The on-again, off-again rumors of an Apple tablet computer are on again, thanks to a report Monday in the Financial Times.
The publication said Apple is “racing to offer a portable, full-featured, tablet-sized computer in time for the Christmas shopping season.” The Times said the larger-screen iPod touch is part of an effort to create “a new revolution” in the entertainment industry, notably by reviving album sales.
A New Kind of Album?
The Times said the upcoming device’s larger touchscreen of up to 10 inches diagonally offers new publishing possibilities. It reported that Apple has been working with the four largest music labels — EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music, and Universal Music Group — to create a 21st-century version of the music album, whose sales have fallen as consumers have been able to cherry-pick individual songs from Apple’s iTunes Store and other online music stories.
Albums offer higher margins, and sales in 2008 fell 14 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The new album form will include an interactive booklet, video clips, lyric sheets, liner notes, and other interactive features, and music will be playable from within the interactive album. The article indicates that the tablet will be launched in conjunction with a marketing effort to promote the new album form.
The Times quoted an unnamed executive “familiar with the plans” as saying the labels want to recreate the heyday of the album, when friends would pass around the album cover while listening to the music. The project, according to the newspaper, is code-named Cocktail.
There are indications that this new form of album may come in at least two formats — one that is proprietary to Apple, and one that has been developed by the labels for distribution through Amazon and other stores.
‘Certainly Possible’
The new tablet will have Wi-Fi access, according to the article, but not…