So anyways, I have been reading all the rumors and watching the concepts about the Apple Tablet. How it is going to revitalize the dying print industry, and at least judging from the countless rumors I definitely agree, that it is something that will surely bring life back into this facet of information, killing less trees in the process. But what does this mean for Web Design? Consider this digital Sports Illustrated preview.

It maintains the look and feel of reading a magazine while adding a lot of really exciting features. The stories and articles are laid out exactly the same way as the traditional magazine, yet the user can flip between pages, watch videos, and even share stories using a bunch of different social apps. Suddenly the “magazine” which has been around for well over 300 years has become a whole lot more dynamic. It’s like a website, only a hell of a lot nicer.

Let’s assume that this mythical Tablet is real, is announced on Wednesday and gets released. Let’s also assume it becomes as popular as the iPhone, transforming the way people get and consume information. Suddenly 30% of the people viewing websites are on these Tablet devices. Without a doubt, people are going to expect the same level of quality from our websites, that they are receiving from these e-magazines.

I believe this will spark a dramatic change in the way we go about creating websites, and we need to take a long look at those old magazines to see how. Magazines present information differently than websites. Instead of pure information spread across a number of identical pages, magazines take a more modular approach, giving each idea or article it’s own unique look and feel. This creates a more holistic feeling from the users perspective, where there is a discrete beginning and end to the information you are consuming, as opposed to the endless stream of information we get with the internet today.

Without a doubt, people are going to expect the same level of quality from our websites, that they are receiving from these e-magazines.

Several designers have begun to take on this challenge already. The trend, known as “blogazines” is starting to catch on. As the name indicates, “blogazines” combine the look and feel of magazines with the dynamic nature of typical blog websites. Smashing magazine published a great article exploring this trend.

Personally, I don’t think that websites are ever going to become indistinguishable from e-magazines, but we as web designers need to take a serious look at what works and what doesn’t work with this new form of media. We can then explore the ways it can help further enrich the sites we design and build.

All the while I’ve been continuing my contract at Bridgeline Software while going to lots of interviews at a variety of different places around my area. They’re all pretty cool. I’m looking forward to my latest interview at viximo because they mentioned getting into iPhone application development which coincidentally is something I’ve been wanting to get into.

I’m not sure if I’m doing this because I’m still on an Apple-fanboy-high from watching the WWDC Keynote and iPhone 3G announcement, but that night I decided to register as an Apple Developer for the iPhone.  When I went to their Apple Developer Connection site, I was expecting the documentation to be some 100+ PDF giving overly-technical instructions on how to program for the iPhone, but in the usual Apple fashion, in addition to neatly organized technical documents, there are a series of videos which show you step by step how to develop on the iPhone.

I’m not sure if I’m doing this because I’m still on an Apple-fanboy-high from watching the WWDC Keynote and iPhone 3G announcement, but that night I decided to register as an Apple Developer for the iPhone.

The tools and applications are very cool as well.  Aside from the usual suspects (Xcode, etc), there are some iPhone specific applications.  The UI designer is so obvious to use, I really wish I played with it sooner.  There is also an app which simulates the iPhone UI and allows you to work on the iPhone almost in real time.  Did I mention all of this is free?

Never before has coding on a platform been this intuitive and, dare I say fun.  Really, my only issue is the fact that I don’t have the slightest clue what I want to make.  I definitely want to create a game of some sort, but I don’t know what kind at all.  I guess I will start getting ideas once I get my feet wet.