Emergency Apple iPad Post (DAMNIT!)
Okay, this is probably only a code Yellow, maybe a nice Sunset but not a full-on Orange Alert. (Yes I am going to make you read my last blog post to get the “joke.”)
Apple announced its “poorly” named iPad today and low and behold, the earth kept on rotating on its axis.
Everyone hasn’t gotten a free pony, cancer has not been cured, pigs haven’t flown, hell hasn’t frozen over. No wait those last two ACTUALLY HAPPENED. (Geaux Saints!) I for the record went out to dinner and a movie with friends, then came home to read a few of the gagillion reports.
First several iPad related tweets and links I clicked, all pans with some valid points.
Picking Some BIG Nits
- The iPad can’t walk, talk and chew gum at the same time. Okay but how many of us really do that much at once, i.e the much ballyhooed multi-tasking that the iPhone can’t do either? Sure it would be great to listen to music, while reading a book, while keeping the Twitter client open. It’s effective time-management, if not efficient battery management.
- The iPad will have the staying power of a fart in the wind. The more you want something to do, at the same time, the more it’ll kill your battery. It’s nothing new but to be really useful, a mobile device like this needs to work a full-day without requiring a recharge.
- The iPad will hold you hostage, making the iTunes, App and iBook stores your only crack dealers. From what I can tell, this one is even more true of the Apple iPad than say the Amazon Kindle or Sony e-reader. Sure they all have their proprietary formats, but if the iPad won’t let you transfer your own PDF files (or PDF ebooks bought from small, online publishers) than yes, it’s even more restrictive.
Some of the WHAT DID YOU EXPECT gripes
- The iPad is not a laptop or netbook, but a touch screen tablet forces you to actually touch it without a keypad. No witty rejoinder; if you need a physical keypad, stick with your Crackberry laptop or netbook.
- The iPad is not a home theater system. Doesn’t have full 1080p, cannot run your 60″ plasma screen, and requires lots of extra doodads to hook it to anything.
- Internet access via cellular connection will cost money, in terms of the product and a service plan. And horror of horrors, you gotta give than money to AT&T, a valid complaint for a lot of people but still…
Hey, There’s Hype Too
- The iPad may be more than just a serviceable e-book reader.
- The iPad prices were low-ish, by Apple standards. But of course, they go up.
- The iPad has potential. Damning praise, but there is room to grow.
Living Down to Expectations
The Apple iPad is not the Jesus Tablet, at least not yet, which is the biggest thing it has going against it. It’s a neat toy looking for its sandbox. Apple has the bar raised so high, it’s unreachable.
No one is as smart, as inventive, as game-reinventing as Apple, not even Apple. But look back on the first iPod and the first iPhone–they only got better; so too will the iPad. I can wait. FWIW.
iPhone blog: The Summary Edition
I decided to do a Reader’s condensed version of my iPhone entries.
First, I covered the iPhone 3G and price changes announcement. Thought it was a mistake at the time, but as time told, not so much. Existing phone owners were able to resell their old ones to cover the cost of the new one (though they still paid twice what a qualifying newcomer did). And I wondered why anyone would still want a iPod touch, other than love of their Crackberry or hate for AT&T. Everything worked out okay, and I ate some crow. Continue reading
Apple and the Missed Market Opportunity or Why Steve Jobs Needs to Call Me
The Number One reason I cannot convince folks to switch to MAC may not be what you think. It isn’t exactly “Price” or “the MAC cannot do everything.” They are easy to find, available in more Places than ever: Apple Stores, online and even some Best Buy locations.
No it is the other “P” of the marketing mix, Product: Apple does not make their computer, which is to say an Average Joe Portable Desktop Replacement. Continue reading