McGraw-Hill CEO Confirms Apple Tablet
Whoops, Mr. McGraw spoiled the surprise!
On the eve of Apple's press event, there's certainly a lot of talk about the upcoming Apple tablet. Most of the tablet chatter has been considered rumor up until now. However, just hours before Steve Jobs' “Big Reveal,” McGraw Hill CEO Harold McGraw III went on CNBC (video) and basically spilled the beans in regards to the mystery device. So much for a surprise.
Based on the CNBC interview, the unnamed Apple tablet will be officially announced today, and even verified that it will indeed be based on the iPhone operating system. Naturally his take on the device is that it will be "just really terrific" for the plethora of McGraw Hill ebooks, and he probably didn't even consider that Steve Jobs wanted to keep a lid on the whole matter until after Wednesday's press event.
"Yeah, very exciting," he said when asked about the rumors of ebooks heading to the Apple tablet. "Yes, they'll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while. And the Tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system and so it will be transferable. So what you are going to be able to do now -- we have a consortium of e-books. And we have 95% of all our materials that are in e-book format on that one. So now with the tablet you're going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific."
There you have it: it's the Big Day, or at least it was until Mr. McGraw rained on the parade. But that's ok... EA's Peter Moore already said yesterday that the Apple tablet will be a great gaming machine, and Stand Alone Inc announced that its Crosswords app is heading to the tablet device.
Sorry Steve, the secret never had a chance.
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So basically this has turned out to be the 10" iPod Touch I semi-joked about months ago then.
The iPhone OS though instantly puts this into toy category - I was still kinda holding out hope for a TouchBook.
Is that a name I can trademark?
He stole some of Jobs' thunder. We're going to see his face on a milk carton by tomorrow.
Why is this such big news everywhere? Why is every tech site awash with news hyping up this big apple surprise announcement tomorrow? It's even on the BBC main page for fuck's sake. Also, why has there been so much coverage leading up to this point? Why all the rumours - where did they start, and why? Do this many people really care about the apple tablet? Or have they been made to care by media outlets constantly telling us we should?
This apple tablet hyperbole has gotten WAY out of hand. I was sick of it the first day I heard it, and I'm a hundred times sicker of it now. The entire reason every company under the sun has suddenly produced a tablet is because of the rumour that apple might think about considering whether or not to decide to release one - just so they can avoid losing the market so catastrophically as phone makers did when the iPhone was released. It's pathetic.
It's all so transparently a viral marketing campaign by apple, and its incredible success makes me feel nauseous and ashamed to be human.
Because they have people that are really f-ing good a their jobs? I think its nice to see that an American company can actually succeed at something without matching Asian prices.
This better be cheap cause right now the hp and Asus tablet packing the tegra 2 at a much lower price point and an actual OS is looking much better imo.
Either way, it's going to be a success (basically a color eBook reader with additional apps is a good continuation of the idea).
Power of marketing.
Ashamed to be human? Um ok... sorry we don't have access to Pandora any time soon, if ever.
It's like they're in a cult or something.
That's because some of them are. I was attacked by some rabid cultists the other day when I said Macs were not particularly good for games. The level of anger and vitriol took me by complete surprise. It was as if I'd insulted their religion. I'm lucky none of them seemed to be strapped with explosives. I wish I knew how Apple did it, I'd like to hire their guys to do MY marketing.
I wish I knew how Apple did it, I'd like to hire their guys to do MY marketing.
Try being appealing to exactly 10% of the people around you. Pick the 10% that have a good education and a lot of money; you will have an easier time since intellectual appeals will be reliably effective on them, and they make great cash cows.
You will find it's a lot easier that way.
Yes there starting to panic over there in Apple cream pie world. They are raceing to keep up
with the HP Slate and other Pc tablets that are ready for launch. Apple is not going to outsell the
HP slate, their already defeated they just don't know it yet.
Power of marketing.Ashamed to be human? Um ok... sorry we don't have access to Pandora any time soon, if ever.
I haven't seen that film. Is being ashamed to be human the central theme?
The real question will be how long will the battery last if your playing a game or reading a book? Will it be worth the charge at every star bucks you go to? (assuming you buy an apple product you can pay for overpriced coffee product).
Is it me or should a full sized device have OSX on it?Still, without actual confirmation from PT Barnum himself i'm holding off on the negativity... for now...
The idea that this will be used for all the tasks of a full sized device (like a laptop) need to be shelved. The iPhone is not popular because it is excellent at being a cellphone. It had a number of whizbang things that ran alongside the phone that people started to find appealing, and it grew from there. The tablet (if that is what comes out) will leave the fanbois salivating, and the rest of the world scratching their heads. Before long, there will be some sort of 'killer app' that drives uptake.
My money is on video phonecalls. If the ATT network can handle it, and there is a camera facing the user, that will be the next big thing. What's old is new is old is new is old is new again... Landlines gave way to pagers, which gave way to cellphones (for voice) which gave way to cellphones (for txting). Txting will give way to video chat, and before too long that will be old and we will be sending some sort of animated equivalent of a text message back and forth. Oh what a glorious future is in store...
Oh what a glorious future is in store...
Why does that remind me of Dr. Farnsworth from Futurama?
Especially when a device like this was released 4 years ago already. Samsung Q1? Motion LS800? I could on and on...
Apple is trying to re-invent the wheel.
Not a big Apple fan here but everyone is whining that this thing isn't needed. Hmmm... Last I checked Amazon was selling their cheap ass Kindle2's for $300. It's a crummy device with lots of reliability problems. Sure the Kindle is $300 bucks but the Apple tablet does 10X times more for about 3 times more. Regardless... the smarter buy is a netbook for $300-400.
Power of marketing.Ashamed to be human? Um ok... sorry we don't have access to Pandora any time soon, if ever.
He's talking about Pandora's box, you know, where the babies are born. Speaking of viral marketing...