"You can't take it with you when you die," the old adage says. But, when it comes to leaving our digital assets to our nearest and dearest, it seems you can't pass them on either. Depending on who consumers buy their e-books, MP3s and movie downloads from, the right to use these digital assets often expires when the person who buys them dies. Therefore, it's often legally impossible to pass them on.

"The long and the short of it is you're borrowing the music or books you buy from iTunes or on a Kindle," Keith Etherington, a solicitor from family law specialists Slater & Gordon, tells IT Pro.

Digital legacy preservation: First steps

Before you can start taking steps to preserve your digital legacy, you need to take stock of what accounts you have and their contents, advises Emma Myers, head of wills, probate and lifetime planning at Saga Legal.

"[We] recommend creating a directory of all online accounts (excluding passwords for reasons of security), which is stored with your will," she explains. "This means next of kin will find it much easier to locate all your accounts."

For on-premise assets, locked up in laptops or stored on tablets, Simon Lewey, a partner at family law firm Cripps Law, says there are organisations who will store device passwords until someone dies and then disclose them to select parties afterwards.

Alternatively, people could store these details with their wills and leave them in the care of their solicitor instead, he suggests. "I've got one client who has given me, to keep physically with his will, a piece of paper in a sealed envelope, with the passwords to his PC," Lewey reveals. "He feels that's a good way of ensuring I can get to that [data], and unlock it."

"As far as I understand it, these are license agreements, not purchase agreements. And, as a result...that license terminates on death." This may come as a surprise and shock to some, particularly when they total up how much money they're likely to spend on accruing these digital assets during their lifetimes. "You might spend 20,000 on iTunes over your lifetime, but once you die, that's it. Apple keeps your money and no-one else gets to listen to the music," Etherington adds. IT Pro raised this point with Apple and the company confirmed it's not possible to "legally bequeath" an iTunes library to someone, as per its terms and conditions. However, Apple did say it is possible to make it accessible to others after the owner's death. This involves contacting iTunes customer services and asking them to transfer ownership of the account to another person who must provide a copy of the deceased's death certificate and a legal document confirming they have the right to take over the account. Alternatively, as Etherington points out, a person could simply pass on their iTunes login details to whoever they want to have access to it after death. Failing to do so won't just stop loved ones accessing your iTunes library, but could also prevent them from accessing an iPad or iPhone that's been passed on too. That's a situation Josh Grant has found himself in after his late mother bequeathed her two-year-old iPad to her family in her will. Since her death from cancer at the age of 59, they've been unable to use it because they do not know her Apple ID and password. Grant told the BBC he was asked by Apple to provide written consent from his mother for the device to be unlocked. "We obviously couldn't get written permission because mum has died. So my brother has been back and forth with Apple. They're asking for some kind proof that he can have the iPad," Grant says. "We've provided the death certificate, will and solicitors letter, but it wasn't enough. They've now asked for a court order to prove that Mum was the owner of the iPad and the iTunes account. "It's going to have to go through our solicitor and he charges 200 an hour, so it's a bit of a false economy," he adds.

Since news of this story first came to light, Apple has responded to the family's request to access the device and restored the factory settings.

E-books after death

Amazon's Kindle store terms of use seem to take a similarly dim view of people who might want to pass on their e-book collections, post-death. "Unless specifically indicated otherwise, you may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, sublicense, or otherwise assign any rights to the Kindle Content or any portion of it to any third party," it states. The same goes for rival e-reader maker Kobo, who told IT Pro that once a customer dies, their account will remain open, but no-one can use it and ownership of it cannot be transferred to a third-party. It is also impossible to bequeath a Kobo account in a will.

"However, if the owner of the Kobo account gives the email address and password...to someone before dying, the person who has the Kobo credentials can log into the Kobo account and use it," a statement from Kobo to IT Pro helpfully states. In fact there is nothing to stop users of any of these services passing on their login details, adds Etherington. "I suspect what people will practically come to do is leave behind a little book of their passwords, and provided someone has [that] they can get in. Apple or whoever won't know who is logging in," he adds. The cyber security risks associated with taking this kind of approach are obvious, but it might be the simplest, if not the most secure, way of passing on access to your digital assets after death. Particularly if people have accounts with a large number of digital media providers, such as Apple, Amazon, Kobo, and use streaming service such as Netflix and Spotify too.

Planning ahead

The work involved to shut down someone's account, if ownership transfer is not allowed, can be arduous as each company tends to have its own way of handling things. This is why, Emma Myers, head of wills, probate and lifetime planning at Sagalegal.co.uk, says people need to start planning what will happen to their digital estate after death sooner rather than later. "Without a properly planned digital legacy, your loved ones can face a stressful struggle to gain access to online accounts and shut them down," Myers tells IT Pro.

Tweeting after death

Twitter users unwilling to let the small matter of death stop them accruing followers should sign up to automatic tweet generation service Liveson.

Once people sign up, Liveson will analyse their Twitter feeds and then generate Tweets based on what's been written before once they've died.

The company's tagline is "when your heart stops beating, you'll keep tweeting" and around 417 people have signed up to use it since its launch.

To spare the feelings of friends and family, these preserved profiles will not generate birthday reminders or be used to populate Facebook's lists of friend suggestions for users.

"[Facebook] will automatically memorialise an account when we know that an account user has passed away," the company said in a statement to IT Pro. "Anyone can request memorialisation, with proof of a user's passing." In some cases, friends and family may want the deceased person's profile deactivated or deleted, a situation Facebook is more than happy to comply with. "Family members/executors may request to have the profile removed entirely, but they do not have the right to actually access the account," a Facebook spokesperson added. "Verified immediate family members may request the removal of a loved one's account from the site, and Facebook will close or completely remove [it]." Microblogging site Twitter offers similar service, whereby a verified family member or the executor of the dead person's estate can ask the site to deactivate their account by supplying copies of the user's death certificate, driver's license and username details. These must be accompanied by a signed statement confirming their relationship to the deceased.

Despite the huge amounts of time people spend cultivating their digital footprints, very few are taking steps to preserve them at the moment, claims Simon Lewey, a partner at legal firm Cripps Law.

"At the moment, while it wouldn't be right to say the use of digital media is restricted to the under 40s at all, I don't think we're quite at the generation yet [who are most actively using these services] that are actively concerned about dying," Lewey tells IT Pro.

"Emotional issues like [their family] seeing a Facebook picture after they've died is not really in their contemplation...because the younger you are, the less concerned you are about dying."

The legal costs involved with sorting out your digital estate could also be a barrier, opines Lewey, particularly as its difficult to put a value on how much someone's digital estate is worth.

"I'm not seeing a lot of concerned clients at the moment, and unless they make some reference to it, we're not raising it as a specific issue, not least because a lot of people would say a lot of this stuff doesn't have any real value," Lewey explains. "They might have hundreds of pounds worth of iTunes stuff, or something of that sort, but I'm not going to pay my lawyer a fortune to deal with...something of hypothetical value."

Even so, Saga Legal's Myers says taking steps to preserve your digital legacy is something everyone should think about doing now, regardless of their age.

"The concept of preserving your digital legacy is relatively new and isn't widely known," Myers admits.

"Social media accounts and shopping online are no longer just the preserve of younger generations: tech-savvy over-50s are more common than ever," she adds.

"As we inevitably become an increasingly digital society, planning for your virtual afterlife should be something on everyone's to-do list."

Online brand protection company NetNames has warned that the growing popularity of eBooks and e-readers has led to a rise in digital piracy.

"The explosion of digital books has transformed the publishing industry but there is one quietly growing problem that is often overlooked - piracy," said David Price, head of Piracy Intelligence at NetNames.

Price was speaking out following the UK launch of the 7in Amazon Kindle Fire HD, which allow users to watch films, read books and play games.

Publishers who stay one step ahead of online piracy will reap benefits.

He also warned that textbook publishers, in particular, are susceptible to piracy as they tend to be read by more "tech-savvy" users.

"NetNames recently took twenty textbooks from the bestselling lists on Amazon and found that each book was available from over 20 links on ebookee.org, one of many download sites that have proliferated and offer easy access to files stored on cyberlockers," he added.

"The small target audience of these textbooks means that any sales diverted to piracy could have devastating effects for publishers."

To tackle this problem, Price suggested introducing one-time online use codes or offering Amazon-like refunds on textbook rentals.

"Moving forward, it is publishers who aim to stay one step ahead of online piracy that will reap the benefits of an increasingly digital world," added Price.

Julian Heathcote Hobbins, general counsel for the anti-piracy body the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), backed Price's view that eBook piracy is on the rise.

"The advancing popularity of eBooks has naturally led to a piracy increase in this area from the beginning of this year and publishers are now facing a battle not dissimilar to that endured by the music and film industry," he told IT Pro.

"DRM (Digital Rights Infringement) seems the most obvious tool to protect against infringement but it depends on what strategy the publishers wish to do, but action against infringement must be effective," he added.

Apple is being sued by the US government over allegations that they conspired to fix the prices of e-books, along with five publishers.

The Justice Department accused Apple of colluding with the five publishers as the Silicon Valley giant was launching its iPad in early 2010 and was seeking to break up Amazon's low-cost dominance in the digital book market.

E-book prices are said to have gone up an average of $2 to $3 in a three-day period in early 2010, according to the lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, on Wednesday.

A settlement was reached with three of the publishers and this will allow Amazon to resume discounting books, and will terminate the "most favoured nation" contracts with Apple.

Amazon said in response to the settlement that it plans to lower prices on books associated with its Kindle e-reader.

The pact also requires the publishers to wait two years before entering into any "agency model" agreements that prevent retailers from offering discounts on electronic books.

The publishers who agreed to settle are HarperCollins Publishers, Simon & Schuster and the Hachette Book Group.

Hachette and HarperCollins also settled with a group of US states, agreeing to pay $51 million in restitution to consumers who bought e-books.

Publishers Macmillan and Penguin plan to fight the Justice Department charges, along with Apple.

James McQuivey, a media analyst at Forrester Research, said e-book prices were destined to come down, even without a Justice Department settlement, because publishers themselves have been experimenting with discounting to stimulate sales.

"It essentially will accelerate the reversion back to the sub-$10 prices that Amazon had already established as the standard," McQuivey said.

The e-book market has boomed in recent years. Sales grew from $78 million in sales in 2008 to $1.7 billion in 2011, according to Albert Greco, a book-industry expert at the business school of Fordham University.

A Pew Research Center survey released last week found that one in five American adults read an e-book in the last year.

Hackers are believed to have accessed Apple iTunes customer accounts and targeted the book business in particular.

Suspicions were aroused after a seller going by the name of Thuat Nguyen shot up the iTunes book charts, claiming 42 of the top 50 in the sales rankings, Engadget reported.

The books appeared to be illegitimate Vietnamese copies of bestsellers, according to the website, which suggested that the virtual manuscripts could be infringing copyright.

At the time of publication, Apple had not responded to a request from IT PRO for more information on the apparent hack attack.

However, it seems that the Thuat Nguyen books have now been taken down from iTunes.

A number of iTunes users have complained of hackers gaining access to their accounts in recent months. On an Apple discussion board, a post from diw45 dated 27 June claimed that their account was hacked and that purchases made without authorisation came to $240.

Another user, named BridgeRRR, said that $400 worth of purchases had been made on their account without them knowing about it.

"So, just over 2 weeks after 544 was fraudulently spent via my iTunes account, my bank have reimbursed the money to my account," said Crostonblue.

People who have experienced problems such as these can contact Apple Support for more help.

Renowned writers are good at making sweeping statements, with Martin Amis, Phillip Roth and Richard Dawkins being three that come to mind immediately.

It should perhaps come as no surprise then that Tom Stoppard, whose notable works include the script for Shakespeare in Love and the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, has now suggested technology is replacing reading as children become more enticed by moving images rather than the written word.

There is undoubtedly an argument that technology has brought with it an abundance of distractions for young ones. Certainly, computer games, video and audio content are difficult for anyone under the age of 50 to ignore when ennui strikes.

But has one of our greatest living playwrights forgotten that the written word is at the heart of the most revolutionary development in the technological world ever the internet?

Indeed, the web is opening up literature to the masses, even though accessing some of it may be illegal, and e-book downloads will only increase as the number of enabled devices proliferates and the quality of applications rises.

Anyone who has flicked through the virtual pages on an iPad using iBooks will have been impressed by the clarity of the words and the functionality of the app.

And then there is the case for creativity. The internet has given everyone the ability to publish their writing, whether they want to do it by setting up their own website or by creating a simple blog. It is easier and cheaper than ever before to have your fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays or screenwriting on show to the general public.

Phillip Roth may have been onto something when saying that the book is dying out, but he also did not recognise that technology will be supporting people's ability to read and write for the foreseeable future.

Stoppard did at least note that technology has the ability to teach, revealing that his sons and grandchildren had learned things from technology the erudite playwright did not know. Importantly, he did not take any moral high ground either, which would have been more than a little parochial.

What is important now is to ignore cries coming from sententious or nostalgic corners to leave e-books alone and instead promote them so they have the same pull as games or other forms of more easily accessible media. Schools too should be jumping on board as soon as possible if they want to keep children interested in literature.

There is also surely a serious business case here for publishers to flock online to advertise their books. Why am I yet to see a novel marketed on Facebook when other forms of media are being thrust in front of me so readily?

Now, I have a great fondness for books and still often opt for the corporeal option over the virtual version. And, of course, I would not advocate forgetting about or getting rid of them in any way.

But if you want to get young people interested, and that is the essential point Stoppard was getting at, then technology could actually be the key.

On (virtual) paper, it was one of Google's more ambitious plans. Could it create an online library, and basically digitise millions of books, to make them available across the internet? Could it make them all searchable from a humble PC? Could it make the biggest library of any kind in the world?

In principle, just the technical challenge of that is staggering, although to a company of the scale of Google, at least you figured it might be potentially feasible.

As such, were it just down to whether it was possible, then the answer is probably yes, with a lot of resources and a lot of time invested into it. However, since it announced its plans over five years ago, it's hit far trickier challenges.

Because - not surprisingly - not everyone was delighted with Google's plan, and it soon hit legal problems.

Complaints

The original complaint against the Google idea was raised in 2004 by the Authors Guild Of America and the Association of American Publishers. These two organisations opted to take legal action against Google on the basis of copyright infringement.

They argued that Google was basically profiting from authors' and publishers' work, without permission, involvement or recompense to those who did the work in the first place.

Google went into negotiations on the matter, resulting in a deal being brokered in 2005 that potentially covered up to 25 million books. That deal committed Google to create a Book Rights Registry, that would allow authors and publishers to register and claim money for their work.

Google agreed to set aside $125 million for the Registry idea, which would mean that revenues from advertising, sales and subscriptions could be claimed by rights holders.

And it's that very agreement that, nearly five years later, has ended up in court, for the agreement that Google reached required ratification from the American legal system.

But finding a date for that has proven tricky given how many voices wanted to be heard, and after many delays, October 2009 was pencilled into the diary. Further complaints over what's proven to be this contentious plan led to the court date moving back to February 2010, and at the time of writing, the issue is finally before Judge Denny Chin of the Southern District Court.

Issues

The issues before him are numerous and complex. Firstly, just wrapping his head around how the Registry system will work is a difficult matter in itself, not least because 26 interested parties will be giving their testimonies as part of the proceedings.

But there's also the points raised by the Open Book Alliance (OBA), which sum up the arguments felt by many across the globe. Namely this: that the creation of Google's online library would give the firm a massive monopoly in online book sales.

In the words of the Alliance: "The OBA believes that Google has achieved a de facto exclusive license that will provide the company with an enormous advantage over its search competitors that was not achieved through the operation of normal market forces, but through Google's disregard for copyright holders' rights and the attempt to manipulate the class action process An approved Google Books Settlement would essentially reward Google for flouting US copyright laws for more than three years, while those who respected the law would be severely punished."

Google, as you might expect, doesn't see things like this, and in its filing to the Southern District Court, it states that: "Approval of the settlement will open the virtual doors to the greatest library in history. To deny the settlement will keep those library doors locked."

And certainly the end game idea is an intriguing one: millions and millions of books available in an instant, ready to be devoured. Especially for those that would otherwise be out of print and all-but-unavailable, it sounds a tasty prospect.

Yet Google's idealistic approach aside, there's an added problem that the firm faces that wasn't quite so pronounced when it originally embarked on this project: perception.

Regulation

Back when negotiations began over the Registry in 2004, Google had steered clear of regulatory attention. But such has its power grown in the time-frame since, that its actions are now firmly under the microscope.

The first clear indication of this was when the US government indicated it would nix a potential online ad tie-up with Yahoo, the mere threat of which sent Google scuttling away from the table. And there are increasing fears over the sheer level of power that Google wields over the internet.

Further objections surround the fact that if you want to take advantage of the more advanced features of the Google library, then you're going to need to be logged into your Google account, you'd have to assume.

Thus, any books that you bookmark, any titles that you've searched and any tomes you've bought will be known to Google. If you went into your local Waterstone's and started flicking through Harry Potter, nobody is ever likely to know. But your every move is likely to be tracked by Google, and potentially used to target advertising against - given that that's the prime Google business model.

The overall objective of Google's plan is certainly an admirable one. Yet in attempt to bring together millions and millions of books, and to scan and upload them, it's inevitably hitting major copyright and privacy concerns.

It doesn't help that it's the kind of project whose sheer scope is likely to deter any potential rival, and as such if Google does get the nod, its hold over this particular market no matter what agreement it broaches is going to be substantive.

Unsurprisingly, such a major plan comes with major opposition, and among those dissenting are Amazon and the US Department Of Justice. Google is taking on some weighty opponents here, and in the case of the latter, a foe with bite and a potentially long memory.

It all adds up to make the case too hard to call. A massive digital library of books is an inevitability, and while the complaints and legal problems have been worked on, Google has been building up its own library to put it in pole position.

But it's got no guarantee of success here, and what shape that aforementioned library will take is set to be determined by what could prove to be a landmark ruling. One that, no doubt, will be appealed for some time to come...

The British Library is to make thousands of classic 19th century works available as e-books completely free of charge.

In a joint venture with Microsoft, some 65,000 works will be offered as free downloads in the spring, with authors including the likes of Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and Jane Austen.

The titles, all officially out of copyright, will be available as special digital "first editions", complete with the original typeface and illustrations, and will significantly bolster the Library's e-book catalogue.

Besides well-known 19th century literature, the selection will also include so-called "penny dreadfuls", such as JM Rymer's The Dark Woman and Black Bess by Edward Viles. Around 40 per cent of the titles on offer aren't available in any other library.

Alongside the digital titles, supporting paperback editions of many of the works will go on sale through Amazon for around 15 apiece, also featuring the original typeface and illustrations.

The announcement marks the end of a three-year process of scanning in the titles, a project funded by Microsoft. The 19th century literature was specifically chosen because it is out of copyright so can be copied freely.

With the British Library officially holding at least one copy of every work of literature released in the UK, it claims that 35 to 40 per cent of its 19th century titles aren't held by any other library.

"Freeing historic books from the shelves has the potential to revolutionise access to the world's greatest library resources," said Lynne Brindley, the library's chief executive, told the Telegraph.

Steve Jobs has finally revealed the much-awaited Apple tablet, the iPad.

While it might look like a massive iPhone, it's not - not quite, anyway.

So what is this iPad thingy, anyway?

The iPad is Apple's take on the tablet computer. It's really the first such consumer-friendly tablet to hit the market from any major manufacturer. The devices are common for business and industry, and many laptops feature swiveling touch screen displays, but the iPad is pretty unique, for the time being.

It's hard not to think "big iPhone" when looking at it, as Apple has kept the design similar to its iconic handset. It's just 1.5 pounds in weight, and half an inch thick, with a 9.7in touchscreen display.

It will run Apple's own chip, a 1GHz A4. Connectivity will be either via 802.11n Wi-Fi or 3G. Apple is promising 10 hours of battery life, and a month on standby.

That all sounds great. Is it?

The iPad is missing a few bits. Like the iPhone, it doesn't run Adobe's Flash. This is a bit of a problem for a device which Jobs claims lets you "hold the internet in your hands." A lot of the internet uses Flash, especially many ads on websites - so claims that this will solve publishing's woes might be a bit far-fetched.

Also like the iPhone, it doesn't allow multi-tasking. You can pretty much only run one thing at a time.

Apple also failed to include a camera, USB port, or SD card reader - all of which are a bit problematic for people wanting to use it to display photos, which is a shame, as it looks rather good at that.

Being a tablet, it also has no keyboard... but that's how it's supposed to be.

So... how do I type on it?

The iPad has a touch screen keyboard, just like the iPhone. Flip the device horizontally, and the keyboard flips to offer a wider keypad. Typing looks pretty easy, but you'll have to balance the iPad on something - Steve Jobs looked pretty awkward sitting on a couch, balancing it on his knee.

Apple will also offer a docking station for the iPad, which will hold up the device like a standard screen and include a full-size, mechanical keyboard.

What does it do?

As it runs essentially the same shiny OS as the iPhone, it also runs iPhone apps - so anything that works on the handset, will work on the tablet too. Apple's SDK has also been updated, which means developers can design apps specifically for the iPad.

That means you can expect a whole host of games - the announcement showed off some cool driving ones - as well as things like Facebook apps.

Apple also unveiled a tweaked version of iWork, so you can type, make presentations, and get into your spreadsheets, all using the touch screen. It didn't explain exactly why you'd want to do that, however.

The iPad also lets you watch video, whether downloaded or streaming from YouTube, and you can also use it for reading magazines, newspapers and e-books.

It's an e-book reader?

It's not just any e-book reader. The iPad offers full colour as well as video. During the demo, Apple showed off a version of the New York Times newspaper on the iPad, which let you zoom in on full-colour photos and play embedded videos.

This is what magazine and newspaper publishers have gotten so excited about - it has the potential to bring the best bits of the web together with familiar publishing styles.

And then there's the e-book side of things. Apple unveiled a new e-book shop, called iBooks. It uses the ePub format, which lets you share books with friends, and has a cute shelf interface. Amazon's Kindle has some serious competition here, but until we get our hands on an iPad, it's hard to say if the reading experience is any good.

When can I get one?

The Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad will be available at the end of March in the US. If you want the 3G edition, you'll have to wait another month after that.

Internationally, the device should be available in June or July, but as it will be unlocked and runs a microSIM, there's no reason, in theory at least, why you can't buy one in the US and use it in the UK, so expect to see the things popping up in a couple months.

How much will it cost?

There will be six models available - three different storage capacities, in Wi-Fi only or with 3G.

The Wi-Fi-only edition will cost $499 for the 16GB, $599 for the 32GB and $699 for the 64GB. The 3G versions will cost $629, $729, and $829, respectively.

In the US, AT&T will offer two data packages, both without contracts. For $14.99 you'll get 250MB of downloads, or you can pay 29.99 for unlimited downloads.

Why would they call it the iPad?

Menstrual jokes aside, it does fit with the iPod/iPhone naming convention. While it is a strange sounding name, don't worry, you'll be hearing enough about it that you're sure to get used to it soon.

Click here for more on the iPad and our live blog of the announcement.

Want to read more background on the latest IT topics? Click here for all the tech cheatsheets in our Need to Know series.

The first concerted effort to turn the tablet PC from something out of the realms of science fiction into the kind of computer that we'd carry around with us came from Microsoft.

Granted, others had had a go at the tablet market before, but it was back in 2001 when Microsoft channelled sizeable resources into making it the kind of product we'd actually want. It was battling with the limitations of technology and web connectivity at the time, but it was, in hindsight, a solid if doomed effort.

To some degree, its thinking was ahead of the game. While it didn't manufacture the hardware itself, it provided an optimised version of its Windows operating system that was tailored for tablet use, and encouraged many tier one manufacturers to invest in the project.

The software featured impressive handwriting recognition and, in some professions, there was enthusiastic take up. But the tablet, at that stage, never crossed over. Microsoft has continued to support and invest in the platform to varying degrees since, but it became clear that it was unable to push this particular project up the proverbial hill.

Apple time

So can Apple? That's the obvious question in the aftermath of Steve Jobs' formal confirmation of the iPad. To call its announcement a surprise would be akin to keeling over when the next bear headed into the woods looking for the gents.

Rumours of Apple working on a tablet product have circled for some time, and the official announcement was a matter of if rather than when.

That announcement came yesterday in San Francisco, of course, and the product itself was broadly in line with expectations. Positioned in the gap between a smartphone device and a netbook computer, it looks to all intents and purposes like a big iPhone, and has enhanced functionality to match.

Furthermore, it evolves the user interface to a logical place, no longer requiring a stylus to interact with a tablet device. Some are calling it more of a touchscreen laptop, some simply saying it's a more cumbersome version of an existing product. But it's nonetheless being talked about in a way that previous tablet products have never been.

Yet while its specifications are being pored over, the simple question remains: does this mean that tablet computing is about to take off?

The difference

What immediately differentiates Apple's attack on the market is that this is a concentrated launch into the consumer marketplace. Previously, the tablet had been positioned as a business tool - and at times a reasonably effective one - and truthfully, the entry level price of an iPad does aim it very much at the enthusiastic early adopter right now.

What Apple will need to do is get retailers on board in the same way that they managed to do with the iPhone, and put together presumably internet packages that can help disguise the overall price of the device to the end customer. That, to be fair, is unlikely to become a problem, and it's been proven as the most effective way to get premium, new technology devices into people's hands quickly.

Granted, some are likely to plump for it anyway at retail cost, but those enchanted by the iPad thus far are unlikely to be enough in number to make it a mainstream success. Its mass market days are some way ahead of it.

But the magic bullet that gives the iPad more chance than any tablet before it is the Apple brand itself. This is a name that alone can make technology enthusiasts sit up and take notice, and in this case, it already has.

This is not primarily for the technical innovations that the company produces, but more down to its ability to stand on the shoulders of others, and mix its tech into some of the most appealing packages on the market.

The strength of Apple's brand, and the perception of it, is the best chance that the tablet form factor has right now. And the fact that the iPad simply looks like an interesting device is enough to give it a head start against its competitors.

And it does have competition. Inevitably, Microsoft is working on a new generation of its own tablet project, the Slate, this time in conjunction with HP. That's the kind of union that has clout that's hard to ignore, and given that it's the consumer too that's being targeted, Microsoft should make a little more a dent this time around.

But then we come to arguably the killer feature of the iPad, and the one that this time around gives it a useful leg up. The growth in e-books over the past year has meant readers have become more popular too.

Amazon's Kindle e-reader is its most successful product, and that too is being enhanced so that it can compete in the tablet marketplace. Steve Jobs' San Francisco presentation inevitably focused on this element of the product very strongly.

The right time?

It's the cumulative effective of Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and the three slightly differing approaches that they bring, that's leading many to suspect that this time around, the tablet's time has come. This is no longer one company trying to get the format accepted by the marketplace by itself.

This time, there are more hands pushing, and the market has moved on to a point where, at the very least, there's a lot more interest in the potential that a tablet has to offer. Plus, the technology infrastructure around it, and the market's acceptance of portable devices, are stronger.

Appreciating we're in the novelty stage now, there's still been millions of words written already about the iPad. While around 10 per cent of them appear to be gags surrounding feminine hygiene, that's still a hefty number for a product that - at the time of writing - was announced less than a day ago.

It's already being championed as the market leader - with Amazon, interestingly, poised for second place - but more importantly, it's contributed to an increasing feeling that the tablet is at the stage the netbook was a few years back.

Indeed, Deloitte is now predicting, buoyed by the impact that Apple will have on the market, that tablet sales are set to run into tens of millions worldwide this year. That's a staggering number for a platform that a year ago, few were in the slightest bit interested in.

Is this, therefore, the age of the tablet? It's certainly the best chance the platform will ever have, and with the market keen to support the product as a new margin maker, that prediction of millions being sold may not be far wide of the mark.

More interestingly, of course, will be a year or two down the line, once the dust has settled, when the market will make its ultimate choice as to whether the tablet is the future. Right now? It's certainly in its strongest ever position by some distance.

Apple has confirmed a product launch event for 27 January, tantalising a selection of journalists and analysts with the invitation to "come see our latest creation".

There's still no official word on what exactly that creation is Apple is notorious for keeping its collective mouth shut right up to the very last minute but there's little doubt that we're finally about to see the launch of its much-vaunted tablet.

The event is scheduled for Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts Theatre in San Francisco for next Wednesday at 10am local time that's 6pm here in the UK and Apple fans around the world will be waiting with baited breath to see just what the Cupertino-based firm has up its sleeve.

While even the existence of Apple's tablet has yet to be officially confirmed, rumours and half-truths have reached such a critical mass that it would be a major surprise not to see it breaking cover next week. What it will be called, however, still remains a mystery, with the two leading contenders being iSlate and iTablet.

Given that Apple events typically see a series of product releases and updates being rolled out together in the lead-up to the headline announcement, speculation has also been rife as to what else Apple chief executive Steve Jobs will unveil on the day.

A safe bet will be the latest 2010 update to its iLife suite of media-management tools, with last year's announcement having come a year ago at the Macworld Expo a show Apple itself no longer attends.

Other rumours suggest a touchscreen iMac could be incoming, but while it seems all but certain that Apple is working on one, it may be too soon for an official announcement just yet.

It's also unlikely that there will be any iPhone-related hardware news either. Major iPhone product news has traditionally come in the summer, and any iPhone-centred news is only likely to detract attention from the main event.

And after stage-managing expectation and anticipation as only Apple can, it's unlikely to dilute it on the day by drawing attention from its touchscreen tablet.

As far back as September, rumours started to suggest a January launch date for the device, while further stories specifically naming the San Francisco venue emerged on Christmas Eve, though the date was mooted as January 26th, one day earlier than the reality.

In further Apple tablet-related news emerging today, the Wall Street Journal is quoting unnamed sources as saying Apple is talking to publisher HarperCollins to make its electronic books available to a "forthcoming" Apple product line.

The implication here is that the Apple tablet could double as an e-book reader, which is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility given the similar form factors of the respective devices.

Bookworms holding out for an e-book reader for Christmas can now feed their literary appetite on the move for free.

Amazon today unveiled its Kindle for iPhone app, making it available to 60 countries including the UK. The app was launched in the US back in March.

In addition to purchasing e-books from the Kindle store and viewing them on their iPhone and iPod Touch devices, users can also synchronise between what's on their Kindle, mobile device and computer thanks to Amazon's Whispersync technology. This means they can pick up where they left off reading wherever they happen to be.

"We are excited to make the Kindle for iPhone App available to iPhone and iPod Touch users in more than 60 countries, allowing them to access the vast selection of the most popular books, all available wirelessly from the Kindle Store," said Ian Freed, vice president, Amazon Kindle, in a statement.

"The Kindle for iPhone App is the perfect companion for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX, and a great way for customers around the world to download and read books even if they don't yet have a Kindle."

Some are calling it the year's hottest Christmas gadget. Others are suggesting it's the future of publishing. Whatever you think, e-book readers are big news this year.

Amazon's Kindle has become the best selling product on the Amazon.com website, and its hobbling of the International version for the UK market hasn't stopped it being talked about in just about every broadsheet newspaper and lifestyle magazine in the land.

Analysts at Forrester Research expect three million e-book readers to have been sold during 2009 in the US alone, with 900,000 of those selling within November and December.

And that's just the start. With Kindle rivals like the Plastic Logic QUE and the Barnes and Noble Nook adding new features, larger, touch sensitive screens and secondary colour displays to these devices, e-books should be even bigger in 2010.

Tablets on the way

Yet the current wave of e-book readers might only be the appetiser for the real next-generation of media devices. Few products of recent years have achieved the mythical status of Apple's rumoured Media Tablet or Slate - a full-colour, video-capable device that apparently resembles an iPod Touch with a 10.7in touchscreen, connected to the internet via 3G and/or Wi-Fi.

According to sources from the Sydney Morning Herald and a slip from an the New York Times, Apple has been demonstrating the device to prospective media partners around the globe.

If the Apple Tablet ever does launch, it won't have the market to itself. Earlier this month, Creative Labs used its annual general meeting to announce a Mediabook', a similar colour tablet-like device featuring a colour touchscreen and internet capabilities.

Details have been leaked of a prototype Microsoft device, codenamed Courier, which boasts dual seven-inch touchscreens and advanced media and web browsing features.

From announcements made by magazine giant Conde Nast, we also know that HP is working on a media tablet of its own.

While these next-generation devices might not be able to match the battery life of the e-ink powered Kindle, and will certainly arrive at a higher price point, the lure of colour, rich content, video playback and internet features may be enough to make that seem worthwhile.

Salvation for newspapers?

This is all very interesting, and book publishers around the globe are rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of more e-books being sold. However, it's publishers of newspapers and magazines who potentially have the most to gain from the sales of these devices.

The global recession, plummeting newspaper sales and the slide in advertising revenue has brought the old debate in the publishing industry over free vs paid for content on the web to a new head.

Earlier this month, Rupert Murdoch announced that News Corporation would introduce fees for access to content on its sites, including those of The Times, The Sun, The New York Post and The Australian: "There's not enough advertising in the world to make all the websites profitable... We'd rather have fewer people coming to our websites but paying."

Even rivals who have stated a desire to retain free content are admitting that something has to change. The Guardian Media Group, for example, has suggested that while the core content of the Guardian.co.uk website would remain free, the company's B2B titles and specialist sections, such as MediaGuardian.co.uk, might eventually move to a paid-for model.

Paying up

This is where e-books and the new breed of media tablet come in. It's hard to persuade an audience that's used to getting free content on the web to pay up.

It's easier, however, when you ask them to pay for content in a different format on a new device.

There is evidence, too, that people are prepared to pay for the right content. They might not, for example, be prepared to pay for a news story that they can get for free from the BBC, but they may be willing to pay for specific columns, features or analysis.

This month, a survey by Continental Research claimed that while only 37 per cent of those questioned would be willing to pay for content, 21 per cent would be willing to use micropayments for columns by the likes of Jeremy Clarkson, Charlie Brooker or Giles Coren.

Alternatively, publishers could adopt a subscription model a model Kindle is enabling today. Several UK dailies, including The Independent, Daily Mail, Telegraph and Times, are already available for a monthly Kindle subscription, alongside The New York Times, The Washington Post, International Herald Tribune and Le Monde. The same goes for such magazines as The Spectator, Time, Newsweek, Fortune and The New Statesman.

Not there yet

Here, however, the Kindle and the current generation of devices have their limitations. Not all content is necessarily included in the digital editions, and images and tables either get stripped out, or prove virtually unreadable. "To date, no newspaper has worked well on a device," says Allen Weiner, a research vice president for Garner. "A newspaper on a Kindle is a horrible experience. Everybody knows it."

With the next-generation media tablets, this might not be the case. Rupert Murdoch has talked of Kindle as the first inkling' of a new business model for newspapers, but not the end product.

When the global media magnate described his vision of a media tablet to the Fox Business channel earlier this month, he talked of a "reasonable size, attractive tablet in full colour, and you could read a newspaper on it."

In a briefing at The New York Times, executive editor Bill Keller discussed the need to "figure out the right journalistic product to deliver to mobile platforms and devices" and his desire to "get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone Apps or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that."

Allen Weiner admits to having seen prototypes of unspecified media devices under non-disclosure agreements, and would go so far as to call them "better. Not great, but better."

Magazines get wired

Magazines, too, have their challenges. Weiner notes that the key problem for digital editions of magazines has always been in creating a compelling experience, and in retaining the style and the values of the brand.

For magazines to work on an electronic device, that device needs to support colour, and it needs to provide an equivalent or superior experience, in terms of content and layout, to what is possible on paper. Here the tablet can help.

"Magazines have an opportunity in these devices," Weiner says, though "it's going to take a little longer to figure out what the right experience and the right business model is."

Conde Nast is certainly heading in this direction. The publisher behind Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, Wired and Tatler has already announced its attention to make its magazines available to a range of devices, including laptops, smartphones and, to quote the press release, "the upcoming electronic colour slate devices."

The magazines will operate on an Adobe software platform, built partly on specifications for an upcoming tablet from HP. According to the publisher, this platform will deliver "full-colour, high-resolution magazines that combine the immersiveness of its award winning titles with the convenience and functionality of a digitally distributed and internet-connected product."

Wired will be the first of the publisher's titles to take this route, in a format that allows readers to flip through pages, zoom into images and even launch videos. In other words, you get something that looks and feels like a magazine, but potentially gives a little more.

That's a pretty compelling proposition, and one that other publishers will want to match. Media giant Time Warner is rumoured to be putting together a new digital storefront and distribution platform for the new breed of digital magazines.

One of company's new media gurus, Josh Quittner, is also known to be working on prototype digital magazines, and wrote on his blog: "I think it's conservative to say that in the miserable publishing business, there is no greater hope for salvation than the iThing. With visions of giant iPhones dancing in our heads, all of us are working on prototypes of magazines and newspapers that will work on 9.7-inch, multi-touch screens linked wirelessly to stores."

Allen Weiner adds a note of caution, particularly when it comes to newspapers. "Newspapers are chomping at the bit to make this work, but it's not going to be nearly as easy as they hope," he said.

However, the fact that these tablet devices can offer a more rich and dynamic user experience could make them the unlikely saviour of print publishing. "Both newspapers and magazines benefit hugely from tablets, because it gives them more real-estate, more connectivity and bandwidth to do more things," he added.

Tablet future?

The problem for Kindle and the basic e-book reader, Weiner suggests, is that it doesn't provide any more compelling experience of a magazine or newspaper than the web provides for free.

The tablet, however, has more potential. "Until the tablet takes off and is popularly priced, and is built on a business model that works, I think it's going to be a challenge," he said.

"When that happens, I think the tablet could be the newspaper and magazine's best friend."

London bookshop Foyles has joined Waterstones in entering the e-reader market, offering three e-book readers as well as 57,000 e-books on its website.

Foyles now stocks the BeBook Mini and two Sony eReaders in the Touch and Pocket editions, with eBooks available in epub and pdf formats.

In an interview with IT PRO, Foyles digital manager Eoin O'Reilly said that although e-readers had been around for a few years, UK bookshops hadn't got properly involved until Waterstones entered the market a year ago.

He said that Foyles had talks at that time to see how it could go about selling e-readers and e-books, but decided to sit back and see how the market developed.

"Technology moves so quickly. Things change so quickly," O'Reilly said. "We had to get involved at some stage, but it was about waiting until the devices got at a reasonably good standard and not terribly expensive."

"But there's no point in pretending it's not going to happen. It's going to happen," he asserted. "There are going to be more e-books in the market, so you have to get your systems in place so that you can be ready to react as and when things change."

But O'Reilly said that it was impossible to predict what would happen in the market. Some statistics claim that there will a big demand for e-readers while others believe the demand will be small.

O'Reilly said that the BeBook Mini was now the cheapest device on the market, and that Foyles went for it as it was seen as a good entry-level device that he claimed was much lighter and easier to use than the equivalent Sony product.

"It's just a nice device for us to market," he said. "It's not a Sony, not a big company. We are Foyles, we're independent not a big company in that sense. So its good to be able to link with other companies who are as well."

O'Reilly said that the UK market for eReaders was interesting, with the devices having to read lots of different file formats.

"It's like the very early days of the digitisation of music," he said. "Until that settles down on one agreed file then it's going to be quite tricky for the public, and for us to adequately sell things."

He added: "There's also the whole Digital Rights Management side of things. That's not a big deal so much yet, but will become a big deal as people realise they can effectively lose what they've bought."

However, he said that Foyles would always have a focus on books, as it was all the company had ever done and was what it knew how to do.

"We see the e-books as an increase in our range. It means we can offer an awful lot more and give people the choice, which is what we've always been about," he added.

Amazon has finally made its Kindle e-book reader available in the UK - but it's still the American edition of the gadget that'll be on offer from 19 October.

UK readers can now pre-order the US version of the Kindle with international wireless included for $279 - plus delivery and import duty.

Those not wanting to deal with North American chargers and other differences will have to wait for a UK-specific edition. Amazon didn't say when one would be made available, but did confirm one was in the works.

An Amazon spokesperson noted that the international wireless system will be delivered using AT&T's 'Whispernet', suggesting no UK operators will be involved.

In a note on the Amazon.co.uk site, founder Jeff Bezos claimed the Kindle Store already has 250,000 e-books available for UK users, as well as many newspapers.

"You can expect to see many more books from UK publishers available in the coming weeks and months," he wrote. "Our vision for Kindle is to have every book ever printed, in any language, all available in under 60 seconds."

American buyers also benefit today, as the price for them has dropped to $259.

Bezos said that the Kindle is now "available to customers around the world", with it headed to 100 countries, including much of Europe and India. Based on the Amazon.com Kindle page, it's not yet possible to get one sent north of the border to Canada or to major market China.

An Amazon spokesman told IT PRO the company is "working on making Kindle available in those countries."

Over the past few days, the European Commission has been debating how to handle the digitisation of books and how to balance Google's plans to make them searchable with publishers' copyright claims.

What's Google done?

Originally announced in October 2004, Google Book Search is a massive project to scan books into a database using optical character recognition.

That lets the material be searched, and in some cases, downloaded. Out of copyright material and public domain content can be downloaded as a pdf handy for those with an e-book reader but any other book only allows a few pages to be downloaded.

As of last year, Google had seven million books in its digital database. Of those, one million were in the public domain, and another million were there under agreements with publishers. Some five million are books which are no longer in print.

Who else is digitising books?

Microsoft tried a similar project, called Live Search Books, but gave up in May of last year. All that scanning didn't go to waste, however, as Microsoft passed its digitised content to the Internet Archive, which is now up to about a million public domain books.

The EU has its very own project, which includes photos, newspapers and other content related to European history. It hopes to have 10 million pieces digitised by next year.

Many universities have contributed to Google's efforts, passing over their digitised books and journals for inclusion in its database.

That sounds great. So what's the problem?

As ever with content moving online, there are a few copyright issues, balanced with the issue of making knowledge available.

Some of the out of print books that Google has included are actually still under copyright, and Google is running ads alongside the content, so there's also a question of who gets that revenue.

In 2005, Google was hit by two lawsuits. The first was a class action lawsuit from authors; the second was a civil lawsuit from publishers.

Both were settled last year when Google promised to create a Books Rights Registry to help manage the issue and said it would pay up 63 per cent of any revenue such as advertising to authors and publishers.

The terms of the agreement didn't please everyone, but it was enough to keep the project from being taken down. That said, Google still faces opposition from groups like the Open Book Alliance - supported by Yahoo and Microsoft.

So what's Europe's problem?

The US deal doesn't technically apply to European books, so the EC is looking at hammering out a deal to include its own authors and publishers. Google has promised a similar sort of deal and two non-US seats on the Book Rights Registry, but it remains to be seen if that will be enough to calm European fears.

There are other problems, too. Europe and the US have different copyright laws, most notably the date when copyright expires. In the US, anything older than 1923 is fair game; in Europe, that's 1870. So Google would have to allow American readers access to content while denying Europeans.

On top of this is the monopoly issue, always looming with anything Google does these days. Some countries are somewhat concerned that Google will have all the access to their books, cutting out competitors.

Even the British Library is a bit worried about handing over rights.

The head of partnerships at the British Library, Simon Bell, said to the Times newspaper: "It is an absolute bedrock of anything we do that when we enter into a partnership for digitisation of content that we own the intellectual property on the digital object. So it might be commercialised for a number of years, but ultimately the ownership should then be fully taken back into the British Library so that we can then offer it via our website to the British taxpayer for free."

What next?

The EC is currently debating the issue and not just how to deal with Google. Commissioners are trying to figure out how to look at digital books, modernise copyright law, and how to keep publishers and authors in the loop.

That said, Commissioner Viviane Reding has previously expressed her support for Google's Book Search, and yesterday said: "Digitisation of books is a task of Herculean proportions which the public sector needs to guide, but where it also needs private-sector support."

Want to read more background on the latest IT topics? Click here for all the tech cheatsheets in our Need to Know series.

The Google books dispute has come to a head in Europe, with the issue being discussed by the European Commission today.

Google has been digitising out-of-copyright books as part of its book search project. This has raised the ire of publishers, but Google recently reached an agreement with publishers in the US following a class-action suit. The US deal would give publishers 63 per cent of any revenue Google earned from online books.

Now the issue has now crossed the Atlantic to Europe, and Google is looking to calm fears here, too.

According to a report in the Financial Times, Google has promised its eight-person registry board will feature at least two non-US members and said it will consult European publishers before including European books in the search tool.

"The parties to the Settlement Agreement have sent a letter to several national publisher associations in Europe to clarify that books that are commercially available in Europe will be treated as commercially available under the Settlement. Such books can only be displayed to US users if expressly authorised by rights holders," the FT quoted a Google spokesperson as saying.

European fears

In a statement today, the EC noted the US settlement doesn't yet apply to European publishers, but commissioners Viviane Reding and Charlie McCreevy said they were looking for a "regulatory framework" to pave the way to a quick solution "similar to those made possible in the United Sates by the recent settlement."

"Europe is facing a very important cultural and economic challenge: Only some one per cent of the books in Europe's national libraries have been digitised so far, leaving an enormous task ahead of us, but also opening up new cultural and market opportunities," the commissioners said in a joint statement.

"A better understanding of the interests involved will help the Commission to define a truly European solution in the interest of European consumers," they added.

The pair admitted the project would need private-sector support - words that are likely to encourage Google. "It is therefore time to recognise that partnerships between public and private bodies can combine the potential of new technologies and private investments with the rich collections of public institutions built up over the centuries," the statement said.

That said, the pair of commissioners added that "digitisation of copyrighted works must fully respect copyright rules and fairly reward authors."

Click here to read more on Google's copyright and privacy challenges.

Despite poor colour display, slow refresh rates and high cost, e-paper will increasingly be used because of its green credentials, according to a new report from Gartner.

Because it uses so little power, a major driver for e-paper use will be its green credentials. "Its potential environmental benefits are significant, resulting in the saving of trees, preventing the generation of waste water and reducing the emissions of green house gases," Gartner said.

Electronic paper will overtake other display media in retail, consumer and even office environment markets, the analyst firm said. That said, e-paper will need to improve how it handles colour and movies, as well as fall in price, before it becomes a real competitor to print.

"E-paper does have has some barriers to overcome before gaining credibility with the mainstream market," said SJ Chae, senior research director at Gartner, in a statement.

"However, it is generating a great deal of interest and we expect adoption to increase steadily over the next few years as the technology improves."

Chae noted that the tech's flexibility means it can be used in a variety of ways, helping to drive adoption. It has been used in e-book readers as well as displays in phones and watches, he noted, but one major use will be signs. As the tech evolves, more uses will be added, he noted, citing recent innovations such as touchscreen, wireless ability and rewriteable colour.

Amazon's e-book reader Kindle helped boost the online retailers fourth quarter results.

Of course, Christmas falls into Amazon's fourth quarter, and the firm does not appear to have suffered the same slowdown in sales that other retailers have. Net sales at the firm, which now include watches, toys, electronics, digital media and e-books, increased by 29 per cent, against the same period in 2007, rising from almost $15 billion (10.5 billion) to $20 billion (14 billion). Net income increased by 36 per cent to $645 million (450 million), compared with the $476 million (332 million) reported in 2007.

During the year, the firm also increased the range of titles available for its Kindle book reader device, and according to its chief executive, sales of the unit were very strong in the run-up to Christmas.

The firm said today that net profit totalled $225m (157) in the fourth quarter, representing significant growth against the $207m (145) reported a year ago.

"We remain relentlessly focused on serving customers with low prices, great selection and free shipping offers," said Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive at Amazon.com. "We're particularly grateful for the unusually strong demand for Kindle in the fourth quarter."

Other highlights singled out by Amazon in its results include the launches of Amazon.co.uk's MP3 music service, and Cloudfront, a pay-as-you-use web service delivered through the cloud.