Apple to bring back Newton moniker for tablet

Will they? Won't they? Who knows what they'll do or what they'll call it, but I bet tomorrow's eagerly awaited announcement won't lead to lengthy queues in the next few days outside Apple's stores...

I've got a feeling this is going to be another iPhone "we've done it and you can get it in six months" moment.

Trying to spot the opportunity

More than 11 years ago, I submitted my university dissertation which posed the question 'what would happen to public service broadcasting, given the threat posed to traditional media by the convergence of television, computer and telecoms technologies'.

With that notion of convergence looking set to become a reality in 2010 (reports are suggesting 20% of new televisions will have some form of Internet connectivity), the key debate won't be about PSB, but about the nature of platforms.


Will platforms be open, or closed? Will we simply see sets with web browsers, or are we set for another battle of proprietary Internet-enabled platforms (Canvas, Freesat, ConnectedTV, A.N. Other) which will echo previous platform scraps like VHS v Betamax or Blu-Ray v HD-DVD?

I'm hoping the lessons have been learned. We seem to have a suitable way of delivering video content already - and we've developed a certain fondness for the way the web works, so why reinvent it?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

PS...

That this should warrant an independent blog post is quite ludicrous, but I'm quite delighted that I've reached the landmark figure of 100 followers on Twitter. Statistically, it seems that I've amassed one Twitter follower for every three tweets.

And what a cross-section of  the 'scape those followers are. As well as some people with faces and brains, London's Southbank Centre (@southbankcentre) follows me, a coffee shop called Butty Boys (@buttyboys) on Gray's Inn Road follows me and I was also being followed by Manchester's landmark Beetham Tower (@BeethamTower) - a real building made of steel and glass - until I decided to block it because it was being used as a disgraceful marketing tool. If it decides to follow you, make sure you block it too.

Well on track to be a Twillionaire by 7th April 2024, I estimate.

Looking forward to having something to say

I'm looking forward to being able to announce the portfolio of combined TV listings/VOD discovery products across web and mobile (yes, we'll have an iPhone App) - that we've been working on in collaboration with technical partner Vizimo and design agency Feed.

We're at that tricky stage of mopping up loose ends, talking to our friends in the Brodcast industry, applying real-world functionality to ideal-world designs and finalising our proposition.

We're also working hard on coordinating marketing and sales activity to support the products.

Heads are down... not long to go.