eBook’s future isn’t ebooks: the makings of Apple’s tablet

Posted November 26, 2007 at 08:05 PM by JG Mason

Section: Apple, Mobile Computers

Last weeks interesting launch of Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader dragged ebooks back into consumers minds.  The Kindle apparently sold well, as they seem to be sold out at the moment (whether that means improper forecasting or growing demand is debatable) For some reason, it felt like a set up to me.

One one side you have consumers apparently chomping at the bit to get the device and start downloading books.  On the other, you have industry analysts saying

the Kindle is neat, but not the answer and mostly a ho-hum review.  What the analysts point out is the Kindle is ok, but not a market driver.

We know Apple can make a market driver.  We know Asus is reportedly making a tablet for Apple.  So all that is needed is some blue sky thinking:

What if you created a large screen iPod touch:

changed iTunes slightly to allow ebooks (new revenue source). iTunes already has college lectures available in sound files and videos of classes. threw in some fancy productivity applications marketed it to the high school/college/professionals as an awesome all-in-one that can be your iPod, ebook, school books, productivity device all running on a Mac OS. Oh, and fewer books means it really is a green device…take that Greenpeace. Is it a stretch that Apple could perform such a feat?

That was the question I posed to our Senior Editor, Doug Berger, who responded:

“Yep, I completely agree with this.  I think that they’re likely to introduce a tablet with eBook functionality built it… not an eBook-only device.  That’s too narrow for Apple. “

Doug was joined in his thinking by Appletell’s Michael Mistretta, who reported on a new patent application seemingly destined for a new tablet:

“From a recently filed Apple patent, it looks like Apple is working on it’s second iteration of multi-touch technology, and from what the patent says, it looks sweet. And even better, it looks like Apple is working on integrating multi-touch into not only portable devices like the iPhone and tablets, but also desktop computers.“

So Kindles launch shows us one thing: ebook’s are not going away.  Now all that is needed is a device that wows us.  Will Apple be the one to do it again?  We think so.