Technologies like Flash and Silverlight allow developers to create rich content that can be delivered via a web browser. There is no gatekeeper regarding who may run such content as long as the user has a web browser that supports the plug-in technology. This open access model directly threatens Apple’s obsession with retaining tight control over what applications are allowed to run on the iPad.
Apple is so reluctant to allow users to control the software that runs on the iPad that the device even lacks such basic interfaces as a USB port. Failing to support Flash and other plug-in technologies is presented to the public as an attempt to shield users from buggy software that could cause the iPad to crash. Yet Apple seems content with supporting Flash technology for Macintosh computer systems. If Flash is so buggy, perhaps Apple should eliminate support on the Macintosh computer lines as well?
So after the iPad announcement on Wednesday, it seems like much of the tech world has been panning the iPad for not having the features they were hoping for, like a camera, multitasking, more storage, etc.
So today we’re starting to hear more voices defending the iPad, saying that it does have a reason for being, that it does have a customer, and that customer is…moms. I first heard this from two friends of mine, then saw it on Greg Meyer’s blog, and then on Cnet and TechCrunch. The argument goes that moms don’t like laptops because they’re too bulky to carry around, but they still want to read, do light emailing, and web browse, but a smartphone is too small for these tasks, so the iPad fills the bill. The iPad is like the Nintendo Wii of tablets - it’s targeted at a mass market, not the hardcore like the PS3 and Xbox, so stop complaining that it doesn’t have every feature under the sun.
While this argument is tempting, it fails in a couple key places. First, no device that fails to win the early adopters will capture mass market support. The Wii was a hit among early adopters - primarily the under 30 set. They put it on their wishlists, got their moms to buy it for them, and then when they realized it was so easy, they showed their moms how to use it. It succeeded because of its simplicity, and with a lot of help from a $250 price point.
The iPad, on the other hand, looks simple, but really isn’t. Consider a couple of every day use cases in the form of this imaginary conversation with my mom:
“Joel, I want to watch this DVD on the plane. Can I do that on my iPad.”
“Sure, just rip the DVD on your laptop then import it into iTunes, and download it to your iPad.”
“Um…how do I do that?”
“Nevermind. I’ll do it for you.”
“Joel, I want to store a bunch of word documents on my iPad so I can have them handy when I do my volunteer work, how do I do that?”
“Um…there’s an app for that. I’ll do it for you.”
“Joel, I want to send the photos on my digital camera to your aunt. Do I do that on my iPad?”
“Do you have a 30-pin to mini USB adapter or a 30-pin to SD card adapter?”
“A what?”
“Just use your laptop.”
“Joel, I want to buy an ebook and read it while I travel.”
“Well, now you’re in business.”
Ultimately, it’s a device that has a form factor and UI that may be attractive to moms, but it requires tech savvy to actually use it for anything more than what mom already does on her smartphone or laptop. So good thing mom has you, the early adopter around to help her use it. And you’ll probably have to buy it for her, too - how many moms are going to shell out $500 on this kind of gadgetry?
So there you have it: the iPad will sell like hotcakes. To the moms of early adopters, early adopters who are nice enough to buy it for them. I’m sure Apple’s shareholders are pleased to hear that.
Stevie Jobs yesterday announced the much-anticipated iPad, a tablet device that he says fills the gap between smartphones and laptops. There have been a flurry of articles since then for and against the iPad, mainly focusing on what features it has or is missing, but I’d like to look at it from a higher level, looking at the product positioning and the problems it is trying to solve.
In introducing the iPad, Steve asserts that it is “better (than smartphones and laptops) at these tasks”: browsing, email, photos, video, music, games, eBooks. But the product he then demonstrated didn’t seem to be better at any of those tasks.
Browsing and email: these will always be easier on a laptop that has a physical, full-size (or close to full-size) keyboard with a mouse/touchpad/pointing device. The iPad’s touchscreen does not make web-browsing or email easier, nor does its small size. The iPad will be adequate for short email or browsing sessions, but for many of us our smartphone is already good enough for that.
Photos, video and music: it’s a nice photo browser, but to watch movies you’ll need some sort of stand. The hard drive (64GB max) is too small to be good at storing any of these - it would fill up with 10 DVDs, and I know many people whose music collections alone are larger than 64GB. To upload pictures from your camera to the iPad, you’ll need to stock up on dongles because it only has one 30-pin port for connectors (no USB). This device (being based on iPod/iPhone software) is clearly intended to complement a laptop or PC with larger storage capacity, not replace it.
eBooks: this is the one application in which the iPad outshines smartphones and laptops. And it could be argued that the addition of color (neato!) makes it better than the Kindle, but for people who read for long stretches the Kindle’s e-ink screen will still make it the better option, assuming they aren’t reading magazines or textbooks that rely on color.
Apple lost sight of the fact that tech devices must simplify our lives. The iPod made it easy to listen to music (and later, watch movies) on the go. The iPhone gave us a world of applications with a slick interface in our pockets. It let us take pictures without a camera and navigate without a dedicated GPS, and it let us do a myriad of light computing tasks without a laptop. The iPod and iPhone both revolutionized their markets and changed the way we live, but the iPad fails in this regard.
The iPad is too big to be truly mobile, and it’s too small and limited to replace a laptop. Rather than simplifying my life, the iPad is making it more complicated - it’s a third device I have to maintain, load media onto, and buy dongles for. And all this starts at $499? No thank you, Apple.
Even Hitler doesn’t want one.
For more details, here’s a sampling of the extensive coverage out there:
My name is Joel Downs, and I've been working in social media and online product management since 1994. In a former life, I founded Answerbag.com, one of the top 3 social Q&A sites on the web, and Gamers.com.
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