quiz
you should know that apple are making a BIG announcement today – should because the chances it will be a game changer in the way that the iPod/iPhone was – and the impact it has on your lives and future career cannot be overstated
if you have been following the news and the slow decline of print media you will know that those traditional paper based media are struggling to come to terms with digital technologies
iTunes shook up the music industry and the music industry struggled (and is still kicking as it twitches in the coffin) to come to terms with downloads, paid for or otherwise
the buzz is that something similar is about to be announced that might have an impact on traditional print media – think newspapers, magazines textboks etc, perhaps streaming video
if this happens it will affect you as designers, content makers
apple never does things that are technically that new – before the ipod there were mp3 players, before the iPhone there were PDAs and phones that did more than make calls (hello windows mobile – ha ha ha) but apple know how to do it right and with an undeniable style and understanding so that the product is light years ahead of the competition
if the announcement today reveals a product (hardware and software) as rumoured it will be another landmark product that will change everything again
apple has driven the change in the music industry, apple has driven the change in the phone industry and now perhaps they will be doing similar for delivery of print (and possibly video)
all this is pure rumour of course – beyond announcing a press event apple have not said a single word about what today is about – no hints, no pre announcement photos, nothing – they however very clever at manipulating others in a complete control freak way
every bit that has been written is just a stab in the dark with no substance to back it up and today may just be to announce that the iPhone will be available in red, in a 128Gb version with a 5MP camera including flash in june (i’d be happy with that – I’m due an upgrade at the end of this month and for most companies this WOULD be a big announcement – hello nokia – but such is the expectation surrounding apple announcements) however I suspect not
so given the hype and that we have 1 apple employee (soon to be 2) on the course – with all that inside knowledge – attached is a little quiz of predictions to test your awareness of the issues and whether you read around the issues you might discuss at an interview
fill it out and email back to me before 5pm today
box of chocolates to the winner (sorry it is pdf only – do the best you can – dratted print media)
I’m not convinced about the tablet being that much of a big thing right now, it’ll be too expensive, too big, too battery intensive, etc to be hugely adopted.
In a few years years, once they’ve released tablet 2.0 or whatever, things will be different, but I don’t expect it to revolutionise anything in the immediate future.
Whether or not people choose to use the tablet rather than a netbook is another matter though.
I still want an e-book reader
we’ll see – the ipod was launched to a fanfare of disappointment, iTunes was seen as a waste of time and too restrictive, the iPhone was going to be a disaster (remember steve ballmer – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5oGaZIKYvo
and the then Palm ceo john colligan on the iphone in 2007 “no company can easily win customers in the finicky smart-phone sector – we’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone, PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.”
Palm just about collapsed last year and have tried to make a comeback with the iPhone sorry I mean the Pre
Nokia? check how their sales are going
people said the iPhone was too big too
it’s not a netbook vs tablet conversation really; they won’t compete at all, netbooks are toy computers that people try to squeeze desktop applications onto – I doubt the tablet will be this
I bet the tablet or whatever will be more expensive than a netbook, battery will not last as long as you want, it won’t run cinema 4d and will be laughed off as an oversized iPhone but this time next year we’ll talk again and see – I suggest it will have changed everything and created a new market for itself just like it’s predecessors and the implications for you as potential designers programmers and animators are vast if this takes off
jacques – january 27th 2011 10am room 106 – write it in your diary
Microsoft is once again ahead of the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZrr7AZ9nCY
http://i.gizmodo.com/5451175/the-complete-iphone-v4-rumor-roundup
I’m not a fan boy but I would 9/10 times pick an apple product over a competitor. I like the design ethic and anti-microsoft basis of all apple’s goods. And I am sure that with such a big fan base they won’t have trouble shifting them.
But I have to say that I won’t be getting one of these, even after a year and they streamline and improve things. I like books and I like my book case and I like to read my readers wife magazine page after sticky page, just think that it would be sad if books were replaced with something that does not really do much more.
How does it go, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
Beautiful ui, whatever
books are lovely, paper is nice, whatever
no flash, whatever
but you have hit the nail on the head jamie but just the wrong way round: it IS broke so itneeds fixing
my immediate family are all journalists, authors and illustrators; trust me, traditional print is on it’s knees- noone is buying and is unsustainable
we don’t need books magazines and all this paper, what we need is great writers and content and just possibly found a way that mAkes delivering that content that is more attractive than piracy and allow those that create that content to make a living
there is NOTHING like that combination of hardware and software or anyone else who could do it to be honest
it looks like an awesome product for version 1 to me fan boy or not
you should all embrace the future and download the sdk now as I think you will need it in 3 years time whether you buy one now or then
style has nothing to do with it (but yes it is a beautiful thing) it’s just that they are cleverer and care more than the rest
[from my iPhone]
That’s one thing that Apple does well and for some reason competitors have failed to grasp. Apple’s products have gorgeous aesthetics and, more important, a great UI.
The only phone that can stand up to the iphone at the moment is the new Google Nexus One, and even then, Apple’s App store beats the Android store by far.
It’ll be interesting to see how the tablet effects the print industry, because I can see newspapers and comic books becoming a daily or weekly podcasted pdf of sorts, but it won’t replace leatherbound, traycased books.