Apple is going to announce an ebook reader next week

[woodworthjohnca]

CNBC is saying that the announcement for the Apple iSlate will be next Wednesday (Jan. 27, 2010).

[calvin-c]

Originally Posted by Sonist

Bleh.... I strongly disagree. Marketing helps with the first sale, but repeat sales are dependent on the quality of the product.

Apple often makes outstanding products and that's a fact. I also feel that the prices, if factoring design and workmenship, are often justified. I just picked up a new 27" i7 iMac, and it's probably the best DT computer I've ever seen.

And the iPhone was a game-changer in many important respects, and most of the industry appears to agree. I switched from HTC (WM6.1 & 6.5) and haven't looked back.

As to iTunes, it is intuitive and it works well. I personally use Windows 7 MCE as a front end, but I can attest, that iTunes is considerably better designed than, say WMP.

I certainly hope the iPAD is as significant as the iPhone. We'll know in a few days.

If Apple agreed with you then wouldn't they have quit the marketing hype once they launched the product? They didn't, did they? Apparently they don't think that the product can sell itself.

As to intuitive, I don't know-I don't have the money to throw around testing everything to see what's the most intuitive, but I just can't see how the iPhone could be any more intuitive than my Palm. Plus I hate onscreen keyboards. (I used to have a Windows Mobile phone. Version 5, IIRC. Usability sucked compared to Palm, particularly the integration-but then I mostly don't use the Windows software either.)

At the moment, I am using WMP. Previously, I used MM and neither one seemed to have much of a learning curve. (After MM died I switched to WMP because I'd basically already built my library-so it might have had more of a learning curve if I was still building it.)

But the bottom line is, I'm not looking for the *best* there is, I'm looking for something that's *good enough*. Sort of reminds me about the long-distance phone wars. I'd get lots of calls assuring me that such & such a plan could save me huge money on my long distance phone bills-until I told them that my current long distance phone bill averaged about $5/month. Not because I was on a wonderful plan, but because I don't make long-distance phone calls. So really, unless they were offering me free long distance, it wasn't worth my time talking to them. What I had was good enough.

And that's what this reminds me of. iPhone & iTunes might actually be better than what I have-but you won't convince me of it because I won't waste my time & money trying it. What I have is good enough. And not because I've spent a lot of time learning it-oh my, no, hardly had to spend any time learning it-just find my app & follow the installation instructions (could be OTA install, or download to PC & install, or copy CAB to phone & install) then point & click. Boom-app's running. Any learning curve after that depends on the app, not on the platform.

Actually, it's been a while but I think that Palm tried to rely on that 'device will sell itself' strategy. And it worked while it was significantly better than the other devices on the market, but once they caught up, Palm died. Marketing is what makes the difference-personally, I'm convinced of it.

[etiessen]

I'm hoping for an "ibook" - something that combines the best of the sony reader/kindle and itouch..

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by woodworthjohnca

CNBC is saying that the announcement for the Apple iSlate will be next Wednesday (Jan. 28, 2010).

That statement is obviously false (Jan 28 is Thursday)

[Sullivan]

Apple always like to step it up. I don't think I could afford to get this straight away, but I definitly am interested to see the design, features and apps all together. Hopefully somebody I know might be indulging in it and I can have an up close and personal look.

[charleski]

publishers have worked out agreement with Apple to switch from a “wholesale” model to an “agency” model for ebook sales

Not exactly a major revelation, is it? Apple does not do discounting, it's a fundamental part of their corporate philosophy. Even their 'Black Friday' sales are miserly, with cuts of well under 10% for a single day.

Apple would only ever get into the ebook business on an agency model. This is hardly 'working out an agreement', it's the only offer on the table.

If you want an idea of what publisher-led pricing looks like in practice, do a google for 'Net Book Agreement'.

Originally Posted by rcuadro

As much as I hate to admit it, an Apple reader/tablet/slate (whatever you want to call it) will be popular no matter how much it cost or how shitty the battery life is. People tend to give Apple a lot of lea way but matching it up with iTunes will make it easy for tech dummies to spend money on books like they do on music.

My ideal apple slate would be one that has an iMac docking station

I suspect the battery life will be horrible if it is a tablet. I've owned two iPod touches, a 1st gen. and a 2nd gen., and both have very short battery life when reading eBooks, even with the screen brightness turned down to a VERY low setting with BT and WiFi both turned off. Cool devices, but rather worthless away from an alternate power source. My BB Curve on the other hand has a battery that lasts for days.

And whatever Apple releases/announces you can count on two things.

1) It will be way overpriced.

2) It will be limited by Steve Jobs so that he can make the most money off of apps and content, and he will control what you are allowed to put on it

Hey Applephiles and iPodiphiles, wake up! Those 1984 anti-IBM, TV commercials that depicted IBM as "big brother" are ironic now since Apple turned into a worse "big brother" than IBM and Microsoft combined! Neither IBM nor Microsoft ever had total monopolies over both the hardware and the operating software, much less the content too. Where is a Teddy Roosevelt with his big stick to smash the rotten Apple into smaller independent companies to bust their monopoly?!?

[netseeker]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Where is a Teddy Roosevelt with his big stick to smash the rotten Apple into smaller independent companies to bust their monopoly?!?

Monopoly? Where?

[stustaff]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Hey Applephiles and iPodiphiles, wake up! Those 1984 anti-IBM, TV commercials that depicted IBM as "big brother" are ironic now since Apple turned into a worse "big brother" than IBM and Microsoft combined! Neither IBM nor Microsoft ever had total monopolies over both the hardware and the operating software, much less the content too. Where is a Teddy Roosevelt with his big stick to smash the rotten Apple into smaller independent companies to bust their monopoly?!?

Just because someone likes apple products doesnt mean they are stupid you know.

i know how apple work, what their products do and how they limit things and what the devices will do for me.

And I still prefer my iPhone to any other phone I have ever had, I went into it knowing its limitations but also knowing that I was willing to give it a try based on previous apple experiences.

And I love it, it gives me everything I need and does everything I want it to.

make calls(im in the UK not on a US network so tis is fine)
listen to my music
stream SiriusXM so i can listen to Stern in the UK(via Wunderadio)
get my email
access the web
etc

yes i can do that on other phones am not saying i cant but it has been the best experience I have had.

That doesnt mean I think everything else is shit, things dont have to be black and white lets try and remember that.

try to be open to the fact that for other people different things are important.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by stustaff

Just because someone likes apple products doesnt mean they are stupid you know.

i know how apple work, what their products do and how they limit things and what the devices will do for me.

And I still prefer my iPhone to any other phone I have ever had, I went into it knowing its limitations but also knowing that I was willing to give it a try based on previous apple experiences.

And I love it, it gives me everything I need and does everything I want it to.

make calls(im in the UK not on a US network so tis is fine)
listen to my music
stream SiriusXM so i can listen to Stern in the UK(via Wunderadio)
get my email
access the web
etc

yes i can do that on other phones am not saying i cant but it has been the best experience I have had.

That doesnt mean I think everything else is shit, things dont have to be black and white lets try and remember that.

try to be open to the fact that for other people different things are important.

The only thing more pathetic than an Apple fan is an Apple hater

[SCION]

Originally Posted by kjk

The only thing more pathetic than an Apple fan is an Apple hater

[kennyc]

Guess I'm near pathetic then.....I have no use for apple products, they are overpriced and overhyped.

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by stustaff

try to be open to the fact that for other people different things are important.

This is the key, right here. Each person reading this thread may be interested in a potential Apple slate, or not. Each one may generally like Apple products, or not. But none of that is call for snap judgments about the individual. We do have a worth apart from our taste in gadgets, y'know.

I happen to have an iPod Touch because a good friend gave me the one his company gave him. They were trying to reward him for a horrific 18 months on a project. He has no use for gadgets.

I know it can play videos, but I have not yet loaded any. Recently I put a couple of pictures on it, but that was several months after it was given to me. Primarily I use it to hold books, podcasts of radio shows I can listen to while driving, some music, and my calendar so I can keep from scheduling dentist appointments during work meetings and the like. I don't need it to play games, or videoconference, send email, or do my laundry. But everyone's needs are different.

Wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same?

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Guess I'm near pathetic then.....I have no use for apple products, they are overpriced and overhyped.

And as a note for the Americans, Apple products have a considerably greater markup in the UK than they do in the USA.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by DawnFalcon

And as a note for the Americans, Apple products have a considerably greater markup in the UK than they do in the USA.

Dag! They're expensive enough in this country!