The iPad is for TV
In a very interesting article on AppleInsider the Financial Timesreports that Apple will announce a new pricing structure for some but not all of it’s TV Show offerings, brining the cost to 99c per show for a select number of shows, and only in standard definition. This price reduction is set to coincide with the Launch of the iPad.
In another article on the very same website states that TechCrunch is reporting that the popular online TV site HULU would be making it’s content available on the iPad. Hulu currently uses Flash to stream it’s content so they would either have to make a custom App or rewrite their player using HTML5 to stream videos to the iPad and iPhone. If I had to guess they will end up developing both overtime and launching whichever is more compelling at or near the iPad launch date.
It’s looking like the iPad more and more is about TV. Apple couldn’t persuade TV Execs to change pricing with the Apple TV but the iPad seems to have caught their attention.
I would gladly pay $1 per show for a handful of shows I watch as opposed to the $90/m I pay for the basic digital cable package which includes channels I don’t want and forces me to Timeshift (using the cable companies DVR of course). TV ala carte simply makes sense, if Apple pulls this off we’ll soon be counting down to 10 billion TV Shows sold.
TapnScrap – Scrapbooking on your iPhone
Mac News Online is happy to announce that TapnScrap a Scrapbooking App for the iPhone, iPod Touch and soon the iPad has been released into the App Store. If you enjoy making scrapbooks, and you have an iPhone I highly reccomend you download TapnScrap [iTunes Link].
8 Ways the iPad Changes Things
1. Change which devices we use to do what. Checking my email can now be done from my lap, using only my fingers. I think certain everyday functions like email, reading news, watching videos will become – something we can do on the computer but prefer to do on an iPad or Slate.
2. It will evolve quickly to fix problems that had no solution until now. I think the iPad will be a goto platform for the Military, Education, and Medical industries. Why? Because they trust Apple, and with good reason. A lot of people predicted the iPhone would be a failure, it wasn’t.
3. It’s setting the tone for wireless carriers in America. By getting ATT to allow contractless 3G data access it paves the way for Apple to demand the same thing for the next iPhone.
4. 140,000 possibilities already exist. iPad can run every app from the app store natively. Some Apps within the app store are definitely better suited to the large iPad Screen, and some aren’t. But the ability to run every app on day 1, is a very smart decision by Apple, Akin to the universal binary solution – while Apple transitioned from PowerPC to Intel chips. It’s a seamless bridge to the future.
5. The magic is in the SDK. Developers will jump on the new user interface elements for the iPad allowing them to create even cooler apps than are possible for the iPhone. There will be a lot of iPad only Apps! In order to make the iPad a true success Apple will have to get all the iPhone developers on board in a big way. Steve Forstall said as much when he said “There will be a new GoldRush in the app store”.
6. Large multi touch screen means simpler content creation. In a time when cheap ubiquitous cameras has allowed youtube stars to be born. I think the iPad will allow people who want to create new types of media to do so very easily.
7. When the hardware catches up, Apple will be a leader in tablet UI interface design. By hardware catching up I am referring to color e-ink solutions like Pixel Qi becoming better and less expensive.
8. It’s only the first release. Apple has a consistent product release cycle, debuting newer, better, faster products on schedule. I expect that within 3 years, you’ll see an iPad for $349 that makes this version of the iPad look silly.
