Thoughts on the iPad
My thoughts on the iPad are similar to my thoughts on the iPhone upon its first release: its about the possibilities of the hardware, not the software itself. It’s about the modality of the device rather than the specifics of what we think others will use it for.
The iPhone on its first ever release, with 1.0 software had barely one screen of applications. It had no Exchange support, no push e-mail, no copy/paste, very little in the way of batch operations. It was a template for what the device could be, applied to hardware that held its promise.
The iPad is the same thing. From what we’ve seen, in terms of the mode of its representation, it fits exactly what we saw from the iPhone: an empty screen of apps coupled to hardware which at once seems obvious and new.*
All the criticism points to the “do I need this.” That isn’t the right question to ask. The right question to as is “what can this do?”
Software wise, iPhone OS 3.2 has the same limitations as 3.1.2, just with more screen. TO focus on that is missing the point completely. We all know, without a doubt that multitasking is coming, as is a higher pixel density on the basic iPhone. We know that a lot of what is valued from Android and other platforms will make its way to the iPhone and iPad. We know this for the same reason we all knew that when iPhone OS 1.0 was released, an app-store was coming, as well as copy/paste.
Why isn’t it here now? Because its not perfect. The same reason the iPad hasn’t come until now. The same reason that the iPhone copy/paste didn’t come for a bit.
Now, the iPad. The fact that people are spending so much virtual ink about “do we need this, do people need this?” misses the point. People didn’t need a better phone. A phone was a phone. And yet, people need and covet their iPhone. The iPhone has transcended what people judged it on: a PDA and a phone. It has become a general purpose device more in line with the usage of netbooks than phones. The iPad likewise will transcend what people are judging it by.
My parents, wife and others all expressed their intrinsic “want” for the device. They want it because (for my mom), it’ll be great for reading and browsing the web without overhead of a laptop when on a plane or at home. For my dad, its a simple way to do what he does most with a computer. For me, it’ll be a great home automation device, Slingplayer, lights controller, Sonos controller, Facebook/Email device for my wife and e-book reader.
It’s telling when the results of a product release is more confusion than jubilation. Confusion leads to innovation as people try to wrestle with a concept. The iPad just opened up twice as many pixels and many times the amount of processor power to the promise and concept of innovation.
I can’t wait to get started working on it.
* The lack of a camera on this device and the iPod Touch are befuddling though.
Apple’s Win, Wrapped In A Miss, Rolled In Confusion
http://j.mp/fight_iPad
camera would have been nice, as we can skype with this device, I wonder since it has a camera dowload port if you could hook a miniature camera to it. Yet, in my portable pc at work I do not have a camera, so it won;t hamper me.
I would be so much more productive using the ipad than my pc, if only I can convince my work to support it
Nice writeup, I think expectations began to point to some new 360 degree shift, but apple consciously went with the “lets expand the iPhone ecosystem approach” here and tap into iPhone’s success at being something different for everyone. Personally, I think a 10″ multi touch screen with the responsiveness of the iPhone’s will be very compelling. I may be getting old, as i probably will wait for the second go around before there is one next to my couch.
Let me give my take. A little background: I love Apple. I’ve been a UNIX guy for over 20 years so a company (like Apple) that puts UNIX out in the mainstream and makes great consumer products with it I stand 100% behind. I own an iPod Touch and a Mac-Mini (and have owned other Macs as well).
With that out of the way: the iPad rev1 is an epic fail. Since when does Apple cater to an older generation? Steve didn’t mention that during his presentation and I do not think he has ever come out and said,”We would like to have a product that your mom and dad would like to be able to use with their failing eyesite.” Seniors are not the demographic that happens into Apple stores. Young and hip… or at least young at heart. No offense to any senior citizens is implied.
They “waited” until they had the perfect device? If you were going to release a 10″ iPod Touch you could have done that a few years ago, right?
“Industry analysts said we needed to price this item between $800-$1,000.” I am paraphrashing somewhat, but I think that is what Steve said as he introduced a starting price of $499 (oh boy!). Analysts were expecting more than a 10″ iPod Touch. Multitasking and a camera were a must. Not just a nice to have; A MUST.
Steve said netbooks were cramped and underpowered. Hey Steve, maybe so… but they are computers running an operating system. They multitask and run off the shelf products. If they run slow, fine, we expect that. The more tasks you run the slower it gets. I get it! That is my option though. Netbooks also have USB ports. I can add a printer, external drive, whatever. I can support flash on my netbook browser too so I don’t get the broken flash box when browsing the web like you did.
Steve: there are cell providers in the U.S.A. that are NOT named AT&T. TMO, VZW, Sprint. People want choice. It is not always about who has the best service. Everyone has their preference and not everyone wants AT&T as a provider. You could have offered at least TMO as an option over AT&T.
After the presentation I am guessing that Steve Ballmer turned off the screen, chuckled, and called his friends at HP and they had a good laugh together. “Hey guys, did you see that? Wow. A 10″ iPod Touch with iWork. How is the Slate coming? It is a computer and not a 10″ Zune, right?” I think it is a safe bet that the Slate will multitask.
Steve reached. He thinks he can drop an ‘i’ in front of anything and people will eat it up. Apple stock is down $7.43 this morning. I think others are underwhelmed too. Instead of ‘iPad’ they could call it: ‘i’VeSeenThis’. Silly, I know, but so is releasing a 10″ iPod Touch.
I bet sometime soon we will see Android based “pads” that will mutlitask. We will also see a rehashing of the Droid commercials referencing the iPad (iDon’t do this… iDon’t do that…). Apple has set themselves up on this one.
Okay, now that I have that off of my chest: I can’t wait to see what they do with Rev2 of the iPad!
The arguments about multitasking are idiotic. its a software concern, not a hardware. I guarantee that iPhone OS 4 will have multitasking, and likely require a lot of recompiling of a lot of apps to take advantage of it.
You’re loosing the forest through the trees here. If you just change a few points, your whole comment is indicative of all the criticism leveled at the iPhone in 2007 and we see how that turned out.
Of course it is a software issue. I never implied otherwise. Individuals who jailbreak the iPhone or Touch have multitasking. iPhone OS is built off of OSX which obviously multitasks a lot better than Windows ever did or ever will. My argrument is based on fact: it does not, in its current form, multitask (or have a camera or do much more than a 10″ iPod Touch).
My argument is they could have launched with multitasking and more. It is like the movie companies who keep releasing a new version of the same DVD. First you get a standard version, then a deluxe version, then an ultimate version.
Even when Apple launched the first version of the iPhone they offered more than most phones. What is Apple offering new here except the 10″ screen, iWork, and a leash to AT&T?
Also, there was a market for cell phones and iPods back when the iPhone was released. It was a merging of two products. One less thing for people to carry around.
The tablet market has started and failed a number of times already. I am not going to go out on a limb and say Apple will fail on the iPad, but I think the response won’t be what was hoped for. People won’t be lining up two days in advance to buy one. I am guessing it will do better than Apple TV, but that wasn’t much of a success. A lot of the comments and reviews I have read today echo what I have said: Apple could have done better. Everyone expected Apple to do better.
If multitasking is the crux of your argument, then its a pretty piss poor argument. Something that can (and will) be added in an OS update is different from something that can’t exist period. All Cocoa Touch devices multitask intrinsically, just not publicly available (for very good reasons if you’ve ever used an Android phone). I’m anxious to see HOW Apple implements multitasking, and hopefully its done with the same elegance copy/paste was.
I think I am just as bitter at no camera then I am a multitasking; it is a toss up. I’d be signed up on the waiting list if they had those things.
Locked to a single cell phone provider for data was a point (I despise AT&T). You can’t add software that isn’t on the iTunes store without hacking it was a point. No USB ports was a point.
Does this blog take html codes? I’d like to use bullets!
Ethan, at the end of the day a lot of us are asking the same question: why did Apple do the big dog and pony show for a device this is slightly more than a 10″ iPod Touch? A lot of people are already talking about rev. 2 and rev. 1 is 60 days away. My personal opinion: that isn’t a good sign. That is people saying that the iPad is not what they were looking for/expecting. Not in the form that was showed yesterday.
I wish Apple would have spent their R&D time making an iPhone for other carriers!