

Report: Apple building a Kindle competitor - ilamont
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/05/04/report-apple-building-kindle-competitor

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systemtrigger
The manufacturer the article refers to, PlasticLogic, presented a prototype at
DEMO 08.

Video: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOWQvrgdZRE>

Pics:
[http://www.plasticlogic.com/assets/PlasticLogicPreviewsElect...](http://www.plasticlogic.com/assets/PlasticLogicPreviewsElectronicReadingDevice.jpg)
[http://www.plasticlogic.com/assets/PlasticLogicElectronicRea...](http://www.plasticlogic.com/assets/PlasticLogicElectronicReadingDevice.jpg)
[http://www.plasticlogic.com/assets/PlasticLogicElectronicRea...](http://www.plasticlogic.com/assets/PlasticLogicElectronicReadingDevice2.jpg)

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ice5nake
I predict you'll see a convergence here similar to Smartphones and GPS. Only
it will be netbooks and ebook readers. Look up the LCD design company Pixel
Qi.

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stcredzero
What Apple and Steve Jobs get that eInk, Sony Reader, and Amazon/Kindle
didn't, is that _interactivity_ is key! When you enable fast, responsive
interactive search and navigation, you increase the value of information by an
order of magnitude. Apple's new device is going to be multi-touch, and it will
own!

Apple will introduce the device at a higher price point than netbooks and the
Kindle. This will enable them to partner with Amazon, and it will also fit
Apple's usual strategy of high margins for premium design, integration, and
usability.

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wildwood
Hopefully Apple won't forget that battery life is also key.

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stcredzero
Read up on Pixel Qi. Their technology gives you 5X power efficiency, but
preserves interactivity.

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mustpax
Well, if so why did they let the awesome Amazon Kindle App onto the App Store?
If they had any serious competitive plans they would not have given such
crucial foothold to Amazon on their dear walled garden. Apple is quite
shameless about leveraging its control over the platforms it owns. Something
just doesn't add up here.

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stcredzero
You have it the wrong way around. That's not Amazon getting a foothold to
Apple. That's Apple's foothold to Amazon! The Apple netbook/reader will
undoubtedly be able to install the Amazon app, or do something equivalent.

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mustpax
That might be true but I can't see Apple developing a device to sell primarily
from someone else's marketplace. They are leaving a huge portions of the
profits on the table.

Granted Amazon has a stellar relationship with publishers, and Apple would
want to take advantage of this. But we're talking about a company that started
its own retail wing when everyone was fleeing from retail like it was the
plague, just because it wanted to control the full customer experience. They
would not give an inch if they had skin in the ebook game.

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stcredzero
Do they really want to be in the eBook game, or are eBooks just a way to sell
lots and lots of stylish $600 Apple hardware?

An Apple touchpad device would also be a planner, a media viewer, a household
remote control, a communication device, a gaming device, and a platform for
running App Store apps. (1) eBooks would only be a small fraction of what it
would be about, as opposed to music on iPods, which are more-or-less about
music.

(1) - The iPhone is all these things as well, but form-factor is significant.
There are times when you want more screen real-estate and can do with less
portability.

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quizbiz
I feel confident saying it's only a matter of time before the newspapers from
Harry Potter become reality.

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stcredzero
They've been possible since animated gifs.

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TweedHeads
It is not a "kindle" competitor, it is a full-fledged computer, a tablet, an
iPad if you wish, in all colors, in all its beauty, in all its power.

