Condé Nast Gears Up For Apple Tablet?

It's not exactly VAR-related news, but it's interesting news none the less. The latest viral video poking around the web is a mock-up of a digital magazine coming from Condé Nast. It's an edition of WIRED potentially running on the long-rumored Apple Tablet. Apparently Wired isn't alone. Rumor has it that the New York Times has already been approached for producing material custom-tailored for the holy-grail of Apple devices.

Here's the video and the scoop:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLc-8gT2eKg

Condé Nast, of course, has denied any claims about creating material specifically for Apple, but it's pretty obvious where this is headed, even if it isn't for the mythical tablet. Recently, NVIDIA's CEO was spotting using a prototype device which caused a huge buzz, since it looked like some tablet mockups that had been floating around. The word is that it was actually something being developed for T-Mobile.

Channel Tablets?

But the bottom line is that the tablet is coming, sooner or later. And if it's not the tablet, it'll be a tablet. So will the tablet revolution spark a revolution for VARs and the way people do business? It's certainly started a flame in the consumer's heart. And even though the tablet computer has been around for a while, it's not really the same idea. There's something inherently different about they keyboard-less multi-touch device. It's a game changer. We interact with something differently when the idea to touch, not type, especially when using with an intuitive interface.

Recently, the iPod Touch became the default checkout device for Apple Store employees. The iPod Touch is outfitted with a magnetic card reader and a special pen with a round sphere ending providing a touch-capacidence. This enables the customer to sign for purchases. Dell already sells multi-touch monitors as a stand alone product, and Apple's latest Magic Mouse does away with all buttons for a complete touch experience. HP, Lenovo and Sony provide all-in-one PC touch screens. Touch is also in the new Sony e-Reader and the color screen on the new Barnes and Noble Nook.

My prediction? Be on the lookout for a mid-to-late 2010 boom. Touch is going to be everywhere and it's going to be big.