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Ebooks and innovation – the race is on!

By ⋅ March 6, 2010 ⋅ Print This Post Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment
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The Apple iPad was a rather disappointing announcement for me. While we have long looked to Apple to give us new computing paradigms and ways of interacting with technology, the iPad felt uninspired, a rehash of what we’d seen. In addition, it felt to me like another lock-in, a way of trying to make the iTunes Store the de-facto standard for internet content, in short, a content monopoly. That’s not good for consumers or the “open internet”.

Now, a rising challenger from an unlikely source: The old guard, Microsoft. It’s been awhile since I’ve been impressed with something MS has done, but their new sneak look at “Courier” has me very excited. A cross between an ebook reader, digital collaborator, and handheld netbook, this is definitely a shift in the way we’ve been experiencing eBooks. By incorporating features that interact with a “journal” GUI and web-connection, Microsoft has created a product that has real potential to actually do things, rather than the frivolity that the iPad brings to mind.

At this point, Google’s Chrome OS has the challenge of bringing a new paradigm to handheld computing. While I love Android, and I’ve long thought that Chrome has the possibility to make individual devices irrelevant (your user experience is the same no matter what device you are on), Microsoft’s vision for the future has changed my mind. By making this new generation of technology in handheld devices, Microsoft has tapped into the personalization of device that appeals to so many. Even the concepts they use, such as “Journal” is geared towards making an emotional and personal connection with a device.

If Courier can pull off what it does in the demo videos with the same ease and grace, I will be in line for one. The race for innovation and inspired thinking in the eBook space is on, and in my opinion, while Apple has a product, Microsoft has inspiration.

Read more about the new device and see videos of it in action at Engadget.

Discussion

3 comments for “Ebooks and innovation – the race is on!”

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  • http://blog.robolague.com/ Rob Olague

    Thanks for commenting, Jesse!

    I’ll address your points:

    I disagree that the iPad is disappointing to the tech geeks only. I think what I was addressing in this article was that it’s not a revolution in design or interface the way the iPhone was. I think that the things that are “missing” are a fundamental change in the way we are interacting with handheld devices. This is a very new area that is seeing a lot of different ideas right now, and by no means do I believe that Apple has done it best, first. Not having a camera and some other limitations (multitasking) does limit the functionality of an iPad to simply a media consumption device. We have plenty of those. I think MS’s idea of a content-generation device is a shift in handheld computing.

    To use your Wii/PS3 analogy, the PS3 is a lot like the iPad, an iterative generation on the PS2. Whereas, the Wii is a lot more like the MS device, a new way of interacting with the content and medium.

    Definitely, MS is making a media play by releasing this information early. And my assessment is based upon the hypothetical that it’s as good as it looks. If it isn’t or has performance issues, I would definitely change my mind.

    As far as a standard for content, it has nothing to do with Flash. The “piggy-backing” you refer to is about vendor lock-in. This is something we’ve seen before from (ironically) Microsoft in making everything as incompatible with other systems as possible. When you wanted to switch to Mac, it was difficult for a long time to do so, in part because of vendor lock-in. While MP3s are DRM-free, that didn’t result from Apple’s push, but rather, competitive marketplaces forcing such a move. Movies are another issue entirely, the MPAA is desperate to find their place in new media.

    I personally avoid buying anything from the Apple store. As an IT guy, I’ve helped more people “free” their content from the iTunes store than anything, and I believe that once you’ve bought content, it should be yours. I think that MS, Google, and Amazon competition in the media-selling space have done more for consumers than Apple would have ever done. There’s certainly nothing in it for them to do so.

    In fact, one of the companies I admire most, Google, is admirable in their stance on this. They have a company policy to make everything export-able and not lock in customers with proprietary content. What this does as a byproduct is drive innovation, forcing the company to make the best products they can, and serve the needs of the consumer, rather than rest on their laurels because they have a lock-in on your content. If you have 10,000 Apple movies, they will never need to worry about you switching to another (better) device, because you wouldn’t want to lose access to your content.

    To be specific, I’m concerned primarily with the potential lock-in of initial iPad partners like the WSJ and Time Media and the issue of eBooks and eMagazines. I’m excited about the possibilities MS is offering with this new handheld paradigm, and although I don’t think they aren’t going to attempt the same kind of lock-in, more competition is better for a healthier consumer space.

    I don’t think the iPhone has evolved significantly over time. I believe it’s still the same basic product it was at launch, with small and iterative generations based more on evolving sales rather than function. I’m looking to see new developments in the idea behind mobile computing. The same way that the iPhone revolutionized mobile phones, I expect something else to revolutionize mobile computing. But as a content-development platform – the iPad just isn’t it.

  • Jesse

    Rob, I am going to have to disagree with you. The iPad is disappointing to the the tech geeks only. The average user will love it. The tech geeks are disappointed because the iPad does not include usb ports, front facing camera, etc. Stuff that the avg user will not care about.

    This is the same thing geeks said about the Wii vs PS3/Xbox. Sure the Wii didn't include everything tech geeks would have liked but the Wii has not only been more successful than the Xbox360 and PS3 but it has been profitable since day 1.

    As for the Courier, I will believe it when I see it. Microsoft is letting this info out to try to steal some attention from the iPad.

    You state that the Apple is trying to make iTunes the defacto standard for content. How is this so? Is it because they don't include flash? Because they don't allow other devices to piggy back off their work? MP3's are DRM free. Movies are not but those are agreements they have with the movie studios. You can always use Safari to view any non-flash content that you want.

    Do I wish Apple had included usb ports, front facing camera, hdmi ports, etc on the device? Sure do. I still think Gen 2 version of the Ipad will be better than the 1st gen. The thing to think about is not waht the Ipad will start off but how it will evolve. Look at how the iphone has changed. The look has not but the OS and internals have evolved over time. I expect the same thing from the iPad.

  • http://twitter.com/robolague Rob Olague

    Thanks for commenting, Jesse!

    I'll address your points:

    I disagree that the iPad is disappointing to the tech geeks only. I think what I was addressing in this article was that it's not a revolution in design or interface the way the iPhone was. I think that the things that are “missing” are a fundamental change in the way we are interacting with handheld devices. This is a very new area that is seeing a lot of different ideas right now, and by no means do I believe that Apple has done it best, first. Not having a camera and some other limitations (multitasking) does limit the functionality of an iPad to simply a media consumption device. We have plenty of those. I think MS's idea of a content-generation device is a shift in handheld computing.

    To use your Wii/PS3 analogy, the PS3 is a lot like the iPad, an iterative generation on the PS2. Whereas, the Wii is a lot more like the MS device, a new way of interacting with the content and medium.

    Definitely, MS is making a media play by releasing this information early. And my assessment is based upon the hypothetical that it's as good as it looks. If it isn't or has performance issues, I would definitely change my mind.

    As far as a standard for content, it has nothing to do with Flash. The “piggy-backing” you refer to is about vendor lock-in. This is something we've seen before from (ironically) Microsoft in making everything as incompatible with other systems as possible. When you wanted to switch to Mac, it was difficult for a long time to do so, in part because of vendor lock-in. While MP3s are DRM-free, that didn't result from Apple's push, but rather, competitive marketplaces forcing such a move. Movies are another issue entirely, the MPAA is desperate to find their place in new media.

    I personally avoid buying anything from the Apple store. As an IT guy, I've helped more people “free” their content from the iTunes store than anything, and I believe that once you've bought content, it should be yours. I think that MS, Google, and Amazon competition in the media-selling space have done more for consumers than Apple would have ever done. There's certainly nothing in it for them to do so.

    In fact, one of the companies I admire most, Google, is admirable in their stance on this. They have a company policy to make everything export-able and not lock in customers with proprietary content. What this does as a byproduct is drive innovation, forcing the company to make the best products they can, and serve the needs of the consumer, rather than rest on their laurels because they have a lock-in on your content. If you have 10,000 Apple movies, they will never need to worry about you switching to another (better) device, because you wouldn't want to lose access to your content.

    To be specific, I'm concerned primarily with the potential lock-in of initial iPad partners like the WSJ and Time Media and the issue of eBooks and eMagazines. I'm excited about the possibilities MS is offering with this new handheld paradigm, and although I don't think they aren't going to attempt the same kind of lock-in, more competition is better for a healthier consumer space.

    I don't think the iPhone has evolved significantly over time. I believe it's still the same basic product it was at launch, with small and iterative generations based more on evolving sales rather than function. I'm looking to see new developments in the idea behind mobile computing. The same way that the iPhone revolutionized mobile phones, I expect something else to revolutionize mobile computing. But as a content-development platform – the iPad just isn't it.

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