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Mag+, a Concept for a Handheld Digital Magazine Device

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 1:41 pm by Jamie

This video presentation of Bonnier R&D’s Mag+ is exactly what I would want out of a handheld digital reading device. I love the way you can quickly browse through articles swiping sideways and scrolling up and down when you want to read deeper. Accessing the bookmarking and keyboard features is really elegant. The whole package is gorgeously designed. I fucking want one right now!

Now we’ve heard rumblings for a good long while that Apple is working on a tablet device that may sit somewhere in between a digital reader like the Kindle, the iPhone, and a traditional laptop. Apple will unveil its new iSlate or Slate or whatever the fuck they’re calling it later this month and will no doubt cause quite a stir. But in my mind, the iWhatever has a lot to live up to now that I’ve seen the Mag+ concept. Yeah, I know it’s just a reader. And I figure that Apple will be aiming much higher than just the e-reader market by throwing in sophisticated gaming capabilities or networking macguffins and all that fancy hoo ha. However, you really can’t argue with the elegance of simplicity. If the iJibbaJabba looks anything like the Mag+ concept, I will need a change of pants. I’m really curious to see what Apple comes up with.

Regardless, the Mag+ concept is out there. If it’s taken seriously, it could represent an evolution for print. It certainly harmonizes with the way most of us consume digital media. If it’s not Apple, I hope that some company out there takes this project on. Who ever does could be at the forefront of the next revolution.

Source: Bonnier R&D

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 1:41 pm and is filed under Animation, Art, Crunchy Pants, The Future. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Responses to “Mag+, a Concept for a Handheld Digital Magazine Device”

  1. Avatarjoyvision
    Posted: Jan 5th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
    1

    I would dearly love something like that. We’ll need the tech to get a bettter, i.e. full colour e-ink; touch screens that don’t have glare.

    The touch screen tech seems to be here, i don’t know if tactility represents an issue. But i really like how this naturally converges with the microsoft future vision video, which predicted a touch/gesture based evolution of digital input.
  2. AvatarHamstadini
    Posted: Jan 5th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
    2

    Oh man… if Mag+ just focused on software and combined their talents with the makers of the Skiff Reader, Apple would have some serious competition on their hands.

    Just to let you know, the Skiff Reader is 1/4″ thin, bendable, comes with 4GB of storage and an expandable SD card slot, Sprint 3G network accessibility, and it’s coming this summer.

    http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/skiff-reader-is-largest-reader-yet-will-be-hitting-a-sprint-sto/

    Poor Nook… I was thinking about getting one, but it’s already outdated.
  3. AvatarJamie
    Posted: Jan 5th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
    3

    Holy fuck beans, the Skiff gives me a boner! Any word on how much it costs? I love the thin profile and that it’s flexible. I want to read all kinds of comics on it now!
  4. AvatarCortharis
    Posted: Jan 7th, 2010 at 8:42 am
    4

    This seems like a good solid concept that’s well thought out. That being said, what’s the chances that the original concept and design of the device isn’t going to be totally screwed by ‘what people want’ (ie. mp3 player, gaming device ect). I do hope that this concept sticks to doing one thing and doing one thing best. I’m sure this is going to get a lot of backlash from the traditional print layout designers, but I’m sure there are going to be some people fresh from school who’ll want to design specifically for them.

    As for Apple’s tablet, I just giggle at myself about it. I know they’ve created this ‘demand’ for touch technology, but no one’s going to pay the price they’re going to ask on this. Tablet PCs never took off well for a reason. People are not going to pass up their keyboard and fast typing any time soon. You think touch devices have a lot of productivity behind them, but unless you’re Photoshoping or using Illustrator, the effieceny of everything kind of slows down.
  5. AvatarValdars
    Posted: Jan 7th, 2010 at 11:15 am
    5

    I dont like the concept of Apple tablet. It looks like hybrid between iPhone and netbook that has worst of both worlds- too small and minimal to be really useful and too big and expensive to be some sort of mobile device. And since it doesnt look like it will have e-ink display or something similar i dont belive it should be called e-reader. Skiff looks like it may be something really good- big screen, expandable storage and choice of connecting. But i want to know more about software- how exactly does transferring books work, can i add my own books and documents, what formats it supports, how does its menu look like and etc.
    @Cortharis
    Tablet PC doesnt necessary mean without keyboard. I would love to get some good tablet PC but they are usually quite expensive and that probably is real reason why they havent become popular.
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