Having put hardware in focus last week, there are still a fair few platform issues to clear up at the start of this, our 50th edition. First of all, the ultra-slinky Asus Epad Transformer – the first real all-in-one cross between a tablet and a notebook. The screen detaches from the base keyboard unit to provide the 10.1 inch screen tablet form, and all of this could arrive at your finger-tips for just £380? That is very competitive in our view, especially for such a flexible format. This unit will impress.Acer has also been busy on the tablet front with the introduction of the Iconia running Adroid 3.0, Honeycomb, but at £450 a throw, you will already be asking yourself how good a deal is on offer compared to the above Transformer product.
Perhaps something that Apple will be more wary of is news that Sony are set to enter the tablet market in a big way, aiming to be second to Apple in terms of sales volume within the first year of its entry to the market. Ambitious, but then this is Sony – mass market is their thing!Tablet talk, however, might all be in vein according to a market review from the team at CrunchGear, as they ask the question “Why Can’t Anyone Make a Popular Tablet?” [apart from Apple, we assume they mean!]. John Biggs offers some interesting thoughts. One other interesting post offer some suggestions on how to beat Apple. Interesting! The opposing view says that people don't want to buy prototypes. Harsh, but a good arguement.
Interestingly, one writer takes us back to 1994 when a newspaper think-tank is believed to have forecast the development of the tablet computer. This is quite an eerie view into the future: they seem to have thought through many of the features of such a device. The size is certainly tablet like, and the team viewed such a device as something for consuming rather than creating.In the desktop PC arena, Acer has also been busy here with the creation of the Asprire Z5763 all-in-one unit. This one has some interesting innovations on offer, with 3D images and Kinect-like gesture recognition.
Bringing us right up to date in the hardware market, Microsoft’s quarterly profits and revenues were eclipsed for the first time in 20 years by Apple as a slowdown in the PC business and continuing huge losses in its search division held it back. This led to the suggestion that Apple has more money than God!Whilst we are going all Apple-y we ought to mention the recent buy of the iCloud name – it certainly would appear to be a pointer re what’s to come, if anyone still had any doubts!
Moving on from platform, we now examine the latest in publishing, beginning with some more useful input on making your own iPad magazine. In slightly sharper focus, the Guardian asks if trade magazines have come to the end of their useful life: we certainly hope not, but it’s worth a read. On a more general iPad publishing issue: how to create an app in minutes [as usual, the title is a little optimistic!]Apps, however, should most certainly be on the publishers agenda. The team at TechCrunch tell us that 44 billion apps will be downloaded in the next five years. App stores will spread, consumption will rise: get publishing!
Best we link some printing into all of this if we can! How about an excellent infographic for starters. This one charts life from the origins of the printing press through to the iPad.
One reference – but an excellent one – for QR codes before we finish. This post is an excellent use of the QR code, and might just switch a few more folk onto the benefits. Very creative!Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in our next edition, PIND 51. Details of our next edition will be added to this link during the course of the week. For an RSS feed of PIND, copy this link into your feed reeder; and for the GenesisNews Print Daily, take a look at the link and subscribe!
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