WTD: iPad 2

Hmm with the release of the iPad 2 next week, is it time for me to get one? Good question!

I want to reward myself for being patient and holding out from buying the original iPad by getting the iPad 2. But I’m on the fence still. TUAW and John Gruber both believe that there may be another iPad with a retina display coming out later this year. I kind of agree. I want to wait for a retina display and legitimate cameras. The iPad 2’s cameras are pretty crappy. The iPhone 4 has a pretty good camera so you know Apple has the capability to include a decent camera. I think that’s an indication that Apple is still holding out on the iPad. Therefore I can see Apple coming out with an iPad HD in September with proper cameras and a high resolution display.

So I held out on the iPhone until Apple put in a good camera and I may do the same with the iPad. Besides, I spent a bit of money on my turbo! Plus, I don’t really need the iPad 2. It’s just a toy. Well, a beautiful toy.

The other idea I have is to wait for the refurbished iPad 2’s. It took the original iPad 5 months before refurbished models started showing up. So that means by August there should be some showing up. And by then, if the rumors grow stronger of a September iPad 2 HD release, I can either wait to get a new iPad 2 HD or just get the refurbished iPad 2. I bought my Macbook refurbished and it’s been great so far so I’m happy buying refurbished Apple products.

So is it Worth The Dough? Yes it is! There isn’t a better tablet out there. But I think I’m still going to wait.

Must Read: Gizmodo’s Apple iPad Design Analysis

I don’t have anything to excerpt, except to tell you to read the entire article. Great article stating how “perfectly” Jonathan Ive designed the iPad. I agree 100%!

WTD: Zinio and International Magazines for iPad

Where have I been? Apparently Zinio features magazine subscriptions to be read on the computer and soon on the iPad. Although they’ve been around for over 10 years, for some reason they haven’t come up in my Google searches for internet magazine subscriptions. So I’m going to try and get the word out. In my last post I posted how the iPad needs magazine subscriptions before I would buy one. Zinio has them. And they have plenty of car mags to subscribe to, including Road & Track. I think my decision has been made now. Zinio makes the Apple iPad Worth The Dough.

It seems like the cost of the subscriptions are the same as or a couple bucks less than their paper counterparts. Or as some people call “dead tree versions.” For example the Road & Track subscription is $8 as opposed to $10 for the print version. The real savings however are in International magazine subscriptions.

British car magazines are widely known to be bigger and better than US car magazines. And since Europe is where Formula 1 is popular, their F1 publications, like F1 Racing, are amazing. The US simply does not have any dedicated F1 publications because F1 isn’t as big in the US. Subscriptions to these mags by a US subscriber are very expensive. I mean, these British publications are expensive for British subscribers too but with shipping fees and other fees it’s even worse for US subscribers. For example, a 1 year subscription to the print edition of F1 Racing is $66 for UK subscribers and $90 for US subscribers! So far Zinio only has the spanish version of F1 Racing, but a 1 year subscription is $43.39. Look at the cost savings! Cheaper for both UK and US subscribers. Here are some other prices for US subscriptions to other International publications.

Lastly, I’m going to go slightly off topic and mention that for those who like reading novels more than periodicals, it’s been said that Project Gutenberg books will work on the iPad. “The site has over 30,000 free ebooks, most of them classics whose copyrights have lapsed.”

So there it is. The Apple iPad is Worth The Dough and Zinio is a major reason why. If you like international magazines like I do, then it is WTD for you too!

WTD: Why Magazines Need to Be On the iPad Pronto!

Yesterday the Wi-Fi version of the Apple iPad became available for pre-order. I’ll eventually get an iPad, but I didn’t pre-order it. Why not? No, not because it doesn’t have flash or a webcam, but because the Apple iPad is not Worth the Dough for me unless there are magazines available for it! Without magazines on the iPad, not only does Apple not get my money, the magazine publications don’t get my money either because I won’t be subscribing to any until they have an iPad version.

I’m a big fan of magazines and throughout my life I’ve been a subscriber of magazines like Road & Track, Men’s Health and Wired. Well I’ve since slowed down with my subscriptions because the internet has replaced them as my avenue for consuming articles that are not only interesting to read, but also visually appealing with great photography. And that’s what magazines are all about. But I still like to flip through the glossy pages of a magazine and would rather do that than sit in front of an iMac or Macbook clicking through the internet with a Magic Mouse. And that’s what appeals to me the most about the iPad – The ability to feel like I’m flipping through a magazine while getting content like the internet. An internet magazine on my lap!

So I repeat. Magazine publications better create an iPad version and subscription model soon because they won’t have my business again until they do. So far only Conde Nast has revealed any plans to develop magazine apps. Wired says they’ll have one by the summer and it looks great. That’s probably about the time I’ll buy the iPad and my first magazine subscription in awhile. My Wired subscription just ended and I want to renew it b/c it is a great publication, but I’m going to wait until their iPad app comes out before I subscribe again.

I’m also hoping that one of the car publications will get their content onto an iPad. I hope Road & Track does because they are my favorite car publication. 0-60 Mag would be great too because they emphasize great photography. Edmunds’ Inside Line website on the internet would be a great template for an iPad automotive magazine application. It has great visual slideshows that can be seen full screen to go along with their articles. And that would be perfect for the iPad. Check out one of their articles. Just what the iPad was designed for. I really don’t know why Apple didn’t push to have magazines (and comic books for that matter) onto their iPad instead of just iBooks.

So my message to the magazine publications and Apple: Put magazines onto the iPad pronto! Magazine subscriptions and the iPad aren’t Worth the Dough to me until that happens.

Business Idea: iPad Magazine Rack

Back in December, I wrote about a Magazine Store. And just yesterday Apple introduced it’s newest creation, the iPad. The hype leading up to it was that Apple would revolutionize printed media like books and magazines. So far the vision is there, but it is blurry at best and may take some time to develop. So far Apple has created an iBooks store for books to be added to the iPad, but nothing has been said yet about magazines (and comic books). But it’ll probably eventually happen. If it does, how great would it be if my magazine store had iPads instead of magazines? Well ClarkeHopkinsClarke visualized a wall full of iPads and I think this would be an excellent idea for my store! Their main vision was for the iPads to be like a replacement for mosaic tiles on an interior wall, but they also mention them as a great “life sized digital bookcase.” In this way, it would be a great display for my store. It’d be where the visitors to my store would pick up their iPad magazines to browse. Oh well just another idea floating around for now. 🙂

Must Read: Gizmodo’s Opinion On The Apple Tablet Interface

Rumors about the upcoming Apple Tablet are peaking since Apple’s revealing is less than a week away. January 27th, 2010 at 1pm ET is the big announcement when it is supposed to be revealed. Any details about the tablet are just rumors, and two of the biggest question marks of the device that could determine its success or failure are:

What will be its main purpose and functions (e-reader, surfing the web, gaming device, etc)?

What type of interface will it use (modal like a large iphone, laptop/desktop-like Mac OS X, combo of both)?

Well posted on gizmodo is an opinion piece of what the interface should be like. Click on the picture below to read the blog. It’s a great read because it runs through the progression of the evolution of the user interface from computers to the windows tablet to the iphone and then the upcoming tablet. And it makes total sense. Here are some selected quotes:

The prediction: “The interface will just be an evolution of an existing user interface, one without folders and windows, but with applications that take over the entire screen.”

Why the Windows Tablet Failed: “While Bill Gates’ idea of a tablet was a market failure, it achieved one significant success: It demonstrated that transferring a desktop user interface to a tablet format was a horrible idea, destined to fail.”

The iPhone Interface: “Every time you launch an app, the machine transforms into a new device, showing a graphical representation of its interface.”

Why the iPhone was Successful: “When it came out, people instantly got this concept. Clicking icons transformed their new gadget into a dozen different gadgets. Then, when the app store appeared, their device was able to morph into an unlimited number of devices, each serving one task.”

The Final Word: “To me, the tablet will be the continuation of the end for the classic windowed environment and the desktop metaphor user interface.”