dinsdag 30 maart 2010

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/

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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/

Gepost door op Geen opmerkingen:

maandag 1 maart 2010

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




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