The Hollywood Reporter has an interesting article on what the new Apple tablet has in store for Hollywood. What has been rumored to be named "the iSlate," Apple will announce details of the product soon (less than an hour)! It is expected to be tight competition with Amazon Kindle, an electronic reader, and will [of course] be fully loaded with other multimedia options.
According to Whitney, Hollywood isn't taking the iSlate seriously:
"The whole game is changing, and this is just one play in the game," says Jared Tobman, executive vp digital and production at Reveille. "Apple has a great playbook for how the new game will be played, but I don't think one device or one company presents the salvation or the end of content distribution as we know it."
Whitney should realize that this quote doesn't at all represent all of Hollywood. This quote, in fact, is quite naive. To say that one device or company can present the end of distribution may be true, but does Tobman recognize Apple's presence? It has already chance the distribution of media. iTunes began as a device for the music industry but has developed into distribution for both television and film (Hollywood and independent media).
The article also acknowledges Apple's presence with consumers, stating the tablet "...is the most buzzed-about because of the company's high marks with consumer experience and because of the iPhone's popularity."
This is, of course, another important aspect. Apple's popularity with consumers has that much more affect on the changes of content distribution with multimedia. Apple has developed an incredible amount of devotion from eager consumers who will demand their media when they want it.
"The TV business model already is under enormous pressure as studios and networks look for ways to shave costs from scripted content. There are only so many ad dollars to go around, which is why devices that support and encourage paid models are alluring. That includes smartphones like those from Apple and Google."
Here, again, we see another inclination toward the gray areas of distribution. Along with new technology comes increased costs to share distribution in every format. When one new technology is introduced, such as the iSlate, distributors must gather the funding - and with this economy is no easy task - to supply consumers with what they want. We, as consumers, demand what we want. Apple gives us this opportunity and distribution companies in all forms of media must comply.
