With the release of the Mag+ conceptual prototype video, a feeling of excitement and anticipation is in the air regarding this digital hardware medium.

http://www.vimeo.com/8217311

Having looked over this device, a revelation that I have been reminded of is that rich Internet applications are growing very fast and pushing the boundaries of capabilities. Simply put, people want to do more with less. The above video really excites me with the savvy interaction of the speaker and the ease of use in which he interacts with the Mag+ with. It appears to be a device that is great for reading magazines. But is that it? Is the Mag+ nothing more then a gloried Kindle?

As the saying goes “If you’re going to do anything at all, do one thing right.” And I believe that the Mag+ is doing it right. Although it is in it’s infant stages, I’m really hoping that Bonnier will continue to do a fantastic job like they already have been.

My fear with all the new releases of tablet/ slate PCs is that no one is really specializing in everything. We have tablets that specialize in books, devices that specialize in magazines, some for Internet communications and others for open source-ware, but my question is who’s doing everything?

With futurists forecasting the normalization of Augmented Reality, it’s a real wonder that many companies are still specializing in 1 aspect of RIA. Having read some of the posts that some readers were writing regarding single function capabilities, many people still just want to read a magazine and nothing more. They don’t want to watch video, they don’t want to email anything to anyone, they just want a device to read. However, I find this thinking backwards and threatening to the advancement of AR and RIA. Almost a retardation if you will. If a user buys a device that only specializes in 1 aspect of RIA capabilities, what happens when 2 or 3 years down the road they decide that they want to start emailing and commenting on videos? Someone may say that they just want to read and nothing more, but would it not be beneficial if we all had multi-purpose RIA devices that simply allowed you to uncheck the multimedia box in the settings if you don’t want video in your articles?

Although technology should make our lives better and more convenient, consumers don’t want to be burdened down with 2 or more devices (well maybe a cellphone, if we’re not using our smart phones for work already).

The world is waiting for Apple to make it’s move with the release of the iSlate. My hope is that Apple will continue to open the door that RIA has been knocking on for years.