Tablet Users Prefer Digital Reading Over Print; Laptop Users Don't

We iPad users prefer reading out our LCD screens over print media by a large margin.  Well, that's not exactly right but it's one interpretation.  By that line of logic, that's 94% of us.

52% of us think digital reading is better than print while 42% thinks digital and print media are about the same.  I think this is something that publishers all need to heed.  Textbook as well as book publishers on down to magazine publishers should understand just how quickly their industries are being transformed in a matter of about a year since the iPad came onto the scene.

I still have books that I like to buy when I head out to Borders or Barnes and Noble.  I like the feel of having a book in my hand.  Nevertheless, I do a major of my reading on the iPad.  And with an estimated 60 million tablets expected to be sold in 2011, the publishers who have not figured out the revolutionary changes taking place, and that's a lot of them, they need to get their acts together or else, they will go the way of the dodos.  

Also, laptop users are not as impressed with digital reading as their tablet counterparts.  So expect more mobile warriors swithc over to the iPad or other tablets over laptops in the coming years.

A bit more at Teleread.

Apple Release Apple TV, Over WiFi - So Why Not Other iOS WiFi Updates?

I caught wind of the update that Apple posted for the Apple TV.  Ordinarily, I don't pay too much attention to it unless it about new features.  Bug fixes don't concern me as much.  However, I noticed that you don't need to unplug your Apple TV and plug it into your Mac or PC and update it via iTunes.

You can just apply the upgrade directly via WiFi.  So, why can't we do this yet with the iPhone or iPad? Or my iPod touch for that matter?

Anyway, hope this feature is coming and soon.  I really don't like to have to wait until I get home just so I can sync my iOS devices first before applying the update.  I reckon the NC data center has a lot of capacity and I hope over-the-air data storage is a part of that.  

More at Macworld.

VISA To Get Ball Rolling On Mobile Payments This Fall

Looks like VISA is taking the initiative and setting up an NFC payment network.  Hey, someone has to and as I've mentioned in the past, it would likely take VISA or Mastercard to get involved to move things along  

What is also cool is that VISA should get a lot of banks onboard and has a few tricks up its sleeve that might make it easier for people to trust it.  After all, security and privacy is going to be a big big issue from now on.  

What will it potentially involve?

• Multiple payment systems.  It does not necessarily have to be VISA credit cards.
• dynamic authentication for security purposes.
• NFC abilities on credit cards.  It means you don't need a mobile or phone.  This could also mean that any device with NFC capability without phone functions, like iPod touches, can be used to make mobile payments.
• Services to be available on the fall for the US and Canada - why not Mexico?!
• Can involve opt-in deals for merchants.

Two things I like to add.  Social networks and privacy.  I'm not a big Facebook fan with regards to their privacy.  I like to see social network aspects added to the NFC network that VISA is creating here or anyone else who might develop their own.  

Groupon, LivingSocial, Gowalla, Yelp, Foursquare should also be involved one way or another.  Even Twitter.  However, privacy should be the most important aspect of social functions and NFC.  It ought to be opt in and just because a consumer wants a deal doesn't mean that he or she has to give up their live stories to anyone.  Otherwise, you can forget about it.  

Pretty excited about this.  Big time.  This is one of the first networks and I'm sure we'll hear from other credit card companies, the mobile device makers, and banks.  Just the beginning.

More at Electronista.

iWeb and iOS: iWeb On Life-Support But Hoping iOS Needs Will Resuscitate It

iWeb has pretty much been written off by many users.  As an iWeb user, who find it limiting but also ease to use as well, i had hoped that Apple would have greatly improved iWeb with a few asked about features that we dreamt about since version one.  Alas, none of that came to pass.

I'm not ready to write it off until WWDC, the likely event for Apple to make some splash about MobileMe.  See iWeb is kinda of tied into MobileMe if you want to use the iWeb to publish your own website.  Again, there were a lot of limitations but because of vast potentials, many loyal users stuck with it.  It's typical behavior for Apple and its users.  Apple come out with a new app that shows great promise and users stuck around to see it grow into something special.  

I'm touching on this today because I've been using Rapidweaver for another side project of mine and also that Sandvox 2.0 came out today and I figure it's a good opportunity to share what I hope Apple has in-stored if iWeb and the self-publishing component of MobileMe is to survive.

I'm hoping Apple will announce an updated iWeb as a standalone product that is more tied into iWork.  While I don't necessarily want to see it happen, iWeb can be merged with Pages.  If done right, it can be a fantastic product.  Or Apple might go the route of making iWeb more iOS friend and allow users to create their own webapp or standalone iOS app.  

Don't think so?  Apple did release an application that makes it easier for developers to make iAd.  So, it stands to reason that perhaps Apple can take some of that and make it easier for mere mortals like myself to create rudimentary apps - even sell them or include iAds as well

Furthermore, and updated iWeb along with a more social oriented MobileMe could give Apple the ammunition to capitalize on the social network craze and leverage its legions of loyal Mac and iOS users.  Ping was a misfire but I think Apple is quick learner.

Regardless of what Apple decides to do with iWeb, it should not give up on it.  It is too important of an avenue for content creation, especially of for the iOS.  Facebook has, well, Facebook, Google has Blogger and Webapps, and Microsoft has Facebook and Wordpress that it partnered with.  While iOS has app support for all of the mentioned social and blogging platform, there is none that Apple can use as its own. 

Perhaps it had hoped to use Ping  Oh, and let's not forget Game Center.  iWeb can be the glue to ties in every social component that Apple has or will have in the future and allow the user to use iWeb to publish it only one platform. 

That's my hope for iWeb, the ability to continue to publish to website with added social components as well as added mobile features like app creation.

How likely is this to happen?  Given Apple's focus is traditionally on the larger picture, there are enough social apps in the App Store and Web publishing is less and less of a component that people these days are focused on.  Rapidweaver, Sandbox, and not to mention, Dreamweaver, are three great tools for beginners on up.  

iWeb will not be missed if it does disappear.  Nevertheless, iWeb is specially because it has that special Apple designed feel to it that no other companies has been able to duplicate.

Are You Ready For An ARM Chip In your Macbook?

The question analysts and bloggers ought to be asking when pushing the idea of Apple using its own ARM chip in Macbooks is this:  is the Market ready to move away from Intel and embrace OS X on ARM?  Also, has Apple gained such a sufficient share in the PC market that Windows compatibility is no longer a wanted feature?

The speculation that Apple will move to ARM in Macbook started last week and has yet to due. Apparently, there is nothing to talk about until WWDC next month.  So let's speculate further by asking a few other questions concerning this theoretical move.

• Again, are you ready to buy a Macbook without Intel inside?
• Will doing this give Apple an advantage over its competitors?
• Is Windows compatibility no longer a relevant move?
• Are you fine with good graphics but an overall slower Mac operation - Intel chips will still be much faster than ARM chips in 3 to 4 years. 

Keep in mind that having Windows compatibility is a key selling factor for the Intel-based Macs even if people don't use it much.  But it is nice to know that if I never need it, I can just boot into Bootcamp or run Parallels with Windows installed.  Of course, there is a solution:  Microsoft is working on am ARM-based Windows.

I think all this is just what it was like about 10 years ago when bloggers got wind of the fact that even as Apple was shipping Macs based on PowerPC, it had a parallel Intel version of OS X in the works as well.  So, it's not unthinkable that Apple has a version of OS X running on ARM or AMD chips for a "just in case" scenario.

While this has no direct impact on Apple fans or mobile warriors, it is fun to speculate nontheless. What I hope for is that a switch to ARM chips might not mean monster speed increases on work like 3D rendering or Photoshopping, it could mean way longer battery life than laptops today.  

Just in case, I bought a new Macbook Air about a month ago and I don't see any reason for me to upgrade for another 3 years at the very least.  Maybe by then, just maybe...

3GS Kicking Butt At AT&T - It Means Opportunities for Apple

People want the iPhone.  It's why Apple was only recently able to keep up with demand.  And as Apple move away from exclusive deals in more countries and expand carriers, it shows that even the 11 months old iPhone 4 is still able to keep up with the newer (not necessarily better) competitors on the market.  Ask AT&T about Atrix sales and ask T-Mobile with its slew of new Android devices but still managed to lose close to half a million subscribers.  

It's not a surprise that we learn the two-year old iPhone 3GS is managing to even outsell the top Android devices. People want the iPhone.  It's a clean mobile experience that is a joy to use.  Still, outside of AT&T, the 3GS continues to elude users on Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, the other three top US carriers.

This provides Apple with an interesting opportunity.  Tim Cook has stated in the past that Apple does not plan on giving up any segment of the market to its competitors.  Nor do I think it should.  It makes very little sense for Apple to give up profit margins to do it either.  It's anyone's guess how Apple plan on attack the lower-end smartphone market and get users to go with its mobile devices.  

I don't buy the argument that Apple will make a cheaper iPhone.  Any Wall Street analyst who suggests it should be fired on the spot.  Just as Apple has said on the past that it did not know how to make a $500 computer that wasn't a piece of crap, Apple isn't going to come out with a $99 or $199 iPhone that is also a piece of crap. 

I reckon that Apple will change the financial model a bit to make sure that it can earn back any money it sacrifices if it should decide to sell iPhones at a lower price.  Perhaps, it might look to the iTunes ecosystem to help pad margins. That's just my guess.

Rest assured that Apple will address the low-end smartphone market.  And the 3GS or a variant of it could be the key.

More at Loop Insight.

iPad Sneaks Into Top Floor Of Corporations

I don't work for a company that has a top floor.  We only have one floor but my boss has an iPad.  And more and more, he is realizing the potential of having a light 10-hour mobile device with wireless connection that allows him to work and play no matter where he is in the world.  You could do that with a laptop but when you're the CEO and president of a company, having to start up a laptop with a 3-4 hour battery life just doesn't have the same appeal and ease of use as what the iPad brings to the table.

And thought I've already got my own iPad, he is also looking to spread the tablet love to the rest of the company.  We're a small company and that's just us.  Companies many times bigger are virtually doing the same thing.  Hundreds of iPads are being adopted by one company while another with thousands are being deployed.  

Whether it's iPads, Xoom or other Android devices, or RIM's Playbook, it's an opportunity for everyone.  And hardware aside, apps optimized for tablets are also changing the way we work.  

The main thing is that productivity will benefit greatly when information are just a few touches and swipes away.  

While our company doesn't have apps that we develop in house for easy access to our data, what apps are available are working for us.  I'll getting into another post about what apps my boss uses to help him with his work.  The bottom line is that for someone who isn't all that into computers, he sure loves his iPad 2.

More at Information Week.