On the 27th of January this year, Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs presented the iPad, calling it a “device in the middle,” a bridge that covers the gap between the iPhone and the Mac.
The iPad, slated for release on April 3, seems like the hybrid of a netbook, an iPod touch, and an e-book reader. The Apple website calls it “a magical and revolutionary product.”
What will iPad revolutionize? And if it does change the world around, how will an 8 x 10- inch and a pound and a half device do it?
1. From sit-up to more relaxed.
Standard PCs and even your laptop dictate your posture as you interact with it. The iPad, with its slim design and touch panel, will take away the formality allowing you to sit back on a comfy chair or lie down on your back.
2. Take work on the go.
The iPad will redefine mobile computing. With longer battery life and lighter built, you can continue working on your presentation while on a train or in the back of a taxi. The iPad will include spreadsheet, word-processing, and other iWork applications. Just imagine what the iPad can do to a field researcher, a botanist on the field, or the travel writer.
3. Bring a new face to mobile advertising.
Though mobile advertising has seen exponential growth in the past few years, it is still in confined locations. Banner ads in iPhone apps, for instance, are very small and are often located at the bottom of articles. Such placement makes them easy to ignore, so companies rarely make much revenue out of them.
iPad’s bigger screen will allow for more types of ads such as site takeovers and interstitials. They pay more than banner ads, giving news organizations more revenues.
4. Push prices of other gadgets down.
Price is perhaps the most revolutionary thing about the iPad – who would have expected it? The low price/ high-end feature combo, however, may prove cataclysmic to some classes of mobile devices. Those whose prices will probably be affected include netbooks and ereaders. Gadgets will become more affordable than ever.
The iPad is an exciting device to have, but it still has plenty of limitations, which may limit its use and impact on the world:
1. iPad and Advertising
The device doesn’t support Flash, which means ad companies can’t implement video ads that run on Flash.
2. iPad and eReading
The eReading revolution has already been started two years ago. Steve Jobs himself acknowledge this, in reference to the Kindle, during his keynote address: “We are going to stand on their shoulders.”
3. iPad and Paid Content
iPad is not going to revolutionize the economics of digital news market. iPhone has already done that, the Kindle has already done. Both didn’t have much success; people are not convinced to pay $10 subscription to news they can get on the web for free. The challenge for Apple now is how to sell the idea to people.
4. iPad and travel
People expect the iPad to be a miracle tablet, but it is still a very limited device in terms of function. Sure, it lets you watch movies, read books, send emails, play games, and many more. Yet, there are just as many things that the iPad won’t be able to do without the aid of another device. To upload photos or videos from your camera, for instance, you need to bring a laptop when you travel. Bottom line is, the iPad is not a standalone device. It less a device for creation and more for media consumption.
The Bottom Line:
It is worth noting we have seen only the prototype of the iPad so far; the first product will not be shipped until April. From there, it will perhaps take months, maybe years, before we’d be able to see its real impact on the world. Until then, we’ll resort to our imagination. The iPad has many drawbacks, but it’s still fun to think of possibilities that the iPad can bring to our lives.
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