A newly revealed patent application and a new burst of rumors are providing more support to reports that Apple is planning a groundbreaking tablet computer. The application describes new forms of multi-touch interaction, and the rumors describe secret talks that Apple is having with newspaper and textbook publishers.
According to a report Wednesday in the tech blog Gizmodo, Apple is currently “aiming to redefine print” and is in the process of negotiating content with publishers for a new device. Various industry observers have predicted that Apple will release a tablet computer later this year or in early 2010.
‘A Killer App’
The blog quoted sources connected to The New York Times as saying that Apple approached that paper in June, and a textbook publishing source reported that McGraw Hill and Oberlin Press are getting ready to offer textbooks on iTunes.
In addition, Gizmodo reported, magazine executives have been visiting the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., to discuss the future of interactive publishing.
Sarah Rotman Epps, a media analyst with industry research firm Forrester, said there “absolutely” is an opening in the publishing market for Apple to create a groundbreaking device, not unlike the opening in the music market that resulted in iTunes.
“If Apple launches a touchscreen device,” she said, “it could very well be a killer application for interactive reading material.” Epps said the distinction is whether digital publishing means “providing a convenient substitute for print,” such as Amazon’s Kindle offers, or if it means “reinventing reading,” with new experiences that are not possible with the Kindle.
Patent Application
Epps pointed out that novels don’t need video, color or interactivity, but magazines and textbooks could certainly benefit. She noted that content providers, such as Simon and Schuster and Disney, are beginning to explore ways to distribute existing books through digital means, as well as to create new…