iPad Chagrin
Yesterday was a big day for Jason, who has to be one of the biggest and most long-standing Apple fanboys out there. He had been waiting months for yesterday’s keynote speech wherein the “big mystery product” would finally be revealed, even though we all knew that it would be a tablet ever since ol’ Jobbie started ragging on the Kindle last Fall–a campaign that lasted until earlier this month when we stated that e-readers were silly because “people don’t read anymore.”
Despite the fact that people don’t read anymore, Jobs decided to go and develop a tricked out e-reader for the attention-span-challenged. All maxi pad jokes and product loyalty aside, I think the IPad is relatively useless. Really useless, actually. I know that Apple is all about merging our needs into these grand all-encompassing products, but the problem here is that most people who would actually consider buying this thing probably already have an iPhone or an iPod Touch that does most of the same stuff that iPad does, just on a smaller screen.
Granted, the iPad looks like a lot of fun and I would love a chance to play with one. Jason immediately made the connection to Penny’s digital book in Inspector Gadget, and I have to agree. This is most definitely a cool product, one that would have made all of our eyes pop out of our heads if we had tried to imagine it when we were kids.
But, in the end, the iPad is a toy. It serves absolutely no new or revolutionary function. If I were in the market for an e-reader, I’d consider price, book selection, and e-ink technology–none of which the iPad would have over the Kindle, Sony Reader, or any other of the new gaggle of readers being developed as we speak. If I were in the market for a portable computer I could use in class or coffee shops or friends’ houses, I’d get a MacBook or a netbook, because you know, I’d like to actually use it to type more than a few words at a time, and I don’t want to carry around an extra gadget just to do so. If I were in the market for a really portable (i.e. convenient) computer/media player, I’d get an iPhone.
Another problem Apple is going to face with this product is people like me. I love Apple products and I’m a huge fan of the brand–Jason and I each use our beloved iPhones and our house is like a Mac graveyard with old iPods, an iMac, a G4, a MacBook, and now I exclusively use a MacBook Pro for work. We would be the perfect target audience for the iPad. We have disposable income–to a degree, we’re young, we’re committed to Apple, and we care about technology. BUT WE ALREADY HAVE PRODUCTS THAT DO EVERYTHING THE iPAD DOES. Especially since I finally broke down and bought Kindle and Jason is inheriting my mom’s old Sony Reader.
So who, exactly, is the iPad consumer? Is it a single guy in his 30s with too much money? A college kid? A mom? I have no idea, and I don’t think Apple does either. It’s a strange time and atmosphere to be asking us to buy an expensive toy.
Personally, I do not care about eInk technology. Readers are still on their infancy and their’s still room to play with their functionality. Also I have faith that The iBook Store, like iTunes and the App Store will end up with massive selections. I do fully admit the current lack of Flash support sucks as well the lack of a camera. I think $500 for 16GB isn’t good enough. But this devise is a first generation so improvements are only a matter of time. Bottom line this devise looks like much more fun to interact with then any reader or netbook. Who needs this devise NOBODY! Who needs a reader NOBODY! Who needs a netbook NOBODY! We are discussing luxary adult toys which no one really needs in the first place. I say this is a revolutionary way for people to interact with their computers. I predict in the future netbook and notebook will merge into one highly portable and highly useful tool. I want the future to be all about refined touch-screen devices so to me the iPad is a glorious second step further into that reality. Hear-hear. (I’m proof that typing more then a few words on a touch-screen devise isn’t that painful.)
You’re ridiculous.
Toy de jour