Poorly Kept Secret = PR and Momentum for Apple

In case you've been stuck in an ice cave in Antarctica since last summer, you've heard the "rumor" by now that Apple will soon introduce a tablet device. You first saw the device mentioned in a g-thought last August. Since then, despite Apple's reputation for secrecy, details have been sneaking out.

Today, news outlets are atwitter (yes, pun intended) with the fact that Apple will host a press event for its "latest creation" on 27.January here in San Francisco (I'm here on a brief business trip). WIRED will actually have a team on-site at the event to live blog and photo document the event.

What I appreciate about all this buzz is the great leverage of marketing resources on display. Apple will advertise the new product; there's little doubt that it will get behind any significant product launch. But let's look at the pre-launch campaign for a moment... Rumors arise last summer, the idea that Steve Jobs wants a "Kindle Killer" sneaks its way into the press during the fall, and more recently the Wall Street Journal reports that HarperCollins Publishers is negotiating an e-book deal with Apple.

How successful has all this PR, rumor, and innuendo been? Google returns 15,400,000 results for a search on "Apple tablet". Compare that to 8.7 million for "droid phone", a product currently supported by an extensive ad campaign.

The communications are leverage Apple's brand and connection with its consumer base. The early leaks provide both an opportunity to gauge reaction and build anticipation. If the idea flops, well, at least they avoided a poor launch and its accompanying expense. If the idea is picked up, shared, and dissected, it's a much better bet for a launch. Heck, some of the commentary might even help refine the final offering.

And, for a brand like Apple, with a thriving fan base, the early momentum generated through PR, sharing among the fans, etc. is most definitely a competitive advantage, which in this case, should cause concern at Amazon. It's one thing to face a Kindle Killer, it's another altogether to face such a product with the mass and momentum of the Apple brand behind it.

Apple Tablet: Kindle Killer?

Back in August, I mentioned the rumor of a new Apple tablet. The rumor keeps gaining steam, to the point that it's a pretty sure bet the product will be in-market in 2010. The latest plot twist? A subtle and likely profound change in Apple's App Store policy to enable free iPhone apps to sell added content from within the app.

Until now, apps were either free or paid. The new policy allows, say, a publisher to provide a free version of its content, with integrated options to access premium, pay-to-access content or utility. This model has performed well online for a variety of services... LinkedIn comes to mind as a good example.

The idea of in-app commerce for the iPhone, though, was until now only kosher to the Apple powers on high if the app charged up-front. Under the new rules, though, content providers can give away the app and sell stuff later from within it. This free-now-pay-later model could, and will, be applied by newspapers looking for new revenue streams. It might also be an avenue for monetization and consumption of other content, too.

One new idea? How about a digital video service? Blog commentary, reviews, entertainment news & gossip, short clips, and even some short or older feature length films could be available free, with click thru to rental or purchase of recent releases or premium content. The same could be done for music.

To add some spice to the ideation, what about using crowd-sourcing and user feedback to determine prices in an open commodity exchange valuing the particular content? This idea could provide impetus to try stuff early, when cheap. Heck, the best of the bunch might even enjoy rapid word of mouth awareness builds as folks clue in friends to great and still inexpensive films and tunes.

Which brings us to the subject of the Kindle. Anybody out there, even the most die-hard Kindlefreak, imagine that it can enable the kind of interactive experience a scaled up, iPhone-on-steroids Apple tablet could? Didn't think so. The two devices will remain distinct, in price and in functionality. Apple's new thing will probably out-do the Kindle at its own game - books, magazines, newspapers - but users will pay three times the price to get the experience. For folks who simply want to read, Kindles might be hunky-dory fine. But, for more fun, more sizzle, more pizzazz, Apple will likely entice a good number of potential Kindle customers to trade up.

Time will tell how this plays out. Microsoft is working on new tablet products, too. And, of course, the publishers of the world are all hoping someone creates a viable hardware foundation for consumption of their content... Preferably before the newspapers of the world are all bankrupt!

Apple Tablet Coming? Jobs on the Job!

Steve Jobs is back and back at it. Latest rumblings from Appletown: a tablet-type computational device is in the works.

Although details are lacking, I'd lay some pretty good odds this puppy is gonna be ideally suited for video watching, easy to use, and loaded with flash memory for instant-on action. Think Amazon Kindle for video or iPod touch on steroids... With better usability and a killer aesthetic.

I'm luke warm on the Kindle, and I've actually never been other than a business admirer of Apple, but the thought of a big, touch-screen, tablet-esque computer/media player has me a little giggly with anticipation.

Of course, I could be way, way off here, but it's fun to contemplate, no?

Microtransactions: A Little Becoming Too Much?

Microtransactions. Tiny payments for goods and services in bite-size amounts, a trend of significance and not so new. They are a key ingredient in the secret sauce of success for iTunes, a very real driver of the redbox business model, and the Amazon Kindle's ray of hope for newspapers is generated by them.

And yet... When does the stack-up of small purchases start to become a noticeable class of expense for consumers? Sure, it's easy to rent a movie for $1 a day or sign up for the $0.99 monthly subscription at a moment's notice. Today, these transactions "work" for consumers largely by being pain free at the time and largely unobtrusive on a credit card statement.

It seems to me that as more companies adopt this model of revenue capture, consumers will evolve, becoming more sensitive. Think of it this way, a piece of candy now and again isn't so bad for one's teeth or waistline, right? But, handfuls of sweets on a daily basis manifest themselves quickly. In the same way, too many microtransactions swells the waistline of any credit card account.

Don't believe me? Keep tabs on your small purchases for a week and tally the total. Or maybe an iTunes addiction already killed your credit limit. Chime in here to share your thoughts, reactions, or stories.