Last week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled what he thinks is "the most important thing" he has ever worked on: the iPad. According to the Wall Street Journal, the "last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it."
So if you haven't heard something about this latest iFad, you might be living under a rock. In the past week, critics have harped on the device's lack of a front facing camera, the inability to multi-task, the closed application ecosystem and a number of other issues both technical and non-technical. The most unfortunate complaint: the name (if the humor isn't apparent, think feminine hygiene). All jokes aside, these technical issues have left many people unsure as to whether this is the device for them. If it isn't now, I think it will be.
It should be made clear that the iPad isn't a Tablet PC and that this is a good thing. Tablet PCs of the past, hybrid laptop computers with touch interfaces, have tried to do too much. They weren't attractive to consumers—they were ugly—and there wasn't enough tablet-inspired software out there for the average consumer to look past the design.
Sadly, my first-year roommate fell victim to the luster of a Tablet PC. He's a smart guy and knew where the technological world was headed; he just jumped on the bandwagon a little too soon. I think he secretly regrets it.
Now, Apple has ushered in a new style of tablet computing and it is finally attractive. But why is attractiveness important? And why is Apple eye candy so successful?
Because consumers want to buy good-looking things. In a purely economical sense, the introduction of an attractive piece of hardware with a dedicated consumer base will catapult the technology and the style of computing to the forefront of our lives.
Yet the iPad doesn't have what the iPhone and the iPod come by so effortlessly: an inherent and undeniable utility. Many wonder how they can benefit from a "big iPod Touch." Out of the box it can't make a phone call, and it would look ridiculous in a gym. But this undeniable utility will certainly emerge.
It is an eBook reader, a photo book, word processor, email and contact manager, Web browser, a music library, and a lot more than that. Most importantly though, it runs apps.
Applications running on such an impressive piece of hardware will be a totally new experience. They will bring to the iPad what music brought to the iPod. They will be the lifeblood of the device, expanding its capabilities, and increasing its utility.
Increased screen real estate will dramatically affect the potential uses of applications and with a wealth of users already familiar with the multi-touch interface it will be a very attractive platform for developers.
No one really knows how the world will use the iPad. We can guess all we want. But there will need to be an "app for that" (and plenty of other things) before we realize its utility as an extremely powerful application device. This, quite simply, is why developers, and not consumers, will be the key to the success of the iPad.
You may disagree with me as to whether this iteration of the iPad is well worth your while, as Apple will undoubtedly revisit the hardware in the near future. And in many ways I won't be sure until I put my hands on it.
But it is hard to say that this device won't have a huge effect on the market. If you are unsure of the power of the "Apple Effect," think what Mac OS X did for operating systems, what the iPhone did for touch screen phones, and what the iPod did for MP3 players.
Even if you are opposed to all things Apple, realize that the introduction of this product into the market will only spur on the rest of the competition. No one even thought of touch screen phones five years ago, but today we see them everywhere and across the board, they have changed the mobile experience.
But there will always be skeptics and I will leave you with a quote from a user who posted on a popular Apple fan site, MacRumors.com:
Lots of hype. Now I gripe.
400 Bucks! Is Steve nuts?
Stupid name. Who to Blame?
Come on folks—no more jokes...
I know you were thinking "iPad rant," but this was, in fact, posted on October 23, 2001 when Apple announced the iPod. Sounds familiar.
Ben Johnson is a member of the Class of 2011.