School and Technology new KNO tablet shows the future

I love new innovative designs, and last year I was really excited about a new device from Microsoft named Courier. The wonderful thing about the Courier was that it was like a book and that the interface and design was 'out of the box'. In my opinion the design was excellent for students, it had two screens which gave it a book feel (and when carrying it around in your bag the screens are protected). You had your daily planner with you which you could connect to e-mail clients, there was the option to write and type on it. The possibilities seemed endless. Unfortunately Microsoft did not further developed this concept.

And then there was the iPad, which quite frankly completely changed the way people thought about tablet and notebooks. But still many people were left unsatisfied because of the limitations this device has. (You can read this in my other blog Link)

Lately every electronic manufacturer is producing a competitor for the iPad. However many months later someone has picked up the idea of Microsoft's Ccourier and it's called KNO (pronounced as know). It is a Linux based tablet computer with two 14" screens which can also be used as a netbook. It has Flash support and a Wifi, it's not sure if it offers 3G.
From my point of view it is an excellent design for the target group, which are students. It weighs 5.5 pounds and offers 6 to 8 hours of battery life furthermore it runs on a Tegra 2 chip with 16GB of storage.
It also shows that they have listened to Bill Gates as he said:

"We think that work with the pen that Microsoft pioneered will become a mainstream for students. It can give you a device that you can not only read, but also create documents at the same time."

So the device not only supports touch and hand gestures but also a stylus pen (which is included)

The only minor flaws (at the moment) is that it does not have hinges, instead it has a seatbelt fabric to hold the screens together. And I would like to see they would integrate a wireless charging function. So when you get back from school, you just simply place your KNO on the docking plate to charge it.

Oh and one minor detail, it costs a little under $1000 dollars. Which is strange because the target group are students and everybody knows that their budget is limited.

Below I posted a video which gives a good idea of this concept.



Below the original idea from Microsoft.


Link to original message:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/02/kno-dual-screen-tablet-appears-at-d8-we-go-hands-on/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/04/bill-gates-microsoft-pursuing-a-lot-of-tablet-projects-pen-b/

The Hurt Locker 4D

Ok, Justin Bieber has been around for a while now on the internet and everyone has heard of him and his song Baby, whether you like it or not. Now MTV released a new promo video for the 2010 MTV movie awards. It's the comedian Aziz Ansari together with Justin Bieber and actor Jeremy Renner in a clip called The Hurt Locker 4D. I think this clip has a lot of potential to go viral.
Enjoy.


Memorable quotes:
"That's Justin Bieber bro, people don't talk back to him."
"You know exactly who Justin Bieber is and you just disrespected him. Justin Bieber"

The Success of Funnyordie.com

The site of Will Ferrel and Adam McKay, funnyordie.com which was founded in 2007, is getting more and more content, publicity and visitors.
How did they do it? The answer is quite simple, they provide original and user generated content on regularly. They also have a lot of famous people providing content which ensures that visitors return to keep up-to-date. The key of the comedy clips is that they are short and people can watch them whenever they have a spare minute, for instance while on a coffee break.
They also provide exclusive material with famous contributors like Will Ferrell, James Franco, Aziz Ansari, Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber. By doing so they provide extra media atention which results in new or returning visitors.
By combining the content from funnyordie.com with Youtube they brought it to a broader audience. In June 2008, they announced a partnership with HBO to produce a first series called: Funnyordie presents. Below a short clip which was produced exclusive for Funnyordie.com.

Is justin Bieber a Thief?
Aziz Ansari has worked with Justin Bieber before, sortof...

Browser battle

The big question always has been, which browser do you use?
The answer differs as well as the reasons why a certain browser has a preference over the other. According to Mozilla Firefox the decisive factor is in the add-ons and customization of the browser. According to Google with its Chrome browser the battle is won on speed and they made a explanatory commercial about it. (shown below)


Opera has recently released an answer commercial for the Google Chrome browser. They used a lot of humor in it.(shown below)


Which browser do you use and why, let me know.

STAR WARS I-PAD BRIEFING

I was surfing the web and saw this on Twitter.

It's very funny because it combines the audio from Steve Jobs iPad introduction and the Death Star attack briefing from Star Wars: A New Hope.
Star wars was ahead of its time just like the iPad, at this time no one can compete with the success of the iPad.

Dutch debate via Twitter

Twitter is still a big uprising power on the internet, and many politicians are seeing the power of this tool. On Wednesday 2nd of June at 20:00, many Dutch politicians (Femke Halsema, Boris van der Ham, Alexander Pechtold, Maxime Verhagen, Jan Kees de Jager, Mei Li Vos, André Rouvoet, Mariëtte Hamer and many more) are going to debate via Twitter.
The debate organized by RTL (a Dutch channel) and is led by parliamentary reporter Frits Wester. Politicians and voters will debate on key issues ahead of the elections on June 9th.

Another Dutch channel NOS has opened a special Youtube account were people can upload their questions.

These are excellent examples of the usage of modern communication tools, in order to inform people and letting them actively participate. It will be interesting to see if the target group is actively being reached.

iNotePad

Although the success of the iPad is hard to match manufacturers are developing new devices to compete with this device.
A new competitor for the iPad is called the iNotePad.
It is widely compatible with pen, pencil, even crayon.

Just like the movies!

Top: Arnold Schwarzernegger as the T-800

Bottom: Claudia Mitchell with her prosthetic arm

Have you ever seen Terminator 2? The answer to this question is most likely yes. In this awesome movie, I won't go into detail but there were two different sides to the story. The first side was based around the question: what if we could use technology to help us. The second side was based around the question: was what if the technology turns against us. In this blog I will explore some of the possibilities of helping technology.

Many of the brave soldiers who return from active duty, return with severe injuries such as the loss of a limb. DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is doing active research for these soldiers who lost their arms or legs. I recently saw video footage on YouTube from Claudia Mitchell and I got more interested in this technology, because this is the future of prosthetic limbs. To be able to use a prosthetic limb such as hers, surgery is required. During this surgery they reconnect the nerves which are left over and still intact, with muscles and skin. This method is developed by Dr. Todd Kuiken at Northwestern University and Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Dr. Gregory Dumanianat Northwestern University Division of Plastic Surgery and is called targeted muscle reinnervation. Once the operation is successful, a special prosthetic is being build, which can connect to these newly replaced muscle endings. And after a lot of training, people are able to do everyday chores.

So how can technology help us?
This is possible because new technologies are enabling us humans to create and invent new things. Which lead to producing smaller components so these prosthetics are getting more lifelike both visually and functionally.

Below I posted the video.


A quick overview of the prosthetic arm.


Links:
The movie contains a scene in which the T-800 (Arnold Schwarezenegger) shows his robotic arm. (warning, not for small children!)Watch the clip here.
DARPA's prosthetic challenge nets first prototype
Cutting Edge Prosthetic Arms
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
More about DARPA
Report from Washington Post
Story in telegraph.co.uk
Special from CNN
ABC news report
Claudia Mitchell, Bionic Hero
Targeted reinnervation

UPDATE
Just a YouTube clip

Media players

For some time now, the electronic manufacturers have been releasing different kinds of media players. This blog post explains why they are so popular what people are looking for in media players and the future of these devices.

What is a media player?
A media player is a device which enables you to play digital content from various sources like hard disks, flash drives, a local network (LAN) or the internet on your television screen without the use of a computer. To be able to play your media files, it is important that the device supports the right codecs.

Popular or not?
Media players are very popular, that's why manufacturers are smothering the consumers with various kinds of media players. Which brings a lot of difficult choices and many differences between the devices. Should you buy one with a network connection or maybe one with Wifi, can it handle media all media files like .mkv files for full 1080p movies, is the manufacturer posting new firmwares regularly, does it accept NTFS formatted devices, is the user interface nice, what are the other possibilities with the device etc. Not only the names and functions differ, also the quality of the devices.

Are the manufacturers encouraging to download movies?
The answer is short and simple; YES! Definitely no questions about that.
The real question is not if they are silently promoting this, but what can they do to prevent this. (leave a comment with your thoughts on this). However, many manufacturers are integrating digital services like Netflix and Youtube, to expand the media possibilities of their device.

Which is the best media player?
One of the best selling media players is the Popcorn Hour, because of the many possibilities this device has to offer. The device supports .torrent files, the ability for an internal hard disk and supports almost all possible media formats. However there are other devices which are very good, one could look for the media players from Asus or Western Digital. But still my advice would be: look for a device which meets your wishes and look it up on the internet for user feedback and reviews.

Are established brands controlling the market?
Well, this question has a mixed answer, the famous brands of media players are good for a reason, however it is important that the device meet's your requirements. The brands of famous electronic manufacturers, then no brands do not stand for quality every time.
Recently Sony has entered this segment with their SMP-U10. Was it a smart move, definitely not! Where to begin? The interface is bad, people are not waiting on a simplistic device. It doesn't support NTFS formatted devices and the support for HD content (which is crucial in this day and age) is leaving a unsatisfied feeling.

So let me know which media player you own and how satisfied you are with the device.

YouTube TV alternative?

This month YouTube exists for 5 years, Congratulations! Because the number of YouTube users is still rising, it is interesting to know why. The answer is quite simple, the content of YouTube is changing rapidly. In the beginning people uploaded funny video's and home video's to share with others. After a while people realized that it could also be used for more than that and people started to make video's just for YouTube.
I thought it would be interesting to see which direction modern day television is going as it is being integrated with online content. To produce a TV show the first thing you need is a television station that wants to air the show and a lot of money to produce the show.
However to produce content on the internet you just need a camera or webcam, it's as simple as that. There are different types of content which are produced in a professional way, some are part of a series like Riese and I Heart Vampires, others are more like short comedic sketches like produced by the station and take180.
So are people changing their ideas about television and turning more towards the internet? Yes, many television shows are losing viewers due to the fact that there is little innovation and little user input. On the other hand, internet has a big user input. People adapt to satisfy the users needs and users can leave a comment on which the channel can choose to reply or ignore.
The integration of internet in the TV is becoming a reality Philips introduced it to the big market with their Philips NetTV and recently Sony made a deal with Google to integrate Google's services in the new televisions. This means that the internet is being integrated into your living room. Which leads to a new type of medium were television and internet are combined.
An example of a YouTube clip which could never be seen on television.

3D is the future, you cannot stop it!

This new blog item is about 3D, and not the old 3D technique with the red-cyan glasses, but the modern type with the new shutter glasses.

So first, what's 3D?
3D enhances the illusion of depth perception and is recently used on big movie projects like Avatar 3D, Clash of the titans and Alice in wonderland. To see the 3D effect in modern movies, you need shutter glasses, which are glasses used in conjunction with a display screen to create the illusion of a three dimensional image, the glasses contain a liquid crystal and a polarizing filter.(wiki).
The big advantage of these glasses is that the other colors in the movie can still be seen. After the image is received, the brain has to do the rest by transcoding the images to images with optical depth.

Why 3D?
There are several reasons why studio's make 3D movies, the first reason is because they want to attract people back to the theaters again (because of the internet these numbers are slinking). Secondly, to prevent people making their own camera versions from the movie at the theater, so they can illegally distribute them via the internet.

There are three way's to make a 3D effects containing movie, the first way is to shoot the movie with a 'normal' camera and edit the 3D effects in later on in the production process (like Walt Disney did, in Clash of the titans). The second way is to shoot the entire movie with special 3D camera's which contains two lenses (like James Cameron did, with Avatar) and the third way, which is only available for computer animated movies, is to re-render the entire movie (like Pixar did with Toy Story 1 & 2).

Only movies?
Of course 3D is nice in movies, but the manufacturers and television broadcasters are expanding their range of products and some are already offering television programs in 3D. Sony has planned a special offer later this year, when they offer a special blue-ray pack. The pack contains 3D glasses, a 3D blue-ray player and a 3D blue-ray, containing a 3D football match (The Netherlands VS. Japan) from world cup 2010.
There is a big opportunity for the developing world, because games already use 3D models to be rendered, the conversion and use is quick and easy, all you need a computer screen.



What do you need to watch 3D?
Because 3D is a special technique, to optimally view it you need special equipment which can project two different images at the same time on a different frequency, so the brain interpret the given data. For a movie theater they need special beamers and for televisions you need special 3D televisions which will be released in the near future.

The downside.
Although 3D is an amazing technique and a nice thing to give an extra dimension to the movie, the home use of this technique offers different boundaries and obstacles. There is the fact that the special televisions are expensive, the glasses are not universal, the glasses are expensive, some people get headaches from the 3D and no one wants to wear the glasses all day/evening.
Although there are some manufacturers (Philips, NEC) which have build 3D televisions which you can enjoy without the glasses, they are only build for advertising campaigns only.

The power of Twitter.

Before I start explaining the power of twitter, I'm first going to write something about the background of Twitter. Twitter was released into the wild, about four years ago. The big idea was to make a service like SMS (Short Message Service) only then for the internet instead of mobile phones. With Twitter, it is important that when you Tweet (post a message on twitter), you must bring your message in a maximum of 140 characters.
In the beginning people did not see the power and possibilities of Twitter. However when mobile phone manufacturers brought applications for twitter into the palm of the user hands. There are some Twitter users who claim that 80% of Twitter use is generated on mobile devices and because of this, twitter had a growth of 347% in the last year .

Can twitter make people famous?
The answer is yes! If you want to be noticed and be continually in the spotlights so that people won't forget you, you must have a twitter account in this modern age. You might wonder is that it? All I have to have is a Twitter account? The answer is a simple no, it is important you share personal stuff with the people who are following you, otherwise it just isn't appealing for your followers. The second rule for getting more followers is that you need to update regularly, preferably on a daily basis. The third rule is that you interact with your followers and share your ideas and views on subjects, and finally you need to make sense. With this I mean share useful information, because no one is interested in the way your toast and eggs tasted like this morning, if this is the only thing you are Twittering about.

There are many examples of people who benefited from twitter, like Susan Boyle was on Britain's Got Talent in the UK. However when Ashton Kutcher mentioned her on his Twitter account with the simple line: 'this just made my night. http://digg.com/d1oVwl'. Soon the whole world had heard about Susan Boyle whether they followed him on twitter or not.
Another good example is more recent and has to do with the recently out-of-a-job Conan O'Brien. (Which is a pity because I really liked his version and spin on The Tonight Show.) He just mentioned on twitter once that he was going to tour through the states, due to the fact that he was prohibited to make an appearance on radio or television for three months. After this Tweet, his tour was sold out within hours. So he sold out his complete tour, without paying a single dollar on marketing or promotion.
Besides the fact that it's amazing, it also shows that times are changing and that companies should take Twitter serious and change the way they are doing business, in order to maintain on top of things.

Links
http://socialsmarty.com/small-business/social-media-mobilized…-is-80-of-twitter-use-from-mobile-devices/
http://blog.zap2it.com/thedishrag/2009/04/did-you-miss-britains-got-talent-shocker-susan-boyle-dont-.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/5156016/Demi-Moore-in-tears-at-Britains-Got-Talents-Susan-Boyle.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-lamar/ashton-kutcher-susan-boyl_b_187878.html

The new power of the iPad

The release of the Apple iPad is set at April 3rd 2010. In a previous blog I highlighted some points of critique concerning Apple's iPad, like no Adobe flash support. However, Apple has managed to take some points of critique away. How? Just by simply change the websites that contain flash. One of the reasons Apple refuses to support flash content is because it consumes a lot of energy and processing power. So Apple chose not to change anything on their end but on the other side, the websites. The first big website which is changing because of the iPad, is the New York Times. They have reduced the flash content on the frontage and minimized it on the other pages to enhance the viewing via an iPad.

What to do with video's?
Many online digital content is presented in a flash format, HP released a infomercial about this. Just so people would know their HP Slate device with the Windows 7 operating system supports this format.



Apple has included support for YouTube, but for different flash content there was a problem. So what is Apple's response, using HTML5 video content. By enabling the Safari browser for HTML5 content Apple hopes to tackle the flash 'problem' consumers have and still maintain a high battery life.

What makes it special?
The iPad has many advantages with respect to normal e-readers. (That is why e-readers have no real future, because there is no expansion possibility). Apple has already found publishers willing to create content specially designed for the iPad, which seems very nice and because digital is the future, they can't argue with that. By making the books interactive they add an extra dimension to the reading and learning experience and that is where the real possibilities for the publishers lie. In order to justify the higher price of the digital books they should offer something in return.



Not only book publishers are looking into the different new techniques and ways of this new electronic device, also magazine publishers are able to increase sales. Not only by offering something special with the magazine but also because there is a bigger market to sell to (worldwide) once the magazine is offered in the Apple app store and people can easily buy previous issues.
Below is an example (from VIV Magazine) of how publishers are planning to use the iPad for magazines.



Scott Dadich, Creative Director Wired Magazine has an interesting story to tell about his the new direction of Wired Magazine concerning digital content on mobile devices. When summarized, it comes down to fully enrich the digital content to engage with the reader and offer something extra.




The verdict.
At first people underestimated the power of digital content, as could be seen with the mp3 players, and Apple dominates this market. Then people underestimated the iPhone, which is the best sold phone on the market today. So most people also underestimate the iPad which can be a mistake. Also the 30.000 free books from project Gutenberg on the release date is also a nice extra feature for the iStore. However the important thing is that people should be aware of what the the iPad is created for, it's purpose is not to replace a computer or laptop but change a media and/or reading experience. With that in mind, the release of the iPad should be a success.

Links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdExukJVUGI
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/17/wireds-tablet-app-goes-on-show-developed-on-air-heading-to-th/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/04/penguins-ipad-formatted-books-shown-off-making-waves/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p-RZAwQq0E
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/hp-slate-makes-an-appearance-to-show-off-flash-stays-for-a-rock/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/16/cynergys-magazine-stand-concept-serves-up-digital-content-a-la/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/18/viv-magazine-ipad-concept-is-sin-city-man/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/29/ipad-roundup-new-york-times-and-more-get-html5-video-ipad-app/

Games in motion, motion in games.

When the Nintendo introduced the Wii console with motion sensor controllers, on December 2nd 2006, the other console manufacturers (Sony and Microsoft) were not impressed and convinced that the motion controller could never be a success because it was to active for a consumer. Now more than four years later, these manufacturers are preparing to launch their own motion sensor techniques. Sony is bringing Playstation Move (with special controllers) and Microsoft has Project Natal (with body movement and no controllers). By using motion sensor techniques they hope to enrich the gaming experience. One of the reasons many people did not bought a Wii was because of the graphics and games, for they where targeted at a younger audience. However because the Wii console is gradually changing the target group, it has become one of the best selling consoles.
Because the other consoles have a different target group the motion sensor techniques and applications can and will have a big impact on games and sales. Sony Playstation released a nice and funny commercial introducing their motion controller.



Different games, different strategies.
When Nintendo introduced the Wii, the games that used the special controllers were games like Mario cart Wii, fun for smaller children and with friends. However Nintendo has changed the target group which can be seen in the games being sold. When looking at the best selling games on the Wii console, it is obvious that people like the sport factor in the games, therefore Wii Sports, Wii fit and Wii fit plus are highly ranked in the top 10 of best sold games for the Wii.
The visions of Sony and Microsoft are different, at the moment, and are more relying on game aspects as fighting and shooting.

So how does a motion sensor/controller work?
There are two different kinds of motion sensor techniques used in gaming nowadays. There is the 'normal' motion sensor with a sensor in the remote which sends out signals via Bluetooth to the consoles sensor bar, like with the Wii. This sensor bar calculates the distance and movement of the controller.
There is also a motion sensor based on real time motion which uses a camera, like the technique used by Nintendo in the Nintendo DS and now also by Sony and Microsoft. The difference is that the Playstation version requires special controllers to play the games and Xbox360's version doesn't. (As seen in the announcement commercial below).
The problem this last technique can have is it's lag time, this is the time between the action that is done in real life and when it is represented on the screen. (The shorter this time is the better.) When people are experiencing a big lag time this will result in a bad user experience and can effect the gameplay.



Will the technique be a success for other consoles.
Looking at Nintendo's history and the games Sony and Microsoft have to offer, yes. The motion sensor techniques is one that can be successful on any console and the consumer will benefit from the progress in the next generation gaming industry. Combining the real life movement of the person playing the game and exciting mew games, the gaming experience will be enriched and gaming as we now know it will change.

Links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tmr8VDqN8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0puP8nrIU8
http://www.toptechreviews.net/tech-news/xbox-360-is-the-best-selling-gaming-console-for-february-2010/
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii-afstandsbediening
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Wii_video_games
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/17/playstation-move-ad-pulls-no-motion-controlled-punches-against-w/

The power of communities.

Recently DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ) has set up a challenge to mark the 40th anniversary of the Internet. In this challenge people had to find ten red balloons which were spread out all over America. Interesting was that there were two diferent aspects invlolved. The first was the power of digital communities and the second was prize money. The first team which collected the location of all ten balloons would get $40,000 prize money.

A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) won the competition and chose to split the prize money with the people who helped them finding the balloons. Through the power of the internet and online communities all balloons where found in less than 9 hours which was quite fast for searching the entire U.S.

Figure 1. The locations of the balloons.

This contest is a good indicator for the power of online communities. A different side of communities is that rumours can also be send out with this same speed. A good example is the actor Jeff Goldblum which was reported dead on twitter. And this news was directly taken over by mayor news networks like CNN. The reason this can happen is because everyone can publish everything, in other words; complete freedom without boundaries.

But there are also different communities like the Youtube community. In which companies are now seeing the benefits. Of course we all know the story of Esmee Denters who was first seen on youtube and now has a record deal with Tennman Records. But the marketing companies are now deploying commercials made for the internet. A good example is Martini, which has launched a commercial/videoclip with a length of 2:51 minutes. To put this commercial on the television would be too expensive but on the internet it is free (except for the marketing costs).

So community sites have a great deal of power over people in this era. Companies are also using the community resources to increase their income. A good example is the computer manufacturer Dell, whom reported that they made a profit of 6.5 million dollar revenue due to special twitter campaigning and offers.

A newcomer to the community game is Google. Last year when I was at a programmers convention in Amsterdam (Kings of code) Chris Chabot explained the plans Google had, for creating and integrating different communities so the web will be one social experience. With this integration in Youtube and their own platform Android, the possibilities seem endless.

Electronic suppliers are thriving on this development and mostly the mobile market. Nowadays most mobile cellphones are capable to surf the web and connect with social community sites like MSN, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Hves, Google buzz and so on. So the marketing of these devices are aimed at these services and come with catchy slogans as "stay connected" to sell.

Mobile phones are not the only market for social community applications, the electronics manufacturer Samsung has made a television that supports twitter. So now one can watch television and twitter at the same time.

So how do I see in the future the social networks?

They will be integrated even more in everyday life, although people could see this as a positive factor, it can also be negative. People are giving up a part of their privacy to inform or entertain others, but what will happen if the given information is used against them?

Extra's, Links & Sources Jeff Goldblum Will Be Missed

http://mashable.com/2009/12/08/dell-twitter-sales/
http://www.kingsofcode.nl/pages/speakers#chrischabot
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/01/celebrity.death.pranks/index.html
https://networkchallenge.darpa.mil/darpanetworkchallengewinner2009.pdf
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/260725/january-05-2010/riley-crane
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/220019/june-29-2009/jeff-goldblum-will-be-missed

C is for Cookie

The LG Cookie was a big and somewhat unexpected success for LG. Why? Because people who didn't want to spend a lot of money on a phone with a touch screen were able to own one for a small amount. Samsung also tried this, and were reasonable successful with their model Samsung Star and Samsung Star Qwerty.
After this success LG rapidly launched different models in the Cookie series, but they were not so successful.
But things are about to change, because LG is planning to release three different new models within the coming couple of months with all new features including a more than welcome 3.5mm headphone jack and a standardized mini-usb connection. (article here )
One of the models (the LG Cookie Music) even has Wifi. A new feature for the phones is that they are made with a different goal, instead of offering people a cheaper touchscreen phone, they integrated services like Facebook and Twitter to keep people in touch with each other.
Therefore the prediction is that this phone could be even more successful than the original cookie. And by Doing so more and more people will use these alternative media sources for the information they want.

The development of e-readers.

E-readers have made a rapid development in the past couple of months. It all began with Amazon's Kindle. At first people stated that it could never be a success, however with the big publishers on Amazon's side it became a success. Now many electronics manufacturers have picked up this idea and produce their own e-readers with the main focus on reading books. But in this technological era the question should people expect more from their e-readers.To fully understand what is being meant with an e-reader, I have done some research. An e-reader or electronic book reader has been defined by Lemken (1999) as "Mobile, physical device to display electronic (i.e. digital) documents".
In today's market this can be divided into three categories (Wilson, 2001):

• Dedicated e-book readers
• PDA and Pocket PC's
• Hybrid devices.

A new development in the world of e-readers is the announcement of the apple iPad. For those who are not familiar with this new hardware a short explanation.

The apple iPad is the newest addition to Apple’s handheld family. Simply said it is a big iPod touch without the ability to multitask. The iPad is specifically designed as an e-reader with extended user functions (a hybrid device) e.g. listening to music, surf the web and watching digital content. The iPad wants to fill the gap in today’s market, between a smartphone which is limited for full office usage and a netbook, which can only be used in the office/home and always requires extra things for maximum usage like a mouse and adapters. Therefore the tablet pc’s should fill that gap by making it easy to carry all your wok with you, without having to look for a electric socket for example.

So the question is: is the iPad a real competitor or not. For this question I have spend much time looking at many forums on the internet. An important factor was the type of forum. In the Microsoft forums no one was positive about the iPad mostly because it doesn’t run a software system from Microsoft and it couldn't multitask. At the apple forums most people were positive but there were also people who had the same issues that could be seen at the Microsoft forums.

What did people expect?
A big disappointment overall was the fact that the iPad can’t multitask. To put it more simple: you can’t browse the web and make notes at the same time. Which is a big disadvantage for a device which is build with for full media experience. Another important factor was that users expected that the iPad could be integrated in their work environment, for different applications are available to make slideshows edit digital documents. But because there is no camera onboard people can’t make a videoconferencing call which is a big factor why people won’t buy the iPad. A good thing Apple has done is using a touch screen which reduces size and weight on the device. (More on this in the next blog)

The iPad is directed at the consumers from a digital book point of view, apple recently announced the iBooks store. By launching this store people are not dependent on shops like Barnes and Nobles or Amazon and the prices of books will be competitive.

What other alternatives are there?
Many electronic manufacturers are announcing tablet pc’s which closes the gap between a dedicated e-reader a multimedia device and a notebook. HP announced just before apple’s iPad launch, that they are releasing a tablet which runs on Windows 7. A completely different kind of ‘tablet’ is Microsoft’s courier although it is more directed at the business consumer and has an actual book interface by combining two screens in a single device.

What could be a turning point.
From a consumer’s point of view, there are different critical factors for the tablet pc’s.
The device should have a touchscreen
The device should have a camera on-board (5mp or more)

It should be capable of multitasking

Long battery life

Wifi/3g connections

The price should be reasonable

The available applications

It should support many file formats

The future

The future of e-readers and similar products do not only depend on the hardware, it is also dependent on the publishers. For the same mistakes are being made which were made with the .mp3 and their players. Which was noted by Susan Piver: 'publishers are reacting to e-books and file-sharing in much the same ways as the music industry reacted to digital music ten years earlier.' Although Microsoft's vision is still with the usage of a stylus pen. Which, if being looked at the past, has not been a great idea and should only be used in a graphical environment.

Extras, Links and Sources

Apple iPad Launch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eVCFXxgn2M

Microsoft Courier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmIgNfp-MdI

http://www.teleread.org/2010/02/11/susan-piver-publishing-industry-repeating-mistakes-of-music-industry/

Lemken, B. (1999). E-book: the missing link between paper and screen. Pittsburgh, PA, May 1999.

Wilson, R. & Landoni, M. (2003). Evaluating the usability of portable electronic books. Melbourne,Florida, USA.