Canadian Business magazine U.S. commentator says Research in Motion is toast

[This post has been updated]Canadian Business magazine commissioned well-known US commentator Henry Blodget (EIC of Business Insider) to pass judgement on the likely fate of the maker of the BlackBerry and (now) the Playbook, Research in Motion. His verdict (published online by Canadian Business and simultaneously on Business Insider)? RIM is toast.

[Update: This article, which I came across on

QuarkXPress 9 being released in April

Should anyone be interested, QuarkXPress 9 is being released in April. It is being presented as the answer to design automation, allowing designers to publish directly to digital devices. Virtually every magazine publisher I meet says they have either switched to Adobe InDesign or are considering it. Any views about this? Add a comment.

One in five Americans say they own or plan to own a tablet within three years

Twenty per cent of Americans own or plan to purchase a tablet computer within the next three years, according to results of a survey conducted by Harris Interactive (sponsored by app designer Fuze Box). [reported by Folio:]Both personal and business reasons will drive the tablet purchases, with 53 percent of respondents saying they plan to read e-books and newspapers on the device (that

Publish once, read anywhere;Condé Nast's Rick Levine on the company's strategy

Magazines Canada has posted a video of the recent presentation in Toronto by Richard Levine VP Editorial Operations, Condé Nast. Click on this link

The iPad as an illustrator's tool

For magazine illustrators out there, as well as the rest of us, a fascinating video showing Brooklyn artist David John Kassan using an iPad and "fingerpainting" to make a portrait from life. [Thanks, Michel.]

Nomad Editions says it will combine virtue of great magazines with multi-platform digital delivery

It was inevitable that someone would seek and find a way to sidestep Apple; it seems that a new subscription-based mobile content provider called Nomad Editions may be showing the way that magazines could reach their readers on iPads and smartphones of all kinds. Or as a new business model for digital media it may eclipse many of them. Nomad is scheduled to launch October 15 The publication (

Rogers buys 50% of TOPS, Torstar's online publishing system

Rogers Communications is becoming an equal partner in the online publishing system that was developed by Torstar Corp. and is used by some Rogers-owned magazine, TV and radio operations. According to a story on The Canadian Press, TOPS has been used for four years to publish TheStar.com, the internet edition of the newspaper, as well as for Toronto.com and the news sites of Metroland Media

U.S. e-reader prices slashed as battle for eyeballs heats up

The likely inevitable price war in e-readers has broken out, big time, in the U.S. It can't be long before similar price-cutting occurs in Canada. Today, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal, Barnes & Noble cut the price of its Nook reader to $199 and introduced a wi-fi model for only $149; and Amazon.com followed suit by lowering the price of its Kindle to $189.Both the Nook and

Tide on iPad magazine subs seems to be running to higher pricing than print

Consumers are likely to be surprised, and probably disappointed, by the pricing of magazines appearing on iPads starting this month. The assumption -- perhaps encouraged by free web posting and many digital "flip" editions that are priced less than their print counterparts -- is that iPad editions will cost less. The uncertainty extends to magazine managements who are trying to come up with a

NOW magazine says it is the first magazine in Canada to offer its readers an iPad version

It remains to be seen whether iPad mania will be as virulent in Canada as it has been in the U.S. (where in a little over a month Apple has sold a million units), but today's launch (which had some lunatics lining up overnight) coincides with NOW magazine claiming bragging rights for offering its readers an the iPad iBooks friendly e-reader version. It can be downloaded now from nowtoronto.com/

Virtual newsstand lets you swipe a magazine off a coffee table

I will concede that the intention is good (ease for the customer), but there is something weird and off-putting about this concept for a new form of virtual newsstand -- a table top from which you can drag participating titles onto the e-reader of your choice. The video is from eMedia Vitals and the demonstration was at the SXSW Music and Media Conference.

U.S cellphone data shows more texting than web browsing

Research released by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and reported in Silicon Valley Insider notes that while 86% of Americans now own cellphones*, accessing the mobile internet on them is far less common than sending pictures or text messaging. Only 28% access web pages (it goes up to 48% for 18-29 year olds) and 20% download apps. Older cellphone owners 50 - 64 use text messaging (51%

Wired magazine and Adobe unveil tablet reader that is a "new era of media"

 
Wired magazine and Adobe Systems have unveiled a tablet application of the Wired Reader. It was not a CGI demo or simulation,  but ran more or less with real content with real copy, created with Adobe InDesign.  
Wired editor Chris Anderson says that the magazine is entering a new media era, with a digital platform that retains all the features of  his glossy print magazine, but augmented with

Getting small- and medium-sized magazine on to tablet and other e-devices

As things get sorted in the wake of the launch of the iPad, smaller and medium-sized magazines must be wondering how they are going to be able to make their content available on the new device in some affordable way. Larger publishing organizations of the likes of Rogers and Transcontinental have the means to do this, if they wish, which they undoubtedly do. But there is a real opportunity here

Five ways the iPad will change magazine design . Say goodbye to fixed frequency

Luke Hayman, a partner at the uber-design house Pentagram in New York, and the designer of many magazines including Time, New York and Travel + Leisure, enumerates  five ways the iPad will change magazine design. And function. He says that the device will change online advertising conventions and the way ads are made and displayed, reading habits and provoke bigger, brighter sharper magazine

Publishers fingers are crossed as they await the promise of the Apple tablet

On the eve of the unveiling of the much anticipated Apple tablet (iPad?), a lot of traditional magazine and newspaper publishers are doing their level best to put a positive spin on the new gadget's likely impact. A story in the New York Times puts it this way:For now, at least, the technology and media industries are looking at the brighter side. “Steve believes in old media companies and wants

A sneak peek at a tablet-enabled Sports Illustrated

In the race to come up with a digital magazine for the much-heralded and forthcoming tablet computers, it appears that Time Inc. is the first out of the gate. The site TechCrunch reports on a sneak peek it had of the application that is for Sports Illustrated. (Condé Nast is apparently working on something similar.) The writer Eric Schonfeld saysThe concept was designed by David Link at the

Publishers want to be Apple tablet-ready, without losing control

U.S. magazine and newspaper publishers are discussing the possibility of creating their own digital storefront tailored to the much-anticipated Apple tablet.A story in Advertising Age reports publishers want to avoid the fate of the music industry, which became captive to iTunes (which dictated download music prices to them). And they don't want to see repeated what happened with Amazon's

Where is your favoured technology? Understanding the "hype cycle"

Assailed by new developments in social networking, even while struggling with the perennial challenges of selling ads and making good magazines, publishers and editors could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed.You may take comfort (or add to your confusion) by familiarizing yourself with the analysis done by technology market research firm Gartner. It tries to track what it calls the "hype cycle"

What will the papers say?

Although it is fixated on newspapers, many magazine journalists and publishers make a point of reading the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR). Now this venerable magazine has undergone a transformative experience of its own, with a redesign showing up with its March/April issue. Of course, the cover story is a big piece by Robert Kuttner on the future of newspapers in the age of the