Smalltalk with James Robertson

Apple brought 5 major publishers to the iPad party, and apparently swooned them with the promise that they could set book prices themselves - something Amazon has been pushing back on. However, I wonder who the rubes really are:

Something's got to give — and before the iPad hits stores in March. Otherwise, given that iPhone's Kindle application will be on the iPad, consumers will have the choice of paying two different prices for the same book on the device. That isn't likely to suit Apple or the publishers.

I can definitely see Apple pulling a shoulder shrug at launch time (or shortly thereafter) and dropping prices down to the level Amazon is setting (or even below as a competitive move) - with the explanation that they really have no choice, given Amazon's market power in the space.

Either way, I expect the price for e-books to drop. The marginal cost of delivery is around zero, and that means that markup will be driven down - just as it has been in the music world via the competition between Amazon and Apple...

Technorati Tags: apple, iPad, Kindle, amazon

In the comments for my earlier post, a bunch of people made the point that Flash "should die" (in my experience, lots of tech folks feel that way). However, you really have to ponder the end user point of viewin banning Flash from a device like the iPad:

Last, I am not buying any device that is intended to become my primary media consumption tool when it won't display most video that exists online, or that someone might want or need to show me. That would be nuts. I get that Apple wants to force everyone to begin offering an Apple video alternative online, along with or instead of Flash-based video, but I am not going to spend $600 or more to be their consumer battering ram on this issue. If I spend that much money on a piece of technology which is primarily designed as a way for me to look at things online, I darn well better be able to see ALL the video that's out there, and see it easily and without hassle.

This is why I think that Apple is going to have to bend on this. Yes, HTML5 is coming, and yes, it'll change things. But- the end user adoption rate of HTML5 capable browsers will be slow, and it will continue to be a safe bet to assume that Flash will work for most people.

Which means that for most end users, the iPad is going to be a sub-optimal video viewing device. Say you take a trip, and want to keep up with some of your TV shows on the road? Too bad for you - Hulu will display a "plugin required" image.

I don't think this will be the slam dunk Apple thinks it'll be without Flash support.

Technorati Tags: video, flash, apple, iPad

This is cool news:

Apple updated the iPhone software development kit on Wednesday to allow internet telephony apps to work on the 3G network. The little-noticed move effectively unlocks the ability for the iPhone — and the upcoming iPad — to be used as web phones.

That will help tremendously here in the US - of course, while traveling, you would still need a (pretty darn expensive) data plan to use Skype over 3G. It's progress though.

Technorati Tags: voip, iPhone

Engadget has the updates flying, but the big news is simple: the Apple iPad is here. Looks very nice - no word yet on e-reader functionality, but information coming out is via a shaky phone based audio feed :)

Update: Try Gizmodo. This thing is being watched by so many people that Engadget fell over.

Technorati Tags: apple, iPad, tablet

Spotted in Engadget:

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Apple is supposedly set to introduce a tablet device (AKA the Apple Tablet, iSlate, etc.) at its latest event that will change the lives of every man, woman, and child on the planet. Sure, it could just be a fresh version of iLife and an 8GB iPhone 3GS, but we kinda doubt that. If you know what's best for you, you'll tune in for our minute-by-minute, live coverage of the event. There won't be a better seat in the house... well, except for wherever Steve Jobs is sitting.

I've usually ignored these events, but even I'll be bringing up the Engadget stream for this one. We'll see what happens; I'll be curious to know whether anything interesting beyond the tablet is brought out. I expect some kind of new streaming support for iTunes, which would really start making me ponder my cable bill...

Technorati Tags: apple, tablet

TechCrunch believes that Apple may be pairing with B&N for books on the much anticipated Tablet - I know that any such announcement would make my wife happy:

We believe there is a good chance there will be a Barnes & Noble bookstore built into the Apple Tablet, either as one of the showcase apps which launches with the device, powering a new book section in iTunes, or integrated directly into the Tablet's e-reader. The two companies are thought to be working closely together, increasing the likelihood that Barnes & Noble will be part of the announcement on Wednesday.

My wife really wants a backlit, decent sized reader device - the problem of "where to put all the books" being one we would rather not have. Of course, that might lead to us wanting 2 of the things, which is just the sort of outcome Apple has in mind, I'm sure.

Technorati Tags: apple, e-books, iTunes

When the White House pushes out an iPhone app to "keep you in touch with the Administrayion", you know the device has gone completely mainstream. I think that handhelds are to the field what PCs were back in the early 80s - the next thing. Mainframes never died, but they are no longer front and center, either. Over the next few years, mobile devices will go the same way. I suspect that sometime very soon, most smart phones will start supporting Bluetooth keyboards, and will also be hookable to a display, or able to project a display themselves (like onto a wall).

Instead of carrying a full laptop, we'll have roll up keyboards and project onto the wall....

Technorati Tags: iPhone, mobile computing

Spotted in PC World Latest Technology News

CEO of iPhone repair firm predicts Apple will reveal 7-inch tablet next Wednesday and a 10-inch model by the end of 2010.

Everyone is speculating about the Tablet - if Apple doesn't release one on the 27th, it might be the biggest let-down in the hstory of technology :)

And yes, we'll probably get one, although my wife seems more interested in the idea than the rest of the family :)

Technorati Tags: apple, tablet

Spotted in Engadget

Apple is holding an event on January 27th to show off something the company is calling their "latest creation."

Unless a completely out of left field play on AppleTV is in the works, it looks like all the Tablet Rumors are going to converge into a real device. We'll know soon; I should be back from Toronto just in time to find out :)

Technorati Tags: apple, tablet

Yesterday, my iPhone suddenly started playing the same song over and over, even though it was on shuffle. I could manually proceed it, but by itself, it repeated. I put it in recovery mode after an attempt to reboot it ended in a lockup, but it retained the same setting. I had looked under iPod prefs and seen nothing, so I was starting to get frustrated.

As per usual though, I should have turned to the web first. A quick search showed me this, and - sure enough - the little loop button under the the time showed "repeat 1". I hadn't even noticed that there was a setting there before :)

I have no idea how that setting got turned on, but I suspect I did it accidentally. At least I know it's there now.

Technorati Tags: iPhone