Back in August of 2009 under the title, ‘Presenting Apple’s new iBook!’ I proposed that Apple’s rumoured tablet computer wasn’t just going to be an oversized iPhone but rather a replacement for paper and ink. Six months on and I’m even more convinced.
The invitation tagline, ‘Come See Our Latest Creation’, the rumour that Steve Jobs believes this to be the most important moment of his life, Tim Cook’s recent admission that their new creation will bring ‘joy and surprise’, all point towards a product that has the potential to change industries.
What can we expect on the 27th?
A tablet computer with a multi-core processor, a multi-touch screen, an impressive battery life and a surprisingly affordable price tag. That’s my guess. I believe we can also expect Apple to announce a Print Store that will function in almost exactly the same way as the App Store. I expect Apple to provide the tools necessary to be able to create a publication for submission to the Print Store. There are two reasons why this might lead to a new era in personal publishing. First, the tools that Apple provide for the creation of Print Store Items will allow for an impressive array of fonts, styles and design elements presently not available to those designing with HTML. Secondly, the Print Store will allow publishers (that’s you and I) to charge for our publications. The combination of these two features will transform publishing and change the print industry.
Consider a couple of examples of how this might work in practice. Both these proposals are based on real publications and real customers that I’ve encountered working for a small print company.
Example 1
A retired army General has written his memoirs, a series of short stories based on his experiences during the last world war. Being a keen illustrator he has hand drawn four or five sketches to go with each story. The General desperately wants to get his memoirs into book format so he can distribute it to his old friends and family. In 2009 he had a couple of options. Create a website, or produce a minimum quantity of fully printed books. In 2010 he may have a third option. Create a Print Item for inclusion in the Print Store, price it at £1.99 but give his friends and family codes so that they can download it for free. He gets instant worldwide distribution, retains the look and much of the feel of a printed book, and the opportunity to make a few pennies should the book prove a success. Everybody wins.
Example 2
A UK manufacturing firm with global customer base want to make manuals and brochures available to new and existing customers. In 2009 they had two options. Add download links to PDF files on their website or get the literature printed and distributed via international post. In 2010 they may have a third option. Convert the PDF files to Print Store Items make them freely available and email their customers the link. The power of the Print Store Item in this scenario is that the company continue to update the Print Store Item as and when new manuals and literature is made available. The customer always has access to the most recent literature, they are even notified when it is updated with new material.
I can think of hundreds of example similar to the above. Even All About iPhone might consider a Print Store Item. An archive of all previous posts made available in one nicely designed magazine format for less than a decent cup of coffee.
Of course, until computing tablets are ubiquitous Apple would need to cater for those without tablets. They could tackle this in a couple of ways.
They might open up these Print Store Items for purchase and viewing on regular desktop computers and their iPhone/iPod platform. Or perhaps even offer a bespoke printing service much like they already provide from iPhoto for photos and photo albums.
It seems almost inevitable that Apple will go down this route, if not at launch then certainly soon after. I can’t think of a single pressing reason why they would not.
Let’s talk about hardware.
It’s easy to forget that Apple is capable some pretty strange designs. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the tablet was not symmetrical. Think about it, by putting most of the weight and bulk of the device over on one side, the tablet would be much easier to hold for extended time periods. Here’s another thought. If there was more bulk on one edge of the tablet would that not allow for some kind of styling for easier single handed grip and perhaps even an elegant kick-stand of sorts?
Apple’s Magic Mouse shows that Apple are not adverse to adding multi-touch to the external casing of a device. I can envision the tablet having a multi-touch area on the case that might be used for very simple thumb gestures like scrolling or page turning. How it will handle text entry is of little concern to me, they must have nailed this otherwise Mr. Jobs wouldn’t be so excited about it.
Is it possible that the screen might dock with the frame via a locking mechanism and Mini DisplayPort. The frame could have a dock on both the long edge and short edge.
As a avid Apple follower of some 18 years, I can honestly say that I’ve never seen such interest in a new product launch. Here’s hoping that Steve doesn’t disappoint!
Follow me on Twitter (@jamesburland) for plenty of Apple related chit-chat over the next 24 hours.