Updated: The Recovering Journalist, Mark Potts, starts the year with an excellent analysis of the possibilities that an Apple Tablet – or iSlate – would represent if the rumors are true (which they are, according to the Journal, which says the tablet will ship in March for as much as $1,000 — but it may include a bundled national WiFi service).
Whether or not the device transforms digital media as some are expecting, it’s important for anyone working in local media to consider the ramifications of such a device. Because if Apple’s next product doesn’t bring together communication, entertainment and information on a single device, it’s still just a matter of time until someone else does. Potts writes:
I’m betting on Apple to break ground, yet again, with its tablet, and in a big, big way. It could bring together so many threads of innovation that have been developing for the past few years. I truly believe that we could be on the verge of an important turning point for the way we get and use all sorts of media. I can’t wait to see what Apple comes up with. It could change everything.
From the perspectives of newspapers, magazines, television, books, movies, communication, apps and gaming, Potts sees the new Apple device as a huge opportunity. He suggests newspapers might even find a subscription model (as long as they don’t paste “print content on a tablet screen”), while broadcast TV could find new revenues to replace those that will surely be lost when the current ad model is upended. (And yes, he agrees that the Amazon Kindle is “roadkill” if the Apple device lives up to rumors.)
The lessons here for local media are the same as they have been with each step forward in digital technology:
- treat it as an opportunity, not a threat
- take full advantage of the medium or the technology
- find the audience first, the business model second
An immersive, location-aware, always-connected device with a larger display is coming. Maybe in 2010 from Apple. Maybe not. Either way, it’s the next big opportunity for local media.