While there are a million rumors over what Apple’s new tablet will do, from having a built-in Web cam to doing your laundry (not really), we can be sure that it will at least have a color display and show pictures, right? These simple features would put it well ahead of the Kindle in the newspaper industry’s hopes of finding a savior in new technology.
A study out of the University of Georgia took a look at whether or not the Kindle would be a viable substitute for the traditional newspaper and it found the device lacking in a few key areas.
The results were pretty much as expected: devices like the Kindle need some basic functionality, like color, photographs and touch screens in order to pull newspaper readers in. According to the study, many of the respondents agreed that the Kindle was easy to read, but for many of the younger participants, the Kindle felt “old” and lacked many of the basic features, such as music and Internet access, they had become used to with smartphones.
Smartphones, on the other hand, while containing all of these features, are not designed for reading as a primary activity. They are made for portability and interactivity. So the size and continued portability of a tablet would allow for increased readability, while retaining the functionality of a smartphone. With the Kindle, users lamented the loss of the crossword and the comics, features we certainly could not do without, either.
We do wonder, however, if the issue of screen glare when being used outside will be addressed with this new tablet. Sunny or cloudy, we can see a newspaper just the same, but an LCD display can very much depend on the lighting. At least we know a breezy day won’t be an issue, like with a newspaper, and reading on the subway should be, well, a breeze.
Just on these simple facts alone, Apple’s yet-to-be-announced tablet stands out as a much more viable option as a news reader, but even then, we wonder if it can make a difference.
Editors Note: Headline was altered to include “iPad” as it was announced live at Apple’s conference today.
