“The secretive Apple has made fools out of predictors in the past, but Kai-Fu Lee, the former head of Google in China, posted an item on his personal blog suggesting the Apple tablet would feature a 10.1-inch multitouch screen with three-dimensional graphics. And it’s worth pointing out that many publishers are building content in the belief that when it comes to the tablet, it’s not if, it’s when.”
“So, is the Apple tablet a figment of so much Web-borne pixie dust or is it the second coming of the iPhone, a so-called Jesus tablet that can do anything, including saving some embattled print providers from doom?” Carr reports. “I’m an optimist, so I will pick door No. 2.”
“There hasn’t been this much hype about a tablet since Moses came down from the mountain, but in order for a product to have significant value, it has to solve a problem or be very useful, or both,” Carr reports. “The tablet, properly executed, will be an iPhone on steroids, and anybody who has spent any time with that device knows that much of its magic lies in replicating that intimate offline navigation. It is a very human, almost innate, urge — readers want to touch what they are seeking to learn.”
Carr writes, “Why would people suddenly be compelled to pay for something that they’ve gotten for free? That’s where Apple comes in. A simple, reliable interface for gaining access to paid content can do amazing things: Five years ago, almost no one paid for music online and now, nine billion or so songs sold later, we know that people are willing to pay if the price is right and the convenience is there.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]