After playing with the iPad in-store today, and realizing that it is nothing short of a mediocre gimmick, I came to understand why it will be a huge success: the iPhone.
The iPhone was nothing short of revolutionary. It brought together ease of use, great aesthetics, and an incredible degree of versatility and functionality. With the release of the iPhone, Apple started a new era in portable technology. I own an Android phone, which is just a little device that fits in my pocket, and it has very literally changed my life, and its existence was brought on by a chain reaction started by Apple. So, with the iPhone, Apple moved to the very top of the tech pyramid, into the hearts of millions, and they secured themselves a huge spot in tech history, which is something they deserved.
Enter the iPad, a device that is, in all seriousness, a big iPhone. Except, it doesn't make phone calls. Oh, and it doesn't multitask. Also, if you try to improve the device's functionality by changing it fundamentally, Apple will just ban your app from distribution. It also doesn't take pictures. But the screen is beautiful. When it's put this way, the iPad basically sounds like a first gen iPhone that can't make phone calls but has a big screen. Of course, this would all be fine if it were a phone, but it isn't, and this is exactly why the device is worthlessly impractical. Speaking of practicality, let's look at it from a practical standpoint.
First of all, it can't fit in your pocket, which means you are forced to carry it in a bag, pouch, or backpack like a laptop. Second, it has no built in stand, which means that you will either buy a stand (making a bag, pouch, or backpack even more necessary) or you will always have it set in your lap or on a table, like a laptop. Third, the keyboard is an on-screen version of a standard qwerty-keyboard. And as has been proven by over a century's worth of consumer testing, the best way to type on a qwerty-keyboard is with your fingers on the home row. This means that, in order to type quickly and comfortably, you're left laying the thing flat on a table or in your lap, and hunching over it to see what you are typing, unlike a laptop. I could go on and on, this thing is just that impractical.
On the other hand, a laptop of comparable price will do everything the iPad can do and will be able to do many things it can't such as multitask, take pictures with a built-in webcam, and support flash material. It will have a physical keyboard, allowing for maximum comfort while watching videos, reading, talking to friends, or typing up things like long e-mails and school papers. It will be totally customizable, with no gatekeeper telling developers and users what they can and can not do. All of this, and it will be just as portable as the iPad.
See, what Apple didn't realize, and what a million unfortunate consumers will eventually realize (a huge portion of which will suppress it until it creates a tumor), is that the iPhone wasn't revolutionary just because of what it could do. It was revolutionary because when you were done using it, you put it away in your pocket, where your fat, clumsy flip phone used to go. Take that away, and your left with a computer that belongs on the shelves of a Toys R' Us, carrying the name "My First Computer".
Anyway, that's just my two cents.
The iPhone was nothing short of revolutionary. It brought together ease of use, great aesthetics, and an incredible degree of versatility and functionality. With the release of the iPhone, Apple started a new era in portable technology. I own an Android phone, which is just a little device that fits in my pocket, and it has very literally changed my life, and its existence was brought on by a chain reaction started by Apple. So, with the iPhone, Apple moved to the very top of the tech pyramid, into the hearts of millions, and they secured themselves a huge spot in tech history, which is something they deserved.
Enter the iPad, a device that is, in all seriousness, a big iPhone. Except, it doesn't make phone calls. Oh, and it doesn't multitask. Also, if you try to improve the device's functionality by changing it fundamentally, Apple will just ban your app from distribution. It also doesn't take pictures. But the screen is beautiful. When it's put this way, the iPad basically sounds like a first gen iPhone that can't make phone calls but has a big screen. Of course, this would all be fine if it were a phone, but it isn't, and this is exactly why the device is worthlessly impractical. Speaking of practicality, let's look at it from a practical standpoint.
First of all, it can't fit in your pocket, which means you are forced to carry it in a bag, pouch, or backpack like a laptop. Second, it has no built in stand, which means that you will either buy a stand (making a bag, pouch, or backpack even more necessary) or you will always have it set in your lap or on a table, like a laptop. Third, the keyboard is an on-screen version of a standard qwerty-keyboard. And as has been proven by over a century's worth of consumer testing, the best way to type on a qwerty-keyboard is with your fingers on the home row. This means that, in order to type quickly and comfortably, you're left laying the thing flat on a table or in your lap, and hunching over it to see what you are typing, unlike a laptop. I could go on and on, this thing is just that impractical.
On the other hand, a laptop of comparable price will do everything the iPad can do and will be able to do many things it can't such as multitask, take pictures with a built-in webcam, and support flash material. It will have a physical keyboard, allowing for maximum comfort while watching videos, reading, talking to friends, or typing up things like long e-mails and school papers. It will be totally customizable, with no gatekeeper telling developers and users what they can and can not do. All of this, and it will be just as portable as the iPad.
See, what Apple didn't realize, and what a million unfortunate consumers will eventually realize (a huge portion of which will suppress it until it creates a tumor), is that the iPhone wasn't revolutionary just because of what it could do. It was revolutionary because when you were done using it, you put it away in your pocket, where your fat, clumsy flip phone used to go. Take that away, and your left with a computer that belongs on the shelves of a Toys R' Us, carrying the name "My First Computer".
Anyway, that's just my two cents.
