With the new wave of tablet devices hitting the shelves content consumers will increasingly have the choice between opting for the infrastructural defaults such as airplane entertainment systems or carrying and consuming their own – iPad versus ANA shown above. (Yup, you’re right people have had laptops, netbooks and DVD players for a few years now – but the tablet form factor, battery life and the maturity of the ecosystem make it a more compelling proposition).

Differences in experience between what is carried and what is available in economy versus business versus first class? Differences like: postures of use; available content; familiarity with the interface; interface language; display size; resolution; and the quality of the audio/headphones. Given that the baseline tablet price is relatively moderate cost is increasingly unlikely to be a barrier to adoption – are we more likely to see tablet devices used where contexts where the contrast in experience is highest – in economy class rather than in business or first? And by association how might this contribute to/affect the perception of the iPad? And of the broader appeal of Apple brand? Whilst the overall impact on the brand will be small – not that many people fly after all, it will lessen the ‘prestige’ that encourage early adopters to, uh, adopt early which in turn will affect the mainstream.

The change in consumption behaviour also creates a new challenge for airlines who prefer to have a clear distinction between high paying, high profit business/first class passengers and their budget counterparts.

Yeah – I’m aware of the oxymoron – its difficult to talk about democratisation of content consumption when parts of the marketplace (the App store) are heavily policed – the App store.

Photo? Watching Closer somewhere between Tokyo and Shanghai.