The iPad Revolution

[pallentx]

Yeah I think Apple has finally changed the computer world with the iPad .

I think its also important to understand that being first does not give you sole credit for the changes that follow. Microsoft, Google, HP, and numerous others have all been working on similar form factors. We would be going there with or without Apple's iPad. Its just what technology is finally making possible.

 

[epb]

The controlling arguments about apple are really irrelevant. The bottom line is that they are a commercial company with a belief that customer satisfaction is their main priority. As Jobs said, if people don't like their products they won't buy them.

It's hugely relevant. Jobs is absolutely right - and this attitude is why Apple's greatest successes have not been in personal computing/workstations, where they remain a marginal presence with only 5-6% of the market, but in personal electronics like the iPod and iPhone, and in selling market access to the desirable demographic that buys their electronics, via iTunes. They make toys, not tools, as the focus is always more on play rather than productivity. (Watch their own "Mac vs. PC" ads, in which they consistently concede this).

The iPad has shown what a tablet is capable of in terms of design, battery life, size and weight, as a piece of hardware, but it hasn't scratched the surface of its productivity potential; it's got to become more than a large iPod. I'm not talking full-on pc workstation levels of productivity, but more than just sending files back and forth. This is not Apple's strength, which means the door is open.

Ironically, while I see Apple as a pc company moving into personal electronics, I see the most likely rival to the iPad coming from a personal electronics company that's moved into pcs - Sony. They are my pick as the most likely candidate to come out with something as well-designed and polished as the iPad, and more productive; the iPad mostly fixes the issues they've had with their uMPC concept for years.

 

[iPadCharlie]

There, I fixed it for you!

They make toys, not tools, and lots of money!

 

[epb]

There, I fixed it for you!

They make toys, not tools, and lots of money!

There's a joke about wealth that Chris Rock told, where he says that if Bill Gates woke up tomorrow with Oprah's money, he'd jump out a window, and slit his own throat on the way down.

Yes, Apple has made a success out of consumer electronics. However the iPad market, even with 3 million sold already, is a fart in a hurricane compared to having a decent chunk of the portable pc/netbook market. No matter how much my Apple shares were making me, I'd be a little peeved at Hasty's Steve Jobs quote:"people don't like their products they won't buy them." I've heard better corporate philosphies.

 

[Robertt]

Yep, evolution not revolution. This type of device (and the iPad is just the first of many) will change the way people go about their daily lives. But I don't think this will be a fundamental change. Not quite up to revolution status. When you can interface with your iPad via thought, now that will be a revolution.

 

[Seadog]

Those that feel they must complain about everything, or laud what they like, should look at this realistically. In 50 years, we have gone from room size computers to the iPhone/iPod/iPad. Like it or not, Apple is Steve Jobs, and vice versa. The only problem with Jobs is his eternal conflict between designers and engineers. Jobs thinks more as a designer than an engineer. That is much of the issue with the iPhone 4. The designers had too much control over the antenna placement and the Apple secrecy kept the amount of field time down to a point that did not identify the issues.

Even with the problems with product manufacturing, experts that follow the industry realize that without the control Apple has over iTunes and Apps, products like the iPad woud not be possible. It is that confidence in the apps and the stability of the products that keep most people coming back. At some point in time, Apple will have to ease up on their control of apps, but until they have serious competition, they will not do that.

I see a lot of bitching about what the iPad cannot do, but what about everything it does well? Think about how the iPhone was a totally new device and set the standard in smart phones. And as much as the competition has tried, every attempt to unseat the iPhone has failed. The iPad is a device with a lot of promise. Even with all the hoopla, no one has even marketed a competitor to it. There is no operating system that will work. There is no hardware that will match up. And there is no app store that matches what Apple has. When they get a product with a chance, Apple will up the stakes. It is a product for the future, and we have it today.

I do not see Sony as the competition. I also fail to see Google or any of the cell phone outfits as the way to go. Microsoft working with someone else could have a chance if they find some original thinkers. It may be one of the laptop manufacturers like HP or Dell, but both have their issues.