuming media, as the iPod is or the iPhone. In the tablet's case that media will be digital print as well as audio/video. And, while you may feel there's not a market for it - I'd guess that apple, based on the analytics they have on the iPhone and iPod touch for consuming reading material probably feel different.

I also see it as a secondary computing device (or, as the iPhone has, arguable become, a cheap always connected internet option for those without a computer).

-pj


-pj

[Peter Wolf]

Looking at this another way you are not likely to buy an Apple Tablet unless you are going to use it for its main purpose which is to draw on it and create artwork so in that sense its never going to be as ubiquitous as an Iphone or an Ipod so i think this product has its market but its market is never going to be as big as the market has been for Ipods but i can see that it has advantages if you are on the move and if you are happy carrying a laptop around you will be happy carrying this thing around as well.

I've not seen anything to suggest the main purpose of the Tablet is create artwork - if you can do it, like the iPhone, it'll be a secondary function that may or may not be preloaded.

I see the tablet as being a device for consuming media, as the iPod is or the iPhone. In the tablet's case that media will be digital print as well as audio/video. And, while you may feel there's not a market for it - I'd guess that apple, based on the analytics they have on the iPhone and iPod touch for consuming reading material probably feel different.

I also see it as a secondary computing device (or, as the iPhone has, arguable become, a cheap always connected internet option for those without a computer).

-pj


-pj

I was just thinking that i was probably wrong thinking that it is for drawing on.I have to admit that i dont really know what i am talking about at all and i should really stay out of this conversation.

 

[Buddy]

If a digital version was available for 59p (or whatever) I'd certainly start buying and reading the comic again.

If I still collected the printed version I don't think I'd give up on that in favour of the digital version.

Although I don't really think I'd be buying this apple tablet thing just to read comics on.

What comics are available to download on the iphone?

I might give that a go, see how that looks.

[pauljholden]

On the iPhone - loads: search for iVerse, Comics (by Comixology). There are also apps for reading cbr files.

The iPhone isn't the ideal device for reading comics though it's proving amazingly popular.

(You know, now that I think of it, I'm amazed Diamond haven't read the writing on the wall on this one - where's the diamond comic reader?)

-pj

[TordelBack]

I was just thinking that i was probably wrong thinking that it is for drawing on.I have to admit that i dont really know what i am talking about at all and i should really stay out of this conversation.

Seeing as how no-one has seen this putative product or read its notional specs, and Apple haven't even admitted they're bringing it out, never mind launching it tomorrow, I think you fit in just fine!  I admit zero interest until reading this thread, now i'm positively excited.  Hope they're paying you well PJ!