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Handheld Signs of the Times [Information Today](Information Today Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The buzz is the same this year everywhere I go. Everyone is focused on mobile devices, on the content that plays well on them, and on the cloud that extends them. Speaking in New York at The Software & Information Industry Association's (SIIA) annual Information Industry Summit in late January, equity fund manager and keynoter Michael Chen told publishers that three things are shaping the future: smartphones, tablets, and online video. If you have those things going for you, he might even consider investing in you. And I virtually heard the same message the week before at Clarion's Digital Content Monétisation Europe event. While quoted rates of growth diner, the numbers don't lie. No one seems to argue with the premise that smartphones are here to stay, tablets are only going to penetrate the market deeper, and video is now (and let's face it, it always has been) the most compelling way to communicate. Tablets are also proving to be popular containers for delivering magazines, manuals, textbooks, and other traditional media in formats that resemble the old media. Some publishers even sighed in relief over the new ways that may facilitate not only the familiar formats of the printed page but also the old subscriber-pays and advertiser-sustains financial models of an earlier age. Check out these photos that make some powerful points. Kids, don't try this at home. Apple Distinguished Educator Andrew Rhodes, below, showed teachers at the BETT 2012 show in London earlier this year how to use the built-in oscillators in the iPad to demonstrate the laws of physics. After all, what is the Gforce of a falling iPad? I don't know, but the device measuring the impact drew a steep red line that nearly ran off the chart when Rhodes slammed his iPad to the floor. Is the iPad just a device for delivering newspapers, magazines, ebooks, and digital texts? I think not, my friends. Is anyone in this photo below not shooting a video? Some techno-observers are predicting massive changes in cultures outside of our own with the potential to leapfrog the PC and go straight to the smartphone and the cloud. The U.S. and U.K. are considered to be examples of the potential trends to come, based on the current explosive rates of growth. This photo, which was taken earlier this year during the annual Dragon Dance in Philadelphia that ushered in the Year of the Dragon, is perhaps only a harbinger of things to come worldwide. Repeat the mantra after me: iPhone, iPad, iCloud ... I came. I saw. I conquered. Prevalent broadband, ubiquitous Wi-Fi. It's likely that business-class and first-class travelers have been enjoying these perks for some time. But I was pleasantly amazed last fall to find a USB charging port in the World Traveller (aka economy) section of my British Air flight from Chicago to London and a continuous Wi-Fi connection on my Amtrak Regional Rail service from Washington to Philadelphia. I will always remember the days when business travel involved getting away from the office and sometimes even staring out the window at the scenery. But there's just no rest for the weary in this strange new always-on, always-connected world that the future is destined to become. Dick Kaser is Information Today, Inc.'s vice president of content. Send your comments about this column to [email protected]. (c) 2012 Information Today, Inc. |