New York Times readying for Apple Slate tablet?

Update: Apple iPad launched.

Newspapers might find Apple’s upcoming tablet ‘Slate’ or Amazn’s Kindle a new distribution medium

The upcoming Apple tablet computer is likely to be called the Apple Slate or the Apple iTablet, say reports from blogs tracking Apple. Apple is believed to be developing a tablet computer, which is expected to be launched in 2010. The Apple tablet Slate may have several features which are present in the iPod Touch, the iPhone, the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Microsoft Courier, and perhaps even more. It may come with wireless connectivity, a color touchscreen, ebook-reading capabilities, satellite navigation via GPS, and perhaps even a camera.

In fact, this won’t be the first time that Apple will be launching a tablet computer. Apple had launched a clunky tablet computer with a touchscreen and stylus as early as 1993, when Steve Jobs was not with Apple. The Apple Newton, as it was called, failed to make waves, and sank without a trace when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 and killed the product. Interestingly, Apple recently re-hired the head of marketing of the Newton tablet, possibly to prepare the ground for the Apple Slate/Apple iTablet.

Apple is believed to be in talks with several companies in the print media to devise content that will run on the Apple tablet Slate by the time it is rolled out. According to a recent report, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller said that his company should be prepared for emerging news delivery platforms like the “Apple Slate”.  It is not clear whether Keller used the name “Apple Slate” knowing that it will be called so, or used it in a general way. The Slate mention was made at a closed door meeting at New York Times, a video of which leaked and made its way to news websites. The mention of possible delivery of New York Times on the Apple ‘Slate’ tablet led many to believe that yes, the Apple tablet computer is definitely underway, an Apple has been quietly cutting deals with newspapers and other publishers for content delivery on the tablet platform.

The newspaper industry has been hit hard by the recession and the drying up of advertisement revenue across the world. Added to that, newspaper readership anyway has been dropping as the new generation prefers to stick to what they can get on their gadgets – its not print-media friendly. Considering that, looking at Apple’s Slate, Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes & Noble’s Nook as a new distribution medium for the new generation of internet addicts makes perfect sense.

Amazon’s Kindle already offers some newspapers and blogs on its platform. Surely, they have considered the possibility of offering newspapers and magazines  and positioning themselves an alternative channel for newspapers – if that is the case, it is only a matter of time before we see a Kindle with colour and touchscreen.

There is something cooking for sure. Tech blog Gizmodo said that according to their sources, Apple had approached New York Times some time back, to talk about making the newspaper available on a new device.  New York Times and many other newspapers are already available on the iPhone distribution platform – but the Kindle, Nook and Apple’s Slate / iTablet are much more reader-friendly than the mobile phone screen for sure. Apple is known to have had exploratory meetings with media industry executives about exploring future publishing and distribution mediums they have in mind.

Some newspaper industry observers believe that Keller actually knew about the Apple’s Slate and was talking in an off-the-record meeting, possibly to people who have already been in the know, or developing content for the tablet for a while. Therefore, he did not expect the video to leak at all.

The largest cost sink for the newspaper industry around the world is newsprint. Then comes distribution. E-readers like the Apple Slate, Kindle or the Courier gets rid of that problem easily. This does not mean that if the NYTimes – Apple Slate rumour is true, we are going to see the end of print newspapers. There is a market there, surely – but how easily would the newspaper industry want to make the transition to an electronic format, and would they even want to – those are questions which are yet to be answered.

In August, the Wall Street Journal reported that Steve Jobs has been busy with work on the Apple tablet/Apple Slate ever since he returned to work after several months on medical leave. Steve Jobs is reputed to work closely with the design of new products at Apple. Steve Jobs has not confirmed or denied that he is working on the Apple Slate. He has reportedly junked several versions of the tablet computer being developed at Apple for years.

In 2001, Bill Gates, then chairman on Microsoft had predicted that within five years, had predicted astronomical growth for tablet computers. However, the expected growth did not happen, though several companies in the US and across the world have launched tablet computers in numerous sizes, shapes and names. However, attention has always been focused on the Apple tablet computer (which may be called Apple Slate) which is seen as the one which will make a difference.

And while all the attention was focused on the upcoming Apple tablet computer, Gizmodo reported that Microsoft is quietly giving finishing touches to the Microsoft Courier, which will be a tablet computer cum ebook reader. Microsoft has not officially said that it is lining up a competitor to the still-in-the-works Apple Slate, but the tech community on the web is already debating the pros and cons, price, features and tech specs of the Microsoft Courier.

If Apple manages to rope in several publishers for the Apple Slate, it will help the Cupertino-headquartered Apple to hit the ground running with the new Slate tablet. It will also help struggling print media companies – mostly newspapers – which are facing dwindling revenues are more ad more readers abandon traditional printed newspapers and migrate to the Web for news and entertainment.

If Apple can gain instant advantage over the online reading community by dishing out a news and entertainment product in the form of the Apple Slate/iTablet, it will on the lines of Amazon’s ebook reader Kindle, which sparked interest in reading online.  For Apple, it will be a step up in the battle for the media. Apple is already present in digital music, movies and podcasts. It will be natural for Apple to look for the next big thing in media.

Microsoft’s Courier and B&N’s Nook are going to be available in colour and with touchscreens. They make perfect platforms as distribution media for troubled newspapers and magazines in our opinion.