Apple's Focus on Content and Possible eBook Pricing

Last night Derek Powazek of Fray published an opinion piece called "What I Hope Apple Unleashes Tomorrow". As both a print and online publisher, Powazek provides some excellent insight into the promise of a mainstream Apple tablet with regard to content providers. He concludes:

It's the same hole they filled with the iPod. When it came out, there were CDs on one side (physical media for sale) and file-sharing on the other (free but dodgy). The iPod filled the media experience gap, and the iTunes store filled the payment side. Many pundits said it wouldn't work. It worked.

The same could happen here. Apple could release a device that makes consuming media fun, is able to show any PDF beautifully (just like the iPod would play any MP3), and offers new media for sale in the iTunes store. If they did it right, publishers like me might finally be able to sell something digital that people would actually buy.

The entire piece is worth a read as it may offer the best explanation of why people might need or want a Tablet.

As it turns out, Powzek's dream may be in line with some of Apple's plans. Wired posts a last minute story that claims Apple's focus on Wednesday's event will be on "reinventing content, not tablets".

Apple’s goal is to offer a new platform for content creators to reinvent books, magazines and online content — in addition to offering a new avenue for content producers to make money. That platform will likely be far broader than just a tablet device, and will extend to every device or computer that iTunes touches.

The "creation" reference in the invitation reportedly has to do with content providers who will publish their wares through iTunes using HTML5, Javascript and multimedia. Wired imagines that while the tablet will be the focus, this content could also be played back on laptops, iPhones, iPod Touches or even the Apple TV.

Apple has been aggressively trying to sign on book publishers, and a report from the Wall Street Journal indicates that Apple taking Amazon head on in its negotiations with book publishers. Apple is reportedly looking to set hardcover best sellers at $12.99 and $14.99, above Amazon's current $9.99 pricing. Apple is looking to allow publishers to set their own prices for books, shifting some of the power back to the publishers.

Apple's media event kicks off at 1pm Eastern, 10am Pacific today, Wednesday January 27th. Possible photos of the device were leaked early this morning.

Puppy Tweets lets your puppy... tweet

Apple might think it's going to change the world tomorrowwith some sort of crazy tablet, but we're here to tell you thatthe world has already changed. American humans will soon be able to buy a product called "Puppy Tweets," a product actually designed, tested, and released by the Mattel corporation. First, you need a dog with a Twitter account. (Who doesn't have one of those?) Then, you need to use $30 of your actual money to buy Puppy Tweets, a plastic sound-and-motion sensor that clips onto your dog's collar and sends out several pre-written tweets that have extreme amounts of dignity, like "YAHOOOOOOO! Somedays you just gotta get your bark on." Then you have to weep gently for the future of our society.

HP tx2000 suffering from dead screens and wireless, NVIDIA to blame?

When we received an e-mail from a very agitated reader detailing that the wireless card and the screen on his HP tx2000 stopped working just a convenient few days after his warranty expired we felt bad, though didn't think much of it. But then we started doing a bit of research, and it turns out these issues go all the way back to the tx1000 and that there are thousands -- if you can trust the petition numbers -- that have been encountering these problems. The cause? Most likely the overheating NVIDIA graphics card and chipset that was used in both models, and which was actually the reason for Sony, Dell and other HP laptop recalls last year. So, what gives, especially after the warranty of these tablets has gone up? Not much, unless you are handy with a motherboard, some thermal compound and tinfoil like the guy in the video after the break (spoiler: he fixes his tx1000!) We wish we had better news, but if you're an unfortunate owner of one of these txs your best bet is to hit one of the links and sound off. The more noise, the more likely HP will be to finally recall these puppies.

WSJ: Apple wants e-books to be $12.99 or $14.99 for hardcover best sellers

Here's a little price snippet on Apple's e-book plans, care of an eleventh hour Wall Street Journal piece. According to the article, the gang in Cupertino is asking book publishers (HarperCollins was specifically cited) to set the price point for digital versions of hardcover bestsellers at either $12.99 or $14.00, "with fewer titles offered at $9.99." The publisher apparently has the option to set its own price, but at any rate, Apple's taking the usual 30% cut from each sale -- a $14.99 novel would thus leave about $10.49 for the publisher. Nothing else to glean from this other than a rather strongly-phrased assertion that tomorrow's tablet has a 10-inch touchscreen, but no indication on where that's coming from. These prices would put Apple's selection at a premium compared with Amazon and its Kindle store, but perhaps it'll also be bypassing any rumored digital delay on new works -- question is, if Apple really is entering the e-book business and bringing with it higher prices, will it let us import our digital books purchased from other stores? What say you, Mr. McGraw?

Canon prepping 60D and 550D / 600D with articulating displays?

Camera aficionados, looks like it's time for the pre-PMA rumor mill to start churning. Our inaugural whisper this season comes care of a forum poster at d-spot.co.il, who according to Canon Rumors' tipster has been accurate in the past (at this point we've been unable to corroborate). Here's the deal: a Canon 60D and Canon 550D / 600D (i.e. Rebel series). Both apparently feature a 15.1 megapixel APS-C sensor, articulating screens, and 720p video at 30 frames per second. The 60D, however, can also claim 1080p footage -- odd that the Rebel doesn't, since the current T1i has 1080p -- an electronic level, and a new battery and grip compared to its 50D successor. That one's apparently priced at around $1,190 and due out in May, while the other is $799 with no connection to a release date given. Make no mistake, between this and those waterproof Sony point-and-shoots, this is only the beginning.