WHAT'S NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN NEWSPAPERS

Steve Jobs announced the launch of many new “Dead On Arrival” (DOA) Tablets.

So, let’s check the best candidates for this funeral ranking.

First one: Toshiba Folio 100

An Android 16GB tablet to be launched in November (UK) with these Pros & Cons.

PROS:

Bigger touchscreen than the iPad (10.1 inches)

I doesn’t quite have the resolution of the iPad (1024 x 768)

A 1.3 Mp web-cam for video calls.

Displays Flash animations.

Cheaper (329 GBP): 100 GBP less than the iPad.

USB 2.0 port (not in the iPad or Galaxy).

CONS:

Less intuitive operating system (FroYo).

Less sophisticated design.

Plasticky-feeling chassis

Access to less apps, many of them designed for Android iPhones, so not optimised to run on big-screen devices.

Only seven-hour battery (40% less than the iPad)

Only wi-fi version (3G option later).

Heavy: 750g.

IN A FEW WORDS:

Big but not sexy.

More movie-centric than media-centric.

Not an iPad killer.

AND REMEMBER:

“It’s the wine, not the bottle”.

So, hurry up, and register in the INMA/INNOVATION Harvard Tablet Summit.

The deadline is coming.

You know…

It will not fly.

It’s a flop.

It’s just crap!

I am returning my iPad.

Well, the last handbook from the Magazine Publishers Association (MPA) has good news for us the tablet fans.

We are not a minority.

We are not crazy.

We are not alone.

We are not the exception.

We were right!

Almost 60% of the US consumers plan to buy a tablet within the next 3 years.

Not only iPads but just tablets.

The mobile media revolution is over us.

Another reason not to miss the INMA/NIEMAN/INNOVATION Harvard Tablet Summit.

Cambridge, December 2-3, 2010.

A Worldwide Summit to learn, master and share new ideas.

Be there!

Yesterday ViewSonic unveiled the ViewPad 7, not a very good one.

And tomorrow SAMSUNG will present its first Android 7-inch Galaxy Tablet (the iPad is 9.7 inches)

So iPad competitors are here and the winners will be… you and me, the consumers.

Expect immediate reaction from Apple.

And a new, better and cheaper iPad model very soon.

More competition is always good.

Another reason not to miss the INMA/NIEMAN/INNOVATION Harvard Tablet Summit.

Cambridge, December 2-3, 2010.

A Worldwide Summit to learn, master and share new ideas.

Be there!

Last week, the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association’s Congress devoted one of its main session to our project in Portugal.

The INNOVATION’s i newspaper, as INMA’s CEO Earl Wilkinson, who was there, says, “redefines what a brand can be in print with a “daily magazine” design so stunning and different as to defy characterisation.”

Get the full report here.

Chang Ma, vice president of marketing for LG in the WSJ announcing is Google Android OPTIMUS, the first tablet of his company:

The first LG tablet will set itself apart from Apple’s iPad by focusing on the ability to create content, rather than simply display it.

Mr. Ma said that the iPad is a great device, but he doesn’t do much work on it.

“Our tablet will be better than the iPad.”

The tablet, Mr. Ma said, will include content focused on creation such as writing documents, editing video and creating programs.

It will also have “high-end features and new benefits,” many of which will focus on productivity.

Interesting challenge.

Yes, the iPad is mainly a consumption device.

90% consumption.

10% creation.

More competition is always good.

Another reason not to miss the INMA/NIEMAN/INNOVATION Harvard Tablet Summit.

Cambridge, December 2-3, 2010.

A Worldwide Summit to learn, master and share new ideas.

Be there!

(Picture: a Google tablet mockup)

Tags: Chang Ma, Harvard Tablet Summit, INMA, LG, NIEMAN, Optimus, Tablets, iPad, productions versus creation

The latest video commercial of Apple show how media companies must learn from what other industries are doing with the iPad.

Right now the iPad media applications are far behind the average on creativity, impact and uniqueness.

Another reason not to miss the INMA/NIEMAN/INNOVATION Harvard Tablet Summit.

Cambridge, December 2-3, 2010.

A Worldwide Summit to learn, master and share new ideas.

INNOVATION will be again partner with the International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA) organizing the second World Tablet Summit.

The first was in Oxford (UK) with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, and the next will be in Cambridge (USA) under the auspices of the Nieman Foundation.

Oxford was sold out, so plan early (December 2-3, 2010) and register now (before October 22 you will have lower fees).

The Charles hotel in Cambridge is just across the Harvard University main gate.

The opening reception will beat the Harvard University Faculty Club.

What to expect:

• An international audience with media executives from more countries than ever.

• Best practices and succesful cases.

• From iPad to iPay

• What works, what not.

• The leading industry providers.

• No lectures.

• No bullshit.

And remember that an “Extracting New Value from Content” seminar, on December 2, opens the INMA Transformation of News Summit by identifying and benchmarking new content models that generate new revenue from consumers.

The seminar will look at the latest developments in content, paid models, and extracting more consumer revenue.

In yesterday’s Guardian editorial, a great observation regarding to Lord Mandelson memoirs:

“The second thing to emerge is the depressing absence of any interest in ideas.

Of all the books to come out of the Labour years – by David Blunkett, Alastair Campbell, Peter Mandelson, Mo Mowlam, Lance Price and co – not a single one makes a sustained intellectual case for Labour government.

There is no passionate debate about the party’s future possibilities; nothing brave or provocative.”

A knockout message for politicians, political parties… and, yes, for newspapers too.

Many newspapers look like old cathedrals without soul.

Old bottles… with no wine inside.

And Earl Wilkinson is right too: “Empty newspaper brands don’t age like wine”

These are some pictures from our first INMA/INNOVATION Oxford Tablet Summit.

Almost 150 media executives from 31 countries had the opportunity to enjoy the Oxford pubs, colleges and yards under the great hospitality of the Oxford Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, the Exeter and St. Anne’s Colleges.

Inge Van Gaal, the European director of the International Newsmedia Association (INMA) was, as always, the gentle, efficient and warm host, able to plan a terrific program and, at the same time, organize a walking tour of Oxford, including a narrow-boat trip and a stop at the oldest pub in Oxford, the Turf Tavern (17th century), offer pre-dinner drinks at the Exeter College Rector’s Lodgings, an organ concert at the College’s chapel or a Harry Potter-diner at the 1618 Exeter College Dinning Hall!

Juan Senor, our UK director and INNOVATION partner, an Oxford Fellow, was the perfect conductor.

The Reuters Institute became during the weekend before the Summit the INNOVATION headquarters for the rehearsal

And was Tom Corbett the driving-force behind the scenes able to produce one the most successful meetings ever organized by INMA.

Thanks to all of them the Oxford Tablet Summit will be now a memorable annual world media meeting.

UPDATE:

Marek Miller, a fantastic media blogger, did a great coverage of the Summit.

Good news from INMA headquarters:

Next week’s Oxford Tablet Summit sold out, waiting list availability only

You don’t hear the words “sold out” at industry conferences these days.

Yet that is precisely the case for next week’s INMA/Innovation Media Consulting Oxford Tablet Summit in the United Kingdom.

With 140 delegates from 31 countries, “Tablets: A Second Life for Newspapers and Magazines” at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford on Tuesday, May 18, is now available only via waiting list.

These 14o delegates, speakers and INMA staff leaves the Summit with no more space except late cancellations, if they occur.

The summit will focus on how publishers can benefit from the launch of the iPad and other tablet devices.

What does this mean for journalism?

And, bottom-line, where’s the money in these new digital platforms?

To get on the waiting list, please contact Inge Van Gaal at inge.van.gaal@mac.com or via mobile at +32 477 60 53 67.