Several recent iPad app announcements have pushed cloud-based media even further into the spotlight, with the iPad as the device of choice.
Today saw the launch of Comcast’s streaming service via its Xfinity iPad app. Another app also released today is The Daily, a completely online daily newspaper built specifically for the iPad from News Corp. Yesterday, TechCrunch broke news of the New York Times’ answer to The Daily called News.me, which uses Twitter as a news aggregation engine.
These new apps make for an interesting cloud media landscape. Comcast is starting to see the writing on the wall with Netflix’s rise to streaming content provider. The iPad’s success has, once again, brought to light the death of print. While I don’t believe tablets are going to kill print alltogether, I do believe they are going to significantly alter how printed media is distributed.
Another interesting point is the lack of Android support. I’m sure we’ll see this change when Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) launches. However, I’m also sure Jobs & Co. have a few tricks up their sleeves for the iPad 2.
Overall 2011 looks to be the year big media houses realize that their existing content can’t just be thrown onto a tablet and expected to work. It should be an exciting ride, and we’re looking forward to reporting on it for you. You can read Techcrunch’s full coverage of News.me at their website. Additional information for Comcast’s Xfinity app is available on the Xfinity Website. Check out The Daily on iTunes.