Wired iPad app: the future of publishing and the future of Adobe
A number of thoughts bubble up about Wired's iPad app.
First, I've long felt the future of publications was based on recognizing the value of the total package, whether it's print or online. As publishers of periodicals and newspapers look to the digital world for salvation, they need to recognize that simple repurposing of existing content won't cut it. This kind of packaging with its seamless integration of multimedia is the way to go.
Second, Apple's Steve Jobs blistered Adobe in an employee town hall meeting a couple weeks ago, calling them "lazy" and insisting the iPhone, iTouch and iPad don't support Flash because it's buggy and its use will decline as the world moves to HTML 5. But Adobe has clearly worked with Wired to produce something extraordinary here, and they created it for an Apple product. I can imagine Adobe staff smiling when they heard Jobs' criticism, knowing that the preview of their iPad product would hit the news in just a couple weeks.
Third, I'll admit I was underwhelmed with the iPad when I saw the demos and read the specs; my feeling was that I already have everything the iPad will do between my laptop and my iPhone. And I'm still extremely leery of a platform that requires approval for the applications you'll run on it. But -- assuming Apple won't be petty and vindictive and hold up approval of this app because of the Adobe affiliation (and I wouldn't put it past them, given their failure to approve iPhone apps because they don't like the logos) -- it's clear that the iPad will only be as good as the apps that are created for it specifically, not just the iPhone apps that migrate over. With enough apps like the one Wired and Adobe introduce in the video, the iPad could become an invaluable device.
The full article that accompanies this video on Wired's Epicenter blog is here.
