Long live the Tablet

Is this the future of magazine publishing? And if so, what does it mean for books?

Meanwhile, PC World, in their article ‘The Apple Tablet is Dead’ speculates :

the Apple tablet is a mirage created by legions of fanboys and tech dreamers. The closer you get to that mirage, the more you realize it’s not going to be there when you arrive. But then, off in the distance, an even brighter and more beautiful tablet is envisioned for a day that will never come. It’s a nice dream, but it’s just not going to happen.

Whatever the truth of the matter, it makes sense – to me at least – not to get too hung up on iphone applications for books, when a bigger, better, friendlier reading (and multimedia) experience could be just around the corner. Price will be the deciding factor – if the Apple Tablet is going to retail at the sub £500 price point, it could be a game changer. After all, this is only about the same that most people pay for their iphones on contract over a year. Sports Illustrated and Conde Nast with their rumoured tablet version of Wired are ahead of the game with this one.