McGraw-Hill CEO Confirms Apple Tablet

[charleski]

The iSlate ceased to be news a month ago. As many have predicted, it'll basically be a big iPod Touch.

The interesting parts of tomorrow's announcement will be what Apple have done with the iTunesLP format and what new multitouch UI frills they've implemented.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by charleski

The iSlate ceased to be news a month ago. As many have predicted, it'll basically be a big iPod Touch.

The interesting parts of tomorrow's announcement will be what Apple have done with the iTunesLP format and what new multitouch UI frills they've implemented.

Very true. What is most interesting to me is what deals have been struck with publishers and how restrictive those deals are.

[charleski]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

What is most interesting to me is what deals have been struck with publishers and how restrictive those deals are.

Hmm, good point. Here's my predictions:
1) Apple has learned to be more flexible on pricing - the 99c/track deal generated a lot of bad blood, almost as much as Amazon's $9.99 deal is doing right now. The difference is that Apple, iTunes and the iPod/Phone/Slate franchise is in a much stronger position now than it was in the early 00s and Jobs won't feel the need to enforce uniform pricing to generate demand. Flat pricing for books makes very little sense anyway. So book pricing will be set by the publisher, with Apple taking a flat 30% off the top.
Anyone who sees a worrying similarity to the Net Book Agreement has spotted the demon lurking beneath.
2) If the iSlate takes off and publishers see decent sales through this channel in the next 6-12 months, they'll start to dump the Kindle by delaying Kindle releases relative to iSlate (and even ePub) debuts. The fall-out will be similar to the events described in Revelations 12:7.

Of course, I might be completely wrong, but I reserve the right to smirk if not .

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by charleski

Of course, I might be completely wrong, but I reserve the right to smirk if not .

And what will you do if you are completely wrong?

[MV64]

What is the point of these tablets now? Seems sort of pointless if you ask me, sort of like netbooks. I guess it's neat to have some sort of intermediate size product, but I don't see why that creates such a hype. It just seems to be an advanced tablet PC, nothing earth-shatteringly new, just advanced. Yet the hype...

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by MV64

What is the point of these tablets now? Seems sort of pointless if you ask me, sort of like netbooks. I guess it's neat to have some sort of intermediate size product, but I don't see why that creates such a hype. It just seems to be an advanced tablet PC, nothing earth-shatteringly new, just advanced. Yet the hype...

The hype is that it's an Apple product. Hype is their specialty. I'm not saying it won't be a cool gadget, I'm sure it will be. What has irritated me all along is people saying, "There's going to be a tablet" , like it was ordained from on high, when all that really has been out there is rumor, fantasy, and wishful thinking.

The CEO from McGraw-Hill seems to be a more reliable source than any I've ever heard of; so ok, there's a tablet. (Unless that was a huge practical joke, but CEO's of companies that big don't normally *have* a sense of humor). That doesn't nullify my previous irritation.

Yeah, I want a cool tablet device. I currently have a netbook, and I'm crazy about the little thing. I'm still interested in something with a tablet form factor though. Problem is, I want it to run Windows. And I don't want to have to sell a kidney to get it, either.

[EowynCarter]

Problem is, I want it to run Windows

Me too.
My choise of heart would be linux, but there are the LEGO programs i mean to run, and they don't run on linux.
Plus, given the use i would have of the tablet, i'm looking for someting more on the cheap line.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

...

Yeah, I want a cool tablet device. I currently have a netbook, and I'm crazy about the little thing. I'm still interested in something with a tablet form factor though. Problem is, I want it to run Windows....

Might be missing the point here.

The reason tablets are not that popular, is that everything currently on the market is underpowered, awkward to use and unwieldy. Yeah, most are cheap, but they show it. And Windows 7, while a fine OS (just like OS X), is not ideally suited for a multimedia device (and I include the ereader function in there).

I think Apple has the right idea, if this turns out to be a multimedia device, with UI appropriate for the purpose.

[Moejoe]

Another 'supposed' picture of the tablet shows it in prototype:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/i...-apple-tablet/

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by rcuadro

I guess a tablet will make portable porn better... the iPod screen is so small and the iPhone iPod Touch is not big enough

Yes, I can see a major market for Interactive porn on this device. Rub here, twist there...

[charleski]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

And what will you do if you are completely wrong?

Well obviously I won't have to worry about that now, though there's only partial price flexibility. A top pricepoint of $14.99 is going to give them problems if they want to attract the textbook market, though I suspect this scheme is going to quietly change once the initial launch is over.

[charleski]

"McGraw-Hill, Verizon, more missing from iPad event"

LOL

[kjk]

Originally Posted by charleski

"McGraw-Hill, Verizon, more missing from iPad event"

LOL

http://venturebeat.com/2010/01/27/mcgraw-ipad/

McGraw-Hill is bigger than most of the publishers on this slide. But insiders say as soon as Terry shot his mouth off on CNBC, Jobs had the company cut from the presentation.