Microsoft’s “Surface” Preview Models Look Very Promising

I must say that Microsoft’s new “Surface” looks very promising. I have always wanted a combination between an iPad and a MacBook Air.

Hardware-wise Surface looks simple and well thought out. The idea of a keyboard integrated into the protective cover is just great. By having the keyboard separate it is also very easy to change the language of the keyboard. The computer itself (the Surface) is language-independant.

To provide stylus support (muting touch input when a stylus is near, providing a place to clip-in the stylus when not in use) is a good idea, too.

The ports are minimalistic but sufficient for most tasks: external display, USB for peripherals, SD card slot for photos. That’s much better than on an iPad.

One thing that could be a problem, though, is weight:

The small Surface (ARM processor, Windows RT) weighs 678 g. That's about as much as the iPad 1 without 3G connectivity (680g) and definitely more than the iPad 3 (652g). The “big” Surface (Intel processor, Windows 8 Pro) weighs 903g. That is lighter than a MacBook Air 11” (1080g), ok. But for a tablet to hold in your hands that might be a little heavy.

And – most importantly — we don’t know yet about…

• how fast the Surface will be, nor
• how long its battery will last, nor
• how warm the devices will be.

However, it is a great approach. I can’t wait to see one in the flesh.

I am also very curious about Apple’s thoughts about that. I am sure they have been testing combined devices but have decided against them for now. Maybe this will change if the Surface is successful. And IMHO that is not totally unlikely. Unlike the “Zune” or Windows phones, Microsoft’s responses to the iPod and iPhone, the Surface has a unique capability: it is both, Tablet and PC. Just like Windows 8 aims to be an operating system for Tablets and PC’s.

Analysts

John Gruber (Daring Fireball) picks apart a market “analysis” of the “tablet market” by NPD-group (a market research corporation):

“Fun with Numbers”

Honestly, what is wrong with these guys?

B.t.w. NPD-group is a name that’s really bad for the German market.

Videos on New Features in Adobe CS5

This is something for designers! Terry White presents new CS5 features on Adobe TV. Some of the new features are really cool and Terry is an awesome presenter. I watched:

• Illustrator (Best feature: new line-width/stroke options.)
• Photoshop (Best feature: new selection/edge tools)
• InDesign (Best feature: new Illustrator-like layer/elements palette.)

By the way:
A good part of the new features concern Flash and interactive electronic content. Though I don’t like Flash and can understand some of Apple’s motives to not let Flash run on iPads/iPhones, it is very interesting to see Adobe’s very design centric approach to user interfaces created in CS5/Flash. I can imagine Adobe’s tools to be attractive to print publishers who want to put their content on mobile devices. Apple and Adobe might eventually become direct competitors as software platform providers for an emerging market for electronic publishing on iPads and other slate devices.

Addendum:
Obviously Adobe is already working on a native publishing solution for the iPad: »Introducing WIRED Magazine on iPad«. IMHO that looks much more promising than any Flash-based approach.

Apple Still Can Blow It

As mentioned in recent posts: With the iPhone OS, the App Store and the iPad Apple has a huge potential to change how people will use computers and read books and magazines.

But …

Apple still can blow it

… if they do not change their admission policy to the App Store and/or allow users to install other software than apps delivered via the App Store.

On the publishing side the main problem is political censorship by Apple. That of course should be totally unacceptable for any newspaper or magazine publisher.

On the software development side the main problem seems to be the vagueness and/or obscureness of Apple’s criteria for the rejection of software from the App Store.

Update:
If Apple just continues to behave like this, they can have the best system in the world technologically (IMHO they have), but will still loose against their competitors.

The iPad Will Revolutionize Publishing (And That’s Not All)

Despite the iPad’s negative reception in the tech blogoshere (for example the Engadget team’s reaction, or compare this »Fake Steve« video or David Appleyard’s somewhat feeble defence of the iPad) …

I am convinced that the iPad will not only revolutionize modern computing but also will revolutionize publishing.

Today there are printed journals, HTML-web-pages and—already—iPhone (and iPod) apps for many journals, which have their own native interface. Since iPhone screens are very small those native clients are an addition to regular printed journals or web pages but certainly no replacement.

Now imagine those native journal clients optimized for the iPad!

That is a whole new world for publishing. Journals will have full multimedia capabilities, no restrictions due to HTML, CSS or Javascript limitations (although those clients will almost certainly use these technologies), and most importantly …

they will be able to use micropayment via the AppStore and In App Purchase.

Thus Publishers will eventually be able to earn money with their electronic publishing just like the can charge for their printed journals. Even more, they can easily introduce new payment options like time-based subscription, pay-per-article, pay-per-quota, you name it! They can even create opt-in or opt-out models for advertisement. People who despise most ads (like me) can pay for ad-free publications. Or people who don’t care or even like ads might be able to pay a budget price for publications with ads.

Apart from that I still think that the iPad shows us today how computing for the masses will work tomorrow. Apple IMHO has just released the most important electronic device of the new century. Just watch the revolution take place!

P.s.:
I surely didn’t come up with this; check Om Malik’s article from back in February 2009: »Can Apple Please Kick-start Micropayments?«

Or read the following article by the German news magazine »Die Zeit«, with a more skeptical undertone but recognizing the iPad’s potential: »Symbol der neuen Ordnung«. Google translation: »Symbol of the new order«. Or view this pro/con discussion: »Is the IPad (sic) Publishing’s Saviour?« or watch this video on Forbes: »Apple iPad: Publishing Saviour?«.

P.p.s.:
I must say that I wrote some of the above in some sort of naïve ardour. Much depends on how strong the momentum (i.e. market share) of the iPad will be. Paying options depend on Apple’s terms for the App Store. But I still think that to a large extent the future of reading is electronic, now that I have seen a device that, both, aesthetically and in terms of usability, can compete with books and journals.

Update:
The CEO of Axel Springer, a German newspaper publishing corporation, says the iPad is starting a new era, says Steve Jobs is saving the publishing industry:

• Article on Heise Online (German).
• A video of the interview (English). Note: You should ignore the second half of the interview in which the CEO expresses his right wing conservative political views, although it is interesting, almost funny—and a little frightning—how fond this self-proclaimed defender of democracy and freedom is of China’s non-democratic version of capitalism (“It’s a very interesting version! You don’t have to discuss. You just do. You’re very efficient!”).

Update p.s.:
Of course the content industry can always screw up, also on the iPod. It seems the first Axel Springer newspaper app is terrible: Article on Netzwertig.com (German).

The iPad—A new type of computer

I agree with this blog post by Panic Inc.’s Steven Frank. Apple’s iPad is not only a new handheld device but a starting point for the development of a new type of computer, equipped with a simpler, easier to use interface than today’s computers, an iPhone-like application installation process and hopefully a new simple (abstracted away) file management system.

Via John Gruber’s »Daring Fireball«.

Microsoft promises. Apple delivers. (Updated)

As always …

Microsoft promises: “Mouse 2.0: Multi-touch Meets the Mouse”.

Apple delivers: “Magic Mouse”.

And again:

Microsoft promises: “Courier: First Details of Microsoft’s Secret Tablet”. Update: An empty promise, as we know now:»Microsoft confirms, kills Courier in one fell swoop«.

Apple delivers: “iPad”.