Apple pitches tablet to Australian publishers
By Ronald O Carlson
The Mac tablet breadcrumb trail now leads down under with media companies in Oz, off the record of course, reporting that the mothership’s been round to pitch their phantom device. This latest report adds weight to rumors that the Cupertino, California-based Mac, iPod and iPhone maker is preparing to remake the publishing business, bringing it into the 21st Century.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting unattributed comments from Australian media companies that not only is the Mac tablet (a.k.a. iPod touch on steroids) real, but Steve Jobs’ minions have been busy down under shopping it around to content owners, both print and media companies.
“Apple has sent specifications of the device to Australian media companies in an effort to sound out whether they would be interested in delivering their content to the tablet,” says the Herald. “None would speak about the device on the record.”
And, that’s about par for the course, though New York Times executive editor Bill Keller let about as much slip in a recent presentation to that publisher’s in-house digital media team.
“I’m hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate…” said Keller in a not meant for public consumption address to staffers.
Shooting for the stars
What more do we know? The most substantive rumors, i.e. the most often repeated, to date point to a device with a display in the 10 inch range that’s designed for the consumption print and multimedia content. Moreover, it’s believed that Apple will release both Wi-Fi + 3G and Wi-Fi only versions.
Can Apple remake traditional print publishing the way it has music and, to a large degree, video content distribution? It’s a tall order, but there’s no other industry that’s more in need of makeover…
What’s your take?
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