[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #232: The iPad at one

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #232: The iPad at one
June 1st, 2011

<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ipad_candle.png>It may 
be hard to believe, but the iPad is only just a little over one year 
old. During that brief time period, it has had a deep impact on the way 
many people compute, has spawned a number of competitors, and has been 
extensively covered by technology news outlets. It may be slightly wrong 
to call the iPad a computer, since it is not really designed for 
crunching numbers. Some call it a "media consumption platform," since 
iPads are used so frequently to read/view news and information articles 
from the web. For that reason, the iPad has led to some interesting 
revelations for the news and magazine publishing industries-and 
libraries-in just one short year.

    * iPad usability: Year One <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/ipad.html>
      (Alertbox/Jakob Nielsen) "The most common uses reported by our
      participants were playing games, checking email and social
      networking sites, watching videos/movies, and reading news. People
      also browsed the Web and performed some shopping-related research.
      But most users felt that it was easier to shop on their desktop
      computers. Some also worried about the security of e-commerce
      purchases on the iPad. A common characteristic of all this iPad
      use is that it's heavily dominated by media consumption, except
      for the small amount of production involved in responding to emails."
    * Readers are more likely to skim over articles on an iPad than in a
      newspaper
      <http://www.miratech.com/blog/eye-tracking-etude-iPad-vs-journal.html>
      (Miratech white paper) "The average time taken to read an article
      on each medium is very similar. A user takes an average of 1
      minute 11 seconds to read an article on paper, compared with 1
      minute 13 seconds on an iPad. Thus the length of time for reading
      an article on paper or iPad is very close. A more detailed
      analysis shows that the eyes linger longer on the paper version
      (275 ms on paper versus 231 ms on the iPad). This means that
      people concentrate more when reading an actual newspaper."
    * The surprising reason publishers are finally saying Yes to Apple
      <http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffbercovici/2011/05/11/the-surprising-reason-publishers-are-finally-saying-yes-to-apple/>
      (Mixed Media/Jeff Bercovici) "As things stand, if you buy a
      subscription to The New Yorker or Popular Science in the iTunes
      store, you will get a little dialogue box asking if it's all right
      if Apple shares some of your personal information with the
      publisher. Initially, publishers were worried, reasonably enough,
      that users would overwhelmingly say no. But they don't. In fact,
      about 50 percent opt in."
    * The boundless library: explore the New York Public Library
      collections on your iPad
      <http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_boundless_library_explore_the_new_york_public.php>
      (ReadWriteWeb/Audrey Watters) "The app was designed in conjunction
      with Potion <http://www.potiondesign.com/> and it's a joy to
      scroll through. While it does tout the ability to 'explore the
      stacks,' the app certainly recognizes the library mission here
      isn't about 'dead books.' Rather the information is accessible and
      beautifully presented, taking full advantage of the touchscreen
      technology and the rotation of the tablet-the horizontal view lets
      you explore the collection visually, while the vertical view lets
      you read essays and thumb through imagery."

*/Sales fact:/*

In the one year following its launch in April 2010, Apple sold over 19 
million iPads.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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