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Friday
Jan292010

The iPad

So Apple has announced its revolutionary new product called the iPad. And so what? Well so most people don't seem to think it's so revolutionary. It uses a 1Ghz processor but doesn't allow background applications (multi-tasking). It has support for photos but requires the use of a dongle to connect a camera. It doesn't support Flash. It doesn't have a camera. It's not widescreen*. It's just a big iPod Touch. Etc.

All of those things are true. Every one of them. Even the iPod Touch comparison. If you built an iPod Touch with a 9.7" screen, you'd likely end up with the iPad. When Apple's media event concluded, I'll admit my first reaction was disappointment. Not that the iPad isn't obviously a great product, but I expected to be as blown away initially by this product as I was by the original iPhone. I wasn't.

The most obvious feature to give the iPad an advantage over both a laptop and a smartphone is its massive multi-touch screen, so I expected the iPad would usher forth an entirely new paradigm for how multi-touch could completely reinvent what was already a great experience on the iPhone. But as I continue to reflect, that's just foolish. The iPhone works well, and so it's only natural that the iPad should piggyback on the best features of the iPhone where that makes sense. If the iPad had been released in 2007 and Jobs had just announced the iPhone, I believe the response would be similarly dismissive. But that's OK, because the power and the form factor of the iPad will allow it to evolve on its own trajectory.

I think what people are missing is the significance of saying "it's a big iPod Touch." An iPod Touch will never change the face of mobile computing, but the iPad has the potential to do just that. Those who would say "what possible need could I have for a device that doesn't do as much as my laptop, which is already mobile?" are again missing the point. The iPad isn't trying to replace your laptop, it introduces a new interaction model for many (i.e. not all) of the most popular things for which people use computers. And this is why the iPad will appeal to the general public.

Remember that the general public does not sit in front of a computer and watch liveblog updates of Apple media events. The general public does not write or read tech blogs. The general public doesn't know what UNIX is and thinks a kernel is something that turns into popcorn. The general public doesn't know how to multi-task. The general public wants a computer that is dead simple to use which will allow them to do, well, pretty much all the things that Steve Jobs showed on stage. I know people for whom the iPad is a perfect computer. My mom is one of these people. I also know people for whom the iPad is a wonderful device, and the beginning of a new paradigm in mobile computing, but far from an absolute necessity. I am one of these people.

That you can argue the iPhone and iPod are kings of the mobile phone & music player markets should not preclude the iPad's success merely because it does not occupy the same stature within the laptop market. The iPad is not competing with laptops. It is competing with netbooks. And before you say that the iPad can't compete with netbooks, consider this: netbooks are becoming more popular but they have yet to explode. Why? Because they appeal to a relatively small number of people (many of whom are the ones currently writing off the iPad). If you want a netbook that appeals to everyone else, you don't want a smaller version of Windows or OS X; you want an iPad. Instead of just pointing out the things netbooks can do which the iPad cannot, ask yourself which of those things are really indispensable to most people. Not you, most people.

So for the general public, I'd say the iPad looks just awesome. Eventually I think the iPad will grow into a much more powerful device, and as it matures it will appeal to an ever wider audience. More importantly than just the iPad though, I belive Apple is making a point that computers can and should move away from the clunky and bloated file systems and operating systems we've been using for decades. John Gruber lays it out quite nicely, and it's the same argument that Don Norman makes in his seminal book: The Invisible Computer.

The iPad isn't for everyone, but neither is it trying to be. Just as some people still prefer to build their own computers, so some people won't want an iPad. Richard Stallman probably won't buy one. But I think the iPad will do very well, and deservedly so. Ultimately, after years of evolution and perspective, I think it will be regarded as a game-changer more than the iPod or iPhone. Only time will tell, but I think we're on the verge of some insanely great things.

*The amount of bitching and moaning about the iPad's 4:3 aspect ratio is deafening and confounding and just stupid. There's too much to say about it in this footnote, so I'll save the rest for a future post.

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Reader Comments (1)

I look forward to the iPad having camera/s on it…in time the cost will come down. :-)

30 January 2010 | Unregistered CommenterKeith Lang

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