It’s kinda funny how things work. With Apple largely expected to unveil a tablet-like device on January 27th, a number of other companies are pre-emptively getting on the tablet bandwagon. And in tow come a number of concept videos from various media entities purporting to showcase how their content might be digested on a tablet.
One of the more intriguing uses of a multimedia capable tablet is in the realm of textbooks, and to that end, a consortium of leading textbook publishers banded together to form CourseSmart – and below is their vision of what a tabletized (yes, we just made that up) textbook would look like. Overall, it looks pretty good and is highly reminiscent of the Sports Illustrated concept demo that made the rounds a few weeks ago. The only thing we weren’t too keen on in the video below is that it’s implied that textbooks will “expire”. If that’s the case, they better be a helluva lot cheaper than their hardcopy brethren.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:50 am
What’s really important is the disclaimer on the first splash screen… “It is based on their own renderings, not specific applications being developed with Apple.”
That clearly indicates that they are developing applications with Apple! An early tip-off to the iSlate and the textbook connection.
I agree with the author… having textbooks expire should make them much, much cheaper… but I have another comment on that–they shouldn’t expire at all! We want an educated public with good reference works. They shouldn’t simply disappear after several months… in fact, that’s a bit scary as it means that companies can reach into your device and stop them working!
Or, it means you have to be internet connected to read them, which is a real drag and won’t work in many situations!
January 7th, 2010 at 11:55 am
The video is impressive… also, note that the calendar displayed is iCal, Apple’s Macintosh calendar program!
This device reminds of Sculley’s Knowledge Navigator! Just add Jeeves and you’d be all set.
How cool this will be!