Mar 18 Bathroom Browsing
Prior to deciding to purchase my first iPhone I waited in line outside an Apple store for nearly four hours accompanying my friends who were determined to purchase Apple’s latest creation on opening day. After waiting in line for what seemed like an eternity I had to plunk down my $600 dollars if only to walk out with something to show for my time. Prior to my purchase I had never held an iPhone for even a second. The closest I had ever gotten to the device was seeing it on the internet. Before I walking out of the store I quickly dashed over to one of the iPhones on display, found the Notes application, and with two thumbs feverishly typed out “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” From that point on I knew it was possible to write on my new $600 phone, and there wasn’t going to be a return.
So far I have gone about purchasing Apple’s iPad in the very same way. Accompanying my friends as they excitedly discuss their pre orders, remaining undecided, still waiting in line. I know I will probably end up buying one. I just want to make sure the virtual keyboard works well enough, and that the iPad is not just another large screen media consumption devices aimed at more comfortable web browsing in the bathroom. If I buy an iPad I want a device I can write upon. I don’t need just another large screen iPod Touch. I do enough bathroom browsing as it is.
Mar 16 Newton Stands with You
Despite its technological advances the iPad can never replace the Newton. No modern computer can. Today’s operating systems are modal, tasks are divided between applications. To begin a task you must first select an application. You must stop what you are doing, stop what you are thinking, and take the time to tell the computer the proper mode from which to proceed. On the Newton there are no modes. You turn it on, and you start writing, drawing, or recording. On the Newton your productivity comes first.
The Newton remembers the last place you were in a document. When you turn it on the last thing you created is the first thing you see. On the iPad and other modern computers the first thing you see is a vast selection of choices on how to proceed. Colorful icons try to show you the way. Signposts, advertising arduous pathways you must follow only to return to where you previously stood.
The difference between the Newton and any other modern computer is that the Newton stands with you, the others force you to catch up.
Mar 15 iPad Expectations
Technologically the iPad is not a revolutionary product like the iPhone. The iPhone changed the course of technology in two ways. It introduced multitouch to the masses, and reinvigorated the cellular phone market by showing consumers the potential of mobile computing. As a sequel the iPad can offer neither of these revolutionary changes. The iPad is instead an evolutionary advancement that takes the technology of the iPhone and builds upon it with a larger display. The question of the iPad’s success depends upon people’s expectations of how an iPhone with a larger display can fit into their lives.
- If people are expecting the iPad to be a more appropriate device for watching movies and TV shows than their iPhone, they have a realistic expectation.
- If people are expecting the iPad to be a more portable device than their, iPhone they have a unrealistic expectation.
- If people are expecting the iPad to be a more portable device than their laptop they have a realistic expectation.
- And if people are expecting the iPad to be a replacement for their laptop then you have to ask what people expect from their laptop?
The vocal uproar of tech enthusiasts after the iPad’s launch was evidence of their expectation Apple’s tablet offering would be a laptop replacement. The tech enthusiast population is the loudest on the internet, and the most likely to make predictions on unannounced technology products. If iPad’s market was purely made up of tech enthusiasts, and their misaligned expectations, the iPad would not gain the critical market share required for its success.
When Apple developed the iPad it understood the market is larger than the outcries of tech enthusiasts. It understood many people don’t require their laptops to be much more capable than a large screen iPhone as long as the technology is reliable. The iPad delivers technology that works for the masses in a reliable way the world is already familiar with from their experiences with the iPhone. It builds upon the iPhone by offering a more comfortable way to consume media, and additional application possibilities through expanded screen real estate.
Application developers are the ones who are going to make the iPad shine. By taking advantage of the iPad’s larger display developers will position the iPad above the people’s expectations of a large screen iPhone and closer to the expectations people hold against their computers. The iPad will never replace a laptop, but Apple is showing developers the possibilities by releasing their iWork productivity apps for iPad at launch. Apple is making the statement that the iPad is more than just a media consumption device, the iPad can be about producing content as well.
As the iPad enters the market our expectations about the device will change. Tech enthusiasts will learn to accept Apple’s tablet offering for what it is, and developers will push our expectations of what the iPad can do. The iPad may never replace the laptop, but its potential makes it far more than just a large screen iPhone.