photo credit: nDevilTV

As frustrated as I am with some of the moves that Apple’s been making lately I can’t help but become increasingly excited about the potential for the rumored Apple tablet.

I used a Tablet PC for years and, during that period, swore by it. I gave my Fujitsu tablet to Doug a few months ago since he had never used one. He liked it well enough but realize that it’s not his thing. He sent it back and I have to say, I’m really happy to have a slate tablet again. I love being able to sit with it on my lap and write on the screen. And, thanks to its dual array mics, Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 10 works like a charm. (I’m actually writing this entire post with it.) Setting up the Tablet last night I had a bit of an epiphany. I think I know what one of the killer applications on the Apple tablet might be. And if I’m right it is something noone has talked about. What is the killer application for the new Apple tablet?

Magazines. No I’m not kidding. I think the killer application for the new Apple tablet will be the eMagazine. Magazines are a huge market and the new tablet will bring it to the mainstream in its electronic form. Let me explain why.

1. Zinio already offers a wide selection of electronic magazines on an assortment of computing platforms and it works well. It makes it possible to get magazine subscriptions automatically downloaded right your device. I subscribe to two or three different magazines and, each month, I am notified when a new one is ready for download. I then download it to my computer and, within seconds, I’m able to read the magazine. The electronic  is a perfect replica of the print version in full-color and with the exact same content. Even better, every page of the magazine includes links to other content or product pages. Click on the link and you can jump right to the other information just as you would in any website. No platform  is better for the technology than the tablet pc. While this works perfectly well on a MacBook or iMac, reading them on a slate tablet replicates the experience of holding a magazine in your hand.

In fact the MacWorld cover at the top of the page was, in fact, on my tabletpc!!

2. While the experience of reading a magazine on a tablet is better than on a desktop, in most cases it is still dependent upon using a stylus or buttons. Moreover, as in the case of my slate, many are heavy and run hot.

3. Unlike newspapers, to a large degree, reading magazines is about more than just the text content. Magazines are about the combination of good content and high-quality color pictures. As a result devices such as the Amazon Kindle and the Sony reader aren’t good options for emagazines. Tablets are.

4. A number of months ago I had the opportunity to beta test a magazine application for the phone. It was a good effort but, ultimately, I gave my feedback to the company that it just didn’t work on device as small as the iPhone and iPod touch.

The application has never been released and while there is a web-based version of it, overall, an iPhone is not the right platform for magazines.

Now imagine this –

A 10 inch touchscreen tablet. It is light. It runs cool. full-The color images look fantastic. And this is true if you’re getting Car and Driver, MacWorld or even Playboy (which, of course, you just get for the articles).

It can be used either in landscape, which gives you the opportunity to have one large page at a time, or portrait mode, which gives you the opportunity to have two smaller pages as if the magazine were open in front of you.

Whether the new tablet runs a full MacOS X operating system or OSx iPhone an application like Zinio allows magazines be downloaded in the same manner they currently do on my Mac and tablet PC. (In fact the beta application that I tried a few months ago would be a fantastic candidate for such a 10″ device.) And because the tablet is Internet connected, tapping on any product or any live hyperlink automatically opens up a new browser window and gives you that information.

In other words, among the many useful functions that a 10 inch Apple tablet could bring would be the ability to use electronic magazines in a real way. In fact I dare say that it would actually bring in such magazines to the mainstream in a huge way.

The more I think about it the more I’m willing to wager that I’m right. We’ll hopefully know soon enough.