Apple To Unveil Tablet Today, Continue 11th Hour Negotiations with Publishers

Today’s unveiling of the highly-anticipated Apple Tablet has everyone abuzz, and not just in the newspaper and magazine industries.  According to Broadcasting & Cable, television executives are weighing the effects that it could have on the dynamics of their business models.

The Wall Street Journal reports that as of last night, book publishers were still in last minute negotiations with Apple concerning how e-books will be priced and distributed on the new Tablet. The Tablet is expected to drastically alter the publishing industry’s revenue model and the negotiations remain tense.

The Tablet is widely expected to run IPhone applications, but the question of how quickly consumers will jump on the tablet bandwagon remains to be seen. Jenna Wortham of The New York Times warns that creating new software for the Tablet will be an expensive undertaking and people may be unwilling to move to the tablet if it simply features apps which can be accessed on their IPhones.

Apple will do everything in its power to avoid the disappointing belly flops taken by tablet computers in the early 1990’s.  The Wall Street Journal reports that while this incarnation immensely improved features – like high-speed wireless networking and internet-based content – several obstacles remain on the horizon for Apple’s Tablet.

According to Broadcast Engineering, Apple will focus on providing content from “old media” sources – such as textbooks, newspaper, and televisions – but has plans to reach out to several other media forms in the near future.  Apple will also pitch the tablet as a device that can be shared by family members in order to read news and check email.

New York Times personal technology editor Sam Grobart hit the streets to get people’s opinions on the release of the new Apple Tablet and whether (or when) they would be interested in purchasing one for themselves. Click here for the video.