A world 'In the cloud'

It is just a few days since Apple co-founder Steve Jobs passed away and the Web was filled to the brim with tributes to the man who basically changed the way we interact with computers. From the humble mouse to the high tech iPad, he gave us a tactile, rewarding experience every time we use a tablet or laptop computer.

The focus of this article is not on Steve Jobs himself, but rather the revolution Apple and several other companies started in the way we consume information. Let's face it, the iPad, for all the hype it has generated, is a content consumption device, not necessarily a content creation device, which a normal laptop computer definitely is.

I would not dream of typing this article on the virtual keyboard of an iPad. One can always attach a physical keyboard to an iPad, but then, what's the point?

Thanks to devices such as the iPad, we have become avid consumers of media, with very little time or inclination for creating the same.

There is a fundamental shift in the way we read books, watch movies and browse the web due to a new generation of always-on, always-connected devices such as the iPad and the iPhone.

I read a report last week which disclosed that 97 per cent of U.S. web traffic on tablets is routed via iPads. This could broadly apply to the rest of the developed world and even to some regions of the developing world.

But the credit for basically changing the way we consume content should go to Amazon, the giant e-retailer that is really a technology company at heart. Amazon introduced the first generation Kindle e-reader in 2007, just four years ago. Now in its fourth generation, the Kindle has led to a revolution in publishing - and the way we read books. Amazon now sells more e-books than print books and so does Barnes and Noble, the world's biggest physical bookstore chain.

This is a staggering achievement - in just four years, more people are reading electronic versions of books than ever before on a variety of devices, including the Kindle, Nook (Barnes and Noble), iPad (iBooks and Kindle apps), iPhone and Android smartphones.

Just think about it for a minute. That is the time it takes to download even a 1000 page book to your Kindle or iPad.

You can be almost anywhere in the world (with a 3G signal) and the book you want is on your screen in under 60 seconds. Moreover, a Kindle can hold 3,000 books so you are never cramped for space (imagine having 3,000 books in your backpack !). And Amazon and Apple will back up your books in the 'Cloud' (cyberspace) for free. Amazon even has a separate web-based 'Cloud Reader' for Kindle books, which works flawlessly.

Increasingly, this is where we will store all our content- books, documents, photos, music, digital magazines, movies, TV shows, games and apps. Amazon's newly unveiled Kindle Fire tablet will back up all your purchases in the Cloud and so will Apple, through its iCloud service, which went online on Thursday.

The on-board storage of the Kindle Fire (8GB) and a 16GB iPad may seem to be puny, but if you can access your files from anywhere, anytime, that does not seem to be inadequate.

There is another benefit. Both Amazon and Apple will sync your devices through their Whispersync and iCloud services, so you will not be tied to one device.

You can start reading Steve Jobs' forthcoming biography on your Kindle in the morning and after you come home in the evening, pick up from exactly where you stopped - on the Kindle App on your iPad. Start watching a movie on your iPad and watch the rest of it on your Macbook Air.

It is so seamless, it is almost eerie. Other manufacturers are jumping on the cloud sync bandwagon. For example, you should ideally be able to start playing a game on your Sony PS3 and continue it on your PS Vita hand held (due to be released next year).

Movie studios, faced with the alarming prospect of declining physical sales and a shift towards one-time renting, have also established a Cloud based 'movie locker' called Ultraviolet, whereby those who buy a blu-ray or a DVD of a movie will be given the right to stream or download it free to a compatible device whenever they want. This will eliminate the need to package a physical 'Digital Copy' which does almost the same thing.

But there is one thorn on the side, at least when it comes to films and TV shows. Most movies, TV shows and even games are available for download in the US only, which limits the appeal of the 'Cloud'. In fact, the Kindle Fire is being sold only in the US precisely because of this reason.

The iTunes movie and music stores are still not available in this country and in many other countries. Until and unless rights holders stop treating consumers in the rest of the world as intellectual property pirates, these services will not get popular around the globe. Both device manufacturers and rights holders should resolve this issue.

But there is no doubt that our media consumption patterns are changing. I need not be in front of the TV, because I know I can catch that pilot episode of 'Terra Nova' on my iPad later. I don't have to buy the print version of the comic 'Superman: Earth One'. I can download it to my Kindle Fire just by touching the screen. However, as Web traffic for video and cloud storage needs increase, Internet speeds will have to catch up.

The Internet infrastructure even in developed countries cannot still cope with blu-ray quality streaming and a 50GB download (the equivalent of a blu-ray disc) takes ages.

It has been estimated that it could take another 25 years until streaming truly matches blu-ray quality. But devices and services such as the iPad and iCloud point the way to that future, which will be both unpredictable and utterly exciting in terms of technology.