Over the last couple years, tablets such as Apple's iPad, Kindle's Fire & Barnes and Nobles's Nook have continued to grow in their success since they were first introduced to the market. Despite some of the tablets having a rocky start, it definitely seems that they are becoming the norm in terms of readers preferences for tablets over printed books.
According to James Rainey's last On the Media column post, computer tablets could be the key to help save newspapers. Throughout his piece, Rainey sheds light on whats seems to work & not work when it comes to tablets & e-readers. For example, he focuses on how "the publisher, Gregory J. Osberg, of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News has begun selling not only the fruit of its news gathering but one version of the newfangled tree: a French-made, mid-market tablet." Basically, what Osberg did was create a competitor for the already existing tablets & e-readers.
This specific tablet, however, is supposed to be special because it has four paid applications that're specifically designed for it, no adapting necessary. These apps are factored into in the actual price of the Arnova 10 G2 tablet & include the Inquirer, its sister, the tabloid Daily News & Philly.com. The Arnova also include the Amazon app store while icons for sponsors such as healthcare providers appear on the screen.
Despite the hard work & effort that Osberg & his teams are putting forth for the Arnova to take off & become a true competitor with the iPad, etc, challenges are quickly arising & the challenges are turning customers away. The tablet does have its disadvantages turning off the technologically-geared because of the lack of "instantaneous connectivity," the tablet does not have 3G or 4G speed. It also has a "cramped & bulky keyboard," making it more difficult to work with & not as easy to transport in comparison to other e-readers. Though there hasn't been any recorded remarks made in reference to the keyboard, customers have been promised 3G and/or 4G connectivity in later models... which is interesting because the current model has yet to take off into the market & is in the middle of a miscalculation considering the first batch should have been gone by now while in fact, half is left, and yet Osberg is already making promises of fixing the future models.
There are already complications in the estimated success of these tablets, is Osberg getting ahead of himself in assuming that the company will make enough of a profit to manufacture a more advanced version of their Arnova? And if advances such as a more speedy internet connection were so obvious, why not simply put more effort into perfectly (or improving) the already existing tablet, instead of releasing it, only to share the advances & extra features the newer one will have? Regardless, now it's just a matter of time to see how well the sales for this tablet go. Osberg claims that within two years, the tablet will be profitable. Guess we'll just have to wait & see.
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