Apple is turning to videoThe reports that Apple has signed a deal with the 20th Century Fox studio to carry its content on the iTunes Store could be a fundamental clue as to the company’s next major product focus.
Recall that Apple’s efforts in 2007 were dominated by the iPhone, right from Steve Jobs’ Macworld keynote in January. I’m guessing of course, but it would make sense for Apple to set video as its theme for 2008, starting with Jobs’ Macworld keynote on Jan. 15. Video currently is Apple’s weakest link, since its other businesses - the Mac, the iPod and the iPhone - are all going gangbusters. But Jobs, like Alexander the Great, is always looking over the horizon toward his next conquest. Much has been said this year about the failure of Apple TV to make an impact. Jobs has described it coyly as a “hobby.” Video sales at the iTunes Store have been decent but not great. Of the major film studios, only Walt Disney has made new releases available for purchase (it could be Jobs’ membership on Disney’s board helps a tad). The television component of the iTunes Store took a giant step backward when Apple’s running spat with NBC Universal resulted in the removal of shows from NBC, the Sci-Fi channel, the USA Network and other Universal properties. The technical hurdles of selling video over the Internet haven’t helped, either. The files are large - a typical movie on iTunes is about 1 gigabyte, or about 200 times the size of a typical pop song. Even for users with broadband Internet connections, gratification is not exactly instant. It’s the sort of glum confluence of circumstances that can cause even large and otherwise successful companies to throw in the towel. Wal-Mart, for example, canceled its movie download service less than a year after it launched. But one thing Apple has proven in recent years is that it often can succeed where others have foundered, such as with the iPod or its chain of retail stores. Solving video over the Internet is exactly the sort of challenge Apple relishes. Apple now can put its experience as a video vendor to use as it crafts the most user-friendly option for consuming video over the Internet. The move to rentals makes complete sense, and probably was inevitable. In the years Apple has dabbled in offering video downloads, it has learned that fewer people want to own video than do music. If people didn’t want to rent videos there would be no Blockbuster or Netflix, not to mention the various “video-on-demand” services provided by cable companies. Expect video to be the centerpiece of Jobs’ Jan. 15 keynote. He almost certainly will announce the Fox deal then and possibly deals with other studios. Apple isn’t far from having a killer video strategy. It has most of the pieces in place already. It just needs to bridge the gaps and then integrate those pieces as only Apple knows how. Then watch how fast Apple’s “hobby” disrupts the entire movie rental industry. [via – baltimoresun.com] If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! First Apple Tablet PC ShippedAxiotron’s Modbook offers 512 levels of pressure sensitivity to achieve a level of precision needed in creating and editing digital art. Axiotron has released to retailers its Apple-authorized tablet
The Modbook, which started shipping Dec. 31, uses a pen-sensitive LCD slate-style display from Wacom for onscreen writing and drawing. Axiotron unveiled the Modbook a year ago at Macworld. The Modbook pen offers 512 levels of pressure sensitivity to achieve a level of precision needed in creating and editing digital art, the company said. The computer comes pre-installed with Mac The tablet has a 13.3-inch screen, a built-in iSight Webcam, a global positioning system, and a CD/DVD combo drive. The computer also has built-in support for Bluetooth and 802.11n Wi-Fi. It has a triple layer of metal plating, including nickel over copper and topped with chrome, and is available in standard satin or optional mirror finish. The Modbook is a modified MacBook with its screen and keyboard severed and replaced with a tablet screen. The device, which is available through Axiotron resellers, has a suggested retail price starting at $2,290. The computer will be shown at Macworld 2008 in San Francisco, Jan. 15-18. Bloggers have been chattering for months about the possibility of Apple releasing its own tablet Mac or an ultra-mobile computer. Others have also speculated that the company may be readying a handheld device that would be separate from the iPod Touch or iPhone. On the Windows side of the market, Dell (Dell) last month released its first tablet PC, saying that businesses were ready to consider more flexible types of computers for employees. The Latitude XT weighs 3.5 pounds and features a 12.1-inch daylight-viewable display for indoor and outdoor use. [via – informationweek.com] Talking about Apple’s super-thin laptopThose who chart the iPod maker’s every move forecast it will showcase a new ’sub-notebook’ computer at MacWorld show. Apple is set to unveil a new ultraportable laptop on January 15, according to the army of online pundits dedicated to tracking the iPod maker’s every move.
MacWorld, the company’s annual jamboree, is still two weeks away, but already the web is buzzing with details of expected new products and business partnerships – including a series of deals with Hollywood studios under which Apple will enter the online rental video market, and a rumoured upgrade to the iPhone that would give the device a GPS-type function. However, the expected launch at the San Francisco-based event of a lightweight, super-thin laptop – a device seemingly pitched between the iPhone and its current MacBook line of computers – is kindling the greatest interest among Apple aficionados. Suggestions that such a machine, said to be fitted with flash-based memory and an external disk drive, is imminent were stoked last month when digitimes.com, the industry site, revealed that Apple has secured a supply of 13.3-inch LED backlight units, used for ultraportable computer displays, from Taiwan. Commenting on a proliferation of more detailed reports in recent days, engadget.com , the closely-read blog, said: “While anything is obviously possible, it sure seems like the safe bet is that Apple will unveil some form of ultraportable laptop at MacWorld in a couple of weeks.” Mac Rumors, another website, said it had received “reliable confirmation” on a number of features of Apple’s forthcoming “sub-notebook” including the omission of an internal optical drive to cut down on size and weight. “Instead, Apple is said to be offering an external optical drive with the sub-notebook. This detachable external drive would allow customers to read/write from CDs or DVDs as usual, but would allow users to leave this extra bulk at home when on the road,” the site said. It added that Apple is also expected to announce upgrades to its current line of MacBook and MacBook Pro computers. The rash of speculation suggests that Apple is fighting a losing battle in its efforts to clamp down on the leaks and speculation that accompany its product launches. Last month it reached a legal settlement with Think Secret, a site it had sued for allegedly leaking industrial secrets. The addition of a new ultra-portable machine would fit with Apple’s recent thinking. The iPhone, which comes equipped with a fully-fledged web browser, was heralded as much as a miniature computer as a telephone when it was revealed at last year’s MacWorld. Apple also has close links with Google, which is bidding for a spectrum license in the US that could be used to roll-out a wireless broadband network. Rival internet players such as Yahoo, meanwhile, believe that more people will soon access the internet through mobile devices than through conventional computers. The launches of iPod models, and more recently of the iPhone, have garnered the bulk of the media coverage lavished on Apple, but the company’s computer business has also made great strides. In its latest financial statement, Apple said that it sold a record 2.16 million Macintosh computers in its forth quarter, 34 per cent than for the same period the year before. Of those, sales of laptops rose 37 per cent, contributing to a 67 per cent leap in profits to $904 million (?445 million). The news helped push Apple shares above $200 for the first time. Recent surveys suggest that the company has since continued to make up ground on the PC. According to Net Applications, a group that tracks internet use, more than 7 per cent of visits to websites in December came from Apple’s Mac computers, a record high. Computers powered by Microsoft’s Windows operating system still dominated, however, accounting for more than 90 per cent. [via – timesonline.co.uk] |
