iPad will be a new necessity – Francisco Amaral

Francisco Amarel from Cases i Associats, co-author of a brilliant book “Evolution, Trends and Models in News Website  Design”, also answered our questions concerning tablets and iPad. Read further to learn what he has to say and don’t forget to follow forum4editors on May 18th, during INMA’s Oxford Tablet Summit 2010.

Forum4Editors: Do you think iPad could be a bit overrated – In the topic of tablets, the only brand you can hear about is Apple?

Francisco Amarel: No, I think it is not. Everybody expect from Apple “astonishing” products because this company has broken the boundaries previously with iPhone and iPod. Apart from that, it seems that iPad is offering a more seductive experience than others tablets.

Do you think tablets could really be called “the future for newspapers”? It is just another medium to read information from.

I wouldn’t say that, but it is bringing fantastic opportunities for newspaper industry once it gives back to the editors the control over the publication. In a app version of a newspaper or magazine, you can really edit the articles different from what you do at the internet.

Why would someone need a tablet if he/she can read same information from their cell phones?

Have you already touched an iPad? They would do it because the experience iPad offers. The size, the functionalities and the marketing are making the iPad an indispensable device. It will be a new necessity.

Would you call iPad a new space for designers to develop and show their skills?

Absolutely! Designers are crazy about that. And it is natural. They finally have a digital platform where they can create things that are impossible to do in the printed products and unimaginable in terms of HTML.

We live in times when publishers need to cut costs. iPad, seems to be the cost generator for publishers: the device itself, plus app developers, whereas producing information is still publishers’ core business. Where is the money in iPads? Can it make selling content easier for publishers? Where are the advertising possibilities?

This is the million dollar question. Information is the publishers’ core business, but we have to deliver our content wherever our reader is. We have already incorporated new skills to be presented at mobile phones and internet. Ipad is one skill more. It is too early to say where the money is, but we can feel that it is a huge opportunity to extend the brand and the business, offering new products. Unfortunately, I can not predict whether iPads will further weaken the position of newspapers and magazines.

Thank you very much.

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