Apple chief executive Steve Jobs played down the relevance of tablet computers when rival IT firms launched versions earlier in the decade based on arch-rival operating system Windows, and then, in the run-up to its eventual announcement at the beginning of this year, rumours were flying around about Apple’s take on the tablet, which of course was the iPad.

So what changed? Technology and behaviour. Apple nailed the touchscreen interface with its iPod Touch and iPhone in a way that previous technologies hadn’t quite managed, while everyone seemed to be getting the hang of massively multitasking. Mobile phones were getting more sophisticated, laptops replaced desktops as the home computer of choice, moving out of the home office (even if that’s only the kitchen table) and into the living room. Browsing the web, social networking and/or emailing while watching TV or catching up with friends and family is now common, but while a laptop might be more mobile than a desktop, it’s still a little unwieldy perched on your lap, and even the smartest of smart phones are too small and fiddly for extended use, especially when you want to browse the web or enter a lot of text. So something in between, like the iPad, could be perfect.

But why should printers care? Well, on one hand this new class of media consuming devices (sorry for the mouthful, but it’s slightly more descriptive than tablet PC and more elegant than TV-film-viewer-web-browser-music-player-book-magazine-thingy) is set to change the way book and magazine content is published. So it’s time to get to know your enemy. On the other hand, if this new type of device is going to be of any use in helping to run a print business better, then that’s worth knowing.

Reader response
Shortly before the iPad’s launch, it was announced that one of the Ipex print debates organised by Pira was to be called ‘Will an iPod for publishing kill printed media?’ It was a valid topic and one that was initially raised when the first generation of e-readers, including Sony’s Reader, Irex’s iLiad and Amazon’s Kindle, were launched. If you want to split hairs, the iPad isn’t an e-reader. It doesn’t use the e-paper screens these devices do. You could argue that that’s a bad thing, as it means the iPad uses a power-hungry backlit display limiting the battery life and readability in sunlight. On the other hand it means it offers colour and moving pictures, which the e-readers can’t, yet. For anyone shelling out several hundred quid for a gadget, colour and movies are likely to be the winning attributes, making it more flexible and fun.

That’s as important for publishers as for punters. If you want to offer a digital version of your books and magazines, it’s pretty limiting if they are only black and white and static. For most people, paper would win hands down in that scenario – who’d sacrifice the colour and gloss of their favourite magazine and at the price of several years’ subscription to have it on a digital reader?

All the same, at the time of its launch, Apple also introduced iBook, an iTunes add-on that is your digital library, so the iPad is explicitly designed for reading on. It’s a nice sized screen that is very legible for reading.

You don’t have to buy books from the iBookstore, any books in the ePub format can be added via iTunes, while PDFs can be imported via iTunes or from an email.

The power of apps
Using Apple’s Safari web-browser the iPad can access any website, and its larger screen certainly provides a better browsing experience than the iPhone and other smart phones. But the most interesting thing for publishers, and therefore the greatest threat to print, is when a title is turned into an app. Apps are self-contained programs. They can combine all the facets of text and sound along with still and moving images, while allowing the user interactivity via the touchscreen and through GPS location services that play on the iPad’s portability.

Magazines are starting to devise iPad editions that, rather than replicating print content or a universally accessible web page, play to the strengths of the iPad and all its features. As you’d expect, tech magazine Wired will be one of the first iPad app mags, and The Economist’s lifestyle quarterly, Intelligent Life, is being launched in the US solely as an app.

The great thing about apps from the publisher’s perspective is that they provide a new medium, that customers have already proved willing to pay for, breaking the internet paradigm that content is free. No need for the nasty intrusive paywall, you want the content, buy the app or a sub. Publishers must be praying it gives them a profitable business model for the digital age.

The other angle to the iPad is as a business tool. Your first thought might be that’s a total pose rather than a practical option, but touchscreen interfaces are common on a range of kit, from digital presses through to the latest generation of offset presses to finishing kit. The iPad’s wireless connectivity – either via wireless networks or, if you opt for the more expensive 3G option, via the mobile phone network – provides a connection to your systems at all times. Valuable for order entry and tracking and for managers as an always-available view into the state of any part of the business.

EFI has already enabled access to some of its MIS via the iPad, while digital MIS specialist TimeHarvest, which uses FileMaker as the underlying database for its products, is taking advantage of the FileMaker Go app for iPad and iPhone to enable remote access to its software. Early users report several benefits, both on the shopfloor and away from the office. One even admits using it in bed, adding they’d never get away with using a laptop, but the iPad’s gadget status fools their partner into thinking they’re playing not working.

Other uses include remote proofing and approval. While the iPad may not offer a colour managed environment for colour approval, both Dalim and Helios offer tools that allow annotation, approvals and the use of a digital dotmeter to check colour values.

Remote controls
Wide-format press manufacturer Gandy plans to use the iPad as the user interface for its Pred8tor machine, which will be launched next year. What at first glance seems like a gimmick may actually prove to be very practical. Why tie the operator to a console at one fixed position on the machine when, if the controls are portable, it can come with them when they are setting up the machine? Invaluable if there is a user manual to provide the instructions wherever they are on the machine.

It’s an idea that isn’t limited to wide-format presses, it has value for any bit of kit where the operator may have previously had to try to be in two places at once or where you’d need multiple operators with one on the console and the others around the machine.

Pricing isn’t that different from a basic laptop and the apps needed are likely to cost less than equipping a PC with Office or a similar productivity suite, so may actually work out cheaper. For it to work in your factory, you’ll need wireless throughout, and for any remote workers likely to find themselves needing access outside of a wireless hotspot then the 3G version is essential, in which case there are additional data charges depending on plan and network, ranging from £2 per day to £25 per month.

A quarter of a century ago the combination of the Apple Macintosh, the LaserWriter, PostScript and initially Aldus PageMaker, and then QuarkXPress heralded the desktop publishing revolution, which had huge implications for print. The iPad will no doubt have a similarly disruptive effect, although this time it will be on how and what media is consumed rather than how it is created.

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THE ALTERNATIVES
Archos 101 Internet Tablet
A big 10.1in screen makes the Archos 101 attractive for web browsing. French wide-format workflow firm Caldera has already offered a version of its Flow+ on another Archos tablet, showing Apple hasn’t got everything to itself. Archos also offers a 9in Windows-based tablet in addition to this and other Android devices.
Display 10.1in 1,024x600pixel TFT LCD multitouch
OS Android 2.2
Price 8GB £269.99
Contact www.archos.com

Dell Streak
Smaller than the iPad, but with a bigger one rumoured to be on the way. It’s likely that the ubiquitous business PC supplier will make similar inroads into the tablet market if it takes off for business applications.
Display 5in 800x480pixel TFT LCD multitouch
OS Android
Price from £449 or free on contract from O2
Contact Dell 0844 444 5818 www.dell.com/uk/

Samsung Galaxy Tab
Smaller than the iPad, and with a predicted price of £699 coming in at the top end of the price range.
Display 7in 1,024x600pixel TFT
OS Android 2.2
Price tbc
Contact Samsung UK 01932 454358 www.samsung.com/uk

ViewSonic ViewPad 10
One of a range of tablets on the way from ViewSonic, along with a smaller ViewPad 7. The 10 is notable not only for its bigger 10in screen, but also its ability to run the Android mobile operating system and Windows 7, which may make it a better business tool than the iPad.
Display 10in
OS Android and Windows
Price tbc
Contact ViewSonic 020 7382 8250 www.viewsoniceurope.com/uk