I've been asked by a number of people what I think of the iPad. Here are my initial thoughts.
What's in a name?First of all, the name sucks. iPad? Seriously? The whole "i" thing is very 2001 and "Pad"…well…I'll spare you my own jokes and refer you to this long list instead. Apple Slate or Apple Canvas or even Apple Tablet would have been much better names. Consumption, not creation
One thing I'm a little disappointed about is that the iPad seems to be much more about consuming content than creating it. I like the Courier concept videos (must-see: here and here) and wish Apple would have done something like that or at least created an app that did something similar. Less product, more platform
I think Apple didn't announce a product as much as it did a platform (as has also been commented on by Brett). For a while I've wondered why anyone would want a tablet: too big to put in your pocket, not functional enough to replace a laptop. So what's the point? Apple intends the iPad to be a platform which content creators can make amazing things that are designed specifically for it. They'll be so amazing, we'll pay money for them instead of getting them for free on the internet. For example, I'd pay extra to be able to read Wired's online content in an awesome, interactive format that looks more like the magazine than a website (I absolutely love Wired's design/layout). Or, at least that's what Apple wants because it gets 30% of everything sold through the App Store. Price
I'm pleasantly surprised at the $499 starting price point. However, charging an extra $130 to be able to access a 3G network is absurd. Cell phone carriers give away free phones with the necessary hardware to access 3G networks and Apple is trying to charge $130 just for the 3G radio/chipset? Ridiculous. Data
What's not so ridiculous, and could actually make the $130 for the hardware bearable is the no contract, all-you-can-eat $30/month data plan that's available for the iPad. And rumor has it you'll be able to use VOIP (voice calls over the internet – Skype). So if you don't make a lot of phone calls you could essentially be getting unlimited voice and data for $30 per month. Not too shabby considering most unlimited voice/data plans go for at least $70 per month. This becomes a more viable option if they allow multitasking. Just run Skype in the background and you're set. Killer app: software that turns your iPad into a mifi/wireless hotspot using the 3G signal. No word on whether or not SMS will be available as an add-on to the data plan. Book reader
From all accounts, the iPad is an excellent book reader. That's fine and all if you read ebooks which, to this point, I do not. I've bashed the Kindle a number of times and don't see the point in laying down that much money for one. The iPad, on the other hand, has the functionality of the Kindle and everything else it does, making the purchase proposition much easier to swallow. Assuming text books are readily available on the iPad and there's some kind of annotation capability, a $499 iPad seems like a no-brainer for college students – especially with the optional attachable keyboard and dock. Forget the laptop. Laptops are heavy and you have to carry around books. With an iPad you carry one device and that's it. Heck. It could even replace your iPod if you had a headphone cable long enough (like Earhogs) and voice control. Just leave the iPad in your bag and run the headphones out. I foresee a new trend in murses on college campuses. For me, it'd be nothing more than an iPad, a Moleskine notebook and some pens. More to come
There was one thing that was conspicuously absent from the iPad announcement – notifications. With calendar, email and other apps in the App Store having built-in push notifications it seemed odd that they didn't show how those would work. My guess is that the OS we saw isn't the finished version and that there will be a revamped notifications system for the iPhone and the iPad. I also don't think that Apple is going to let a custom 1 ghz processor go to waste running one app at a time. I'm guessing when the iPad launches in March (or soon thereafter – perhaps at WWDC in the summer) they will also announce multi-tasking for it and the iPhone. Conclusion
Right now I'm in a wait-and-see holding pattern with the iPad. I'm curious to see what app developers and content creators do with it. Steve tried to make the case that there's a need for a new category between smart phones and laptops. I'm not entirely convinced – at least at the current price point. While $499 is surprisingly low, it's not low enough for me to rush out and buy one (it would have to skew closer to $200 before I wouldn't think twice about it). I'll probably wait until at least the second generation – complete with camera, lower price (possibly) and an established base of must-have apps – before I consider a purchase. In the meantime, my iPhone and Macbook are definitely doing the trick. Besides, would you want to leave an iPad next to the couch when you have a two year-old on the loose? Me either.
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11 Comments
I’m shocked that you don’t seem to “get it”.This post is just a regurgitation of complaints made by other people who don’t “get it”.You should read (again) and ponder Steven Franks thoughts:http://stevenf.tumblr.com/post/359224392/i-need-to-talk-to-you-about-computers-ive-beenSome of his insightful and forward looking observations include:”The reason I’m starting to think the Old World is ultimately doomed is because we are bracketed on both sides by the New World, and those people being born today, post-iPhone and post-iPad, will never know (and probably not care) about how things used to work. Just as nobody today cares about floppies, and nobody has to care about manual transmissions if they don’t want to.”"Fellow Old Worlders, I hate to tell you this: we are a minority. The question is not “will the desktop metaphor go away?” The question is “why has it taken this long for the desktop metaphor to go away?””"Well, no, today, probably not. But could you do it on a future New World computer in the general sense?”"Remember, the hardware is a non-issue: Flash storage will grow to terabytes in size. CPUs will continue to multiply in power as they always have. Displays, batteries, everything will improve given enough time.”"How long will it take to complete this Old World to New World shift? My guess? The end is near when you can bootstrap a new iPad application on an iPad.”David, it’s time for you to make a paradigm shift. And realize what a ground-breaking product the iPad is. Then start learning Objective C and develop your own “Courier”.
great review – I am definitely a MAC and love Apple products but my first thought with the IPad was to wait and see how they will develop it in the next release. Your review confirmed that! Thanks!
Hugh – You just regurgitated a rambling post which didn’t contradict my post.Kimberly – Thanks for the comment!
Heh heh.
I think your comments are spot on, Rathbuns. The iPad is an incredible piece of hardware.I am a gamer. Way back in the day, during the Sega-Nintendo wars, I would have given my life for Nintendo. Every next-generation launch saw me choosing a side. NES over Sega, SNES over Genesis, PSX over N64, Dreamcast over PS2…then something happened, I grew some brains and realized it was about the software and not the hardware. Right now the iPad is looking like a HUGE missed opportunity. Everyone wanted an ibook in slate form. But I’m going to make a bet. I’m going to bet that in a year or two, at the most, the value of the device will be obvious. Apps will come out that will make people drool. So yes, you’re dead on when you say Apple has announced a platform. Is it overpriced? No. It’s completely worth it for what it will be able to do, if not what it does now. Apps are CHEAP. My iPhone’s value and usefulness has at least quintupled since the apps store exploded. The iPad is even more powerful and has more screen space. I don’t think most people should get one right away, only those who have money to burn or want it bad enough to donate plasma…like me.Final comment. I think the vast majority of negativity being leveled at the thing is a result of mistaken identity. It doesn’t help that Jobs is an arrogant hype machine. The iPad is clearly not supposed to be the next generation laptop. When you get over wanting that, and start looking at it for what it really is, an all-in-one newspaper, library, internet surfing device, social networking device, move viewer, photo album, music library and player, email device, planner, Gameboy…the list goes on…then you begin to realize how cool it really is. Yes your laptop does this, but it’s big and only runs for 2 hours. And yes, your iPhone does this too, as long as you have small hands and don’t mind paying out of your rear for data, that and you are okay with wearing reading glasses while using it. So yes, I’ll take one, please.
Well I agree with the wait and see approach. I’m not highly impressed with this new device, just impressed. And honestly with how many people I have talked about it with so far I would say only 50% would think it would be cool to get. So I don’t think it’s the killer device yet. But maybe it will catch on and become the hit that the iPod became.
I would think about getting it if it had word processing on it, which it doesn’t seem to. I was kinda hoping it would be a cross more with the Macbook Air.
Erin – Pages (from iWork) will be available for $9.99 as a downloadable app.
I feel like I may have been overly critical of this device. The platform is amazing, the possibilities are endless and I honestly believe that Apple has introduced the future of portable media. With that being said I firmly believe that this is just like the first generation of the iPod, an amazingly good idea that is rough at best. The apps that can and will be created will floor us all, but in it’s current state it is nothing more than an overhyped underperforming great idea. Like you said if the price point doesn’t come down a little it won’t go mainstream, at least not any time soon. Also, if people are going to use this as their main source for internet surfing (which is what Steve wants) then it must be capable of showing us all the internet has to offer, this includes flash Apple geniuses. Thirdly any third grade computer nerd could see that this is probably the single greatest opportunity for video conferencing that exists and yet they fail to put a simple camera in. Fourth we are a generation of multitaskers. Very few of us ever devote any of our time to a single activity, in fact I am watching tv as I type this. However, Dear Leader and his minions failed to see the importance of this feature. This by far is the largest weakness of the entire product. Granted many of these problems are simple fixes, but if they are so simple and so much of the public can cry foul so soon after the release because of the lack of these things then why not include them in the first generation? Perhaps it is because this is Apple’s pattern with all of it’s products. Release a rudimentary shell of what your end goal is and get the die hard fanboys to bite. If it starts to go mainstream even a little throw out a gen 2, then 3 and so on until you get to what you already have in your head around gen 5 or so. All the while creating more and more buzz around the product and gaining more and more followers as the product gets better and better. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not faulting Apple for doing this, the marketing and business strategies are second to none. That being said you would be a fool to get sucked into buying the first generation when we all know that a new and improved version will soon be available that makes this look like the first gen iPod. Sure it was a great concept but it is old technology now that is worthless. However, the idea and concept is priceless. Apple I applaud your innovative thinking and your ability to bring a game changer to the market. However, I personally would much rather play with this http://files.lesterchan.net/images/apple/ipod_touch.jpginstead of this http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/first-gen-ipod.jpgSo I will be waiting a while.
As a college instructor, the more I think about the iPad, the more I like it as something for students to use. I teach both online and face to face classes, and in both cases there are serious benefits. I am finding I have to crack down on students using laptops in the classroom, because I can’t see them behind their screens and they tend to isolate students from the larger discussion, but I really like that students have the ability to take notes on a laptop; something like an iPad seems like a great answer to that dilemma. I like, too, that I could lug it to campus instead of my Macbook (hate the PC in my office) and hopefully plug it into my media-rich classrooms for use with the projector.Also, am I the only person who isn’t bothered by the name? I actually think it’s fitting. Call me crazy.
Great points Elissa. The iPad would be perfect for my daughters (high school and middle school) their backpacks are sooo heavy with textbooks. Michael, sorry the iPad/iPod will never have Flash.