Apple Tablet to Re-Invent the Album?

Ars Technica:

The “Cocktail” project would see a further evolution of such ideas. “It’s all about recreating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music,” one executive familiar with the plans told Financial Times. The problem is that most of today’s digital music audience has little or no recollection of the album’s heyday.

“It’s not just a bunch of PDFs,” said one executive. “There’s real engagement with the ancillary stuff.” One reported feature is that songs can be played directly from these interactive booklets without going into iTunes to play the tracks—though it’s not clear if iTunes must be running for the magic to work.

[…]

Financial Times sources also indicate that albums with this new format could be launched at the same time as a long-rumored Apple tablet device, which would be capable of viewing the interactive material. The entertainment industry believes the device, which is described as a “full-featured, tablet-sized computer,” could be a potential revolution. “It’s going to be fabulous for watching movies,” one unnamed entertainment executive told Financial Times. Book publishers are also reportedly in talks to offer e-books on the device as well.

Touting a tablet as the key to a better, richer music experience is interesting, but not compelling enough — on its own — for Apple to bring such a device to market. I would like to see this for iPod touch and iPhone users, which I’m sure it will be.