One could write volumes about Apple’s unequaled ability to generate buzz to the level they did for this week’s iPad launch. But that’s not the point of this post. Today let’s talk about the device itself, now that the years of (largely inaccurate) rumors and leaks are behind us and we have what appears to be a finished product to behold, admire, admonish, and wonder “What the heck was Steve Jobs thinking?”
First, what exactly IS the iPad? It is a tablet computer, but unlike any tablet computer before (most of which were simply touch-screen windows PC’s with no keyboard.) The device is about the size and bulk of a full notepad of paper. It weighs only 1.5 pounds but Apple claims it has a battery life of up to 10 hours. The 10″ high-resolution screen is bright, beautiful, and viewable form almost any angle. It can run almost all of the 140,000 iPhone apps and Apple has built a few “killer apps” just for this device including a best-in-class e-book reader that should douse the Amazon Kindle fire to a smoking memory. Apple also unveiled a new version of the iWork suite including a slick new version of Keynote, which plays a prominent role in the “Reason to care” section ahead. iPad plays movies and games like a champ as well. To really get a feel for the thing, I recommend watching Apple’s tour video.
The GOOD: the iPad is gorgeous. Someone sitting in a cafe will lust like a hungry “Twilighter” after admiring an early adopter using an iPad to read the New York Times and watch movie clips embedded right in the articles while he sips his overpriced latte. It is a killer book reader and will likely own the educational textbook market one day. It handily beats any other electronic device at playing all four major media types: books, movies, music, and games. It can run (most of) the massive iPhone library of 140,000 apps. It is an elegantly simply way to browse the internet and access email. It is easier to use and lasts longer than a netbook. At $499, it is priced to own by a LOT of people.
The BAD: oh…. boy…. where to begin? The whole internet seems flooded in a global-warming-sized tsunami of criticism for this thing. Social media monitors found that the jokes about how the name evokes images (ick) of feminine hygiene products nearly outpaced comments about the product itself. Whether that becomes, in hindsight, a historic product naming boner or a massively genius bit of PR we will just have to wait and see. But when we focus on the product itself, and what’s missing from it that prevents it from being great and STILL short of the promised degree of “magical” Jobs boasted, we really wonder what was going through their minds. For starters, it doesn’t support flash in the web browser, despite Jobs’ comment that it was the “best internet experience ever”. Flash is a crucial part of the web experience and frankly, I’m amazed the major media companies that make ready use of flash on their websites haven’t lined up to tear down the house of Apple. Even those whose websites have shifted away from flash for front page content still feature flash in their sponsors banner ads and in their video players.
More BAD: The lack of cameras has everyone shaking their head like tennis spectators on roofies. A webcam would have cost a buck, and it would allow the device to be used as a video phone (like any netbook or laptop on the market today). It also would allow you to take photos and share them with friends – something quite a lot of those 140,000 apps rather depend on. A second camera would have enabled iPad to perform augmented reality tricks that can only be described as life-altering. I assume the lack of cameras is due to AT&T’s inability to handle the bandwidth and part with phone revenue.
The rest of the BAD: There’s no USB port for pulling images off cameras or memory sticks, or for moving media of any kind. There is no multitasking (we think) so you still can’t run two apps at the same time. The screen is close to 4:3 aspect ratio (like old computers) rather then the new standard of 16:9. Movies will be highly letterboxed. Also, the screen is a different shape than the iPhone. Can you hear the 140,000 apps squealing in rewrite agony?
But I still want one. Many people still want one. Apple knows what they’re doing. It’s a lovely device. It is simply inexplicably hobbled by a bizarre torrent of decisions to NOT include simple, inexpensive features present on almost every laptop, netbook, and SMARTPHONE outside the world of Apple. Yes, I was screaming inside just then.
The Reason to Care: At last, here’s the punchline, and the reason I hope to see an iPad in our production theme park as soon as possible. This is a wondrous presentation tool. In the field, at the scrub sink, in a trade show booth, or by the golf course – this beauty is the ultimate in portable presentation punch. Playing video demos and flipping through images is a snap – although the tic-tac-sized speakers may not be as “full and rich” as the Apple website claims. Porting PowerPoint to Keynote will not only easy and productive, but it may convert quite a few people away from PowerPoint forever once they see what it can do.
Oh... THIS is the last panda?
It will also answer a lot of dreams for training (especially in retail), incentive programs (obviously), e-detailing and closed-loop marketing.
I still have a little hope that Apple will give in to the pressure of bad social media karma and sagging stock prices and get flash into their browser before the launch in 60 days. In the meantime, get your Keynote game on and be prepared to enjoy turning one of these things on once “portable electronic devices may now be safely used around the cabin”.
Look at this, you make your triumphant return to the blog just when I’m on my way out the door. I’m not sure if I should be happy or sad. Happy because I like your writing or sad because you weren’t doing it while I was working on the blog…
Rob L – Complete coincidence. I had a few things to say I guess. Wish I had time to do it more often. Thanks for the compliment.
Rob,
Great thoughts on the iPad. I couldn’t agree more, this product, while cool and innovative, seems to be stuck in a “no man’s land” area. Its not an iPhone, yet not a computer either. Maybe they will be expanding its capabilities in the months and years to come, but right now I see it as somewhat of a novelty. If it morphs into a truly mobile computing device where you can load software applications such as Photoshop or even a trimmed down version of iMovie, then I can see it really taking off. And while the price tag does make it affordable, for me it is still too pricy for something that I see as gimmicky for the time being.
I am concerned about the inability to view flash files. I teach online for a university, and my narrated lectures with PowerPoint are converted to flash files with Adobe Presenter. Students with this device would be unable to take the class.
Great point. If that A4 processor screams, it should be able to handle flash. I smell a PR stunt on this one given that Jobs hovered over a “missing plugin” section of the NYTimes site for so long. The web is abuzz with this criticism and I bet they throw everyone for a loop 10 days before it ships by announcing flash support. That’s my hope, anyway.
Great example! Apple is an astonishingly one-way company. They don’t appear to engage with their users like most companies should in the era of social media. Just look at how they pulled out of Macworld. I hope someone at Apple is listening.
Thanks for putting this together, Rob. I think the best way to get some perspective on the iPad is to reflect on what was said about the debut of the now ubiquitous and mostly well-loved iPod nearly 10 years ago: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=500
Will it be the game changer that the “overpriced MP3 player” was in 2001? Time will tell.
Love that old forum! You’re right – there are similarities in the backlash from consumers at the release, and Apple may have it right again, but they also have their share of dismal failures. This doesn’t appear to be a surprise or overpriced – just a fair bit under-equipped. It would be like coming out with a slick new fuel cell car with zero emissions, at an affordable price, and deciding to omit a trunk and a sound system. And it takes an hour to fuel up through the little white hydrogen supply line it comes with. Sure – it gets you from place to place and it’s slick and high-tech but you have to do without certain things that you’ve come to expect in a car and you just don’t see why.
I have mixed feelings as well. It’s hard to take someone who owns a laptop and an iPhone and insert this device into the mix without asking, “why?” Clearly the iPad will change portable gaming – the question is whether it will do it at the expense of the iPod Touch, which I see as an equivalent device only smaller. Same market of buyers.
I’m not certain about the ereader part either. I have a Kindle and love it for the e-ink because I can read in bright sunlight. Not so sure the iPad will fly. Or what about fatigue the LEDs shooting photons into your eyes? I don’t have that problem with my kindle, which I can read for 3 or 4 hours straight. That said, I can see how it will completely revolutionize the magazine and newspaper industries, which both need many cross references, call outs and embedded video clips. Hooray to that! I can see a train full of businessmen reading this on their way to work, furiously consuming news and instantly sharing it with colleagues in place of the newspaper, which ends up in a recycle bin at the destination platform anyway.
I think we need to remember that this is rev1 of this device. Heck, this “platform” for that matter. In reality, Apple just fired up the paving machines, took an unexpected left and is laying down an entirely new road. Who knows where this thing will go.
iBooks: You sit in front of your computer for hours on end, searching through the web, and your eyes hold up fine. I don’t see why this would be a problem when it comes to reading books on the iPad.
Adobe Flash: Apple did not include flash for two reasons. The first being that the flash plug-in is a memory hog. Second being that flash support is poorly coded, and constantly has errors and crashes. 5 is the way to go, it does everything all of the plugins currently do, only faster and is way more efficient.
iPad: The iPad has so much potential, even more so than when the iPhone was first announced. If anything, I will be purchasing one purely for the homebrew software that will eventually be available.
USB: The iPad will come with a dongle that plugs into the 32pin connector. That means that you have a single USB port available to you if you carry that around.
The biggest issue for me is lack of Flash. Something that the ebook landscape uses to create a more interactive experience. Apple’s “issue” with Adobe and their belief in the power of HTML5 will ensure that Flash will never come to the iPad.
Looking at the marketing potential, mobile advertising will see the biggest jump and Apple’s acquisition looking like a great money maker for them. Magazines that are on the iPad format could now run better ads which are more focused and targeted than previous website banner buys. Imagine going to a conference or company meeting where you’re checked in within two seconds via an iPad and having the ability to download a conference application with everything you need for your day(s) there. Fully customized to your unique ID.
Like the first version of the iPhone, we have only really seen a small fraction of what the iPad can eventually be.
Evidence that Apple was holding back during the announcment: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/02/01/ipad_photos_show_slot_for_forward_facing_video_camera.html
This is a toy for all those cool Apple users. It doesn’t have the functionality to replace a netbook or lapbook. Its also going to need a ’special’ bag as its too big for pockets or handbags, apart from ginormous ones.
I’ll stick to netbooks for now.