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BREAKING NEWS & VIEWS
Analysis: The iPad’s Many ChallengesThursday, January 28, 2010 After all of the hype and the run-up to yesterday’s Apple iPad announcement, the outcome was decidedly underwhelming. Arguably, it is just a big,  honking iPhone.That is not necessarily a bad thing. The iPhone truly revolutionized interfaces around its touch-screen marvel and held new levels of intuitive operations. Also to its credit, the 1.5-pound weight and half-inch thickness give the device great portability. But is it a solution in search of a problem? While Apple’s starting price of $499 for a low-storage (16GB) non-3G iPad comes in lower than the $1,000 price point many had feared, we have to wonder how many people really will bite. The Nook and Kindle both have 3G without a monthly cost of $15 or $30 but at half the price. The early iPhones sported similar economics to the iPad, with a key difference. It was a phone. The iPad pricing not only competes with midrange netbooks but also with low-end notebook PCs. It is hard to imagine most consumers buying both a notebook and an iPad, but the former has easier input and more interactivity and productivity features. Priced at $300, the iPad would have a better chance against the e-books. At these prices, however, the device is competing with a more robust category. As we have argued here before, a midrange and robust media reader has to replace something that people already carry in order for it to succeed. The question isn't whether this is cool, but whether it is capable of functionally replacing a laptop or a phone. There is the rub. The most fascinating part of the iPad launch was how much the device itself is aimed at media consumption rather than communication. In this age of blogging, user-generated video and cell phones, it seems remarkable that the iPad does not include a camera for video blogging, was not demonstrated as an on-the-go blogging tool and that the presentation skirted any discussion of voice communication. The iPad is curiously noninteractive even as the ethos of the Internet veers toward user-gen content and more sophisticated forms of social interaction. Apple’s appeal to traditional media is obvious here because its pitch is almost regressive. This is a portable lean-back device, a new platform for exercising old habits. Two observations lead from this point. First, where was the media if this is a media munching monster? Essentially repeating its New York Times demo from the original iPhone launch, Jobs had no magazine content to point to, not even a souped-up version of the Condé Nast GQ iPhone magazine app or the Sports Illustrated digital magazine demo of months back. Aside from book publishers and eager video game developers, Apple had no real media to help push its media device. According the the Times this morning, many media outlets did not get invited to participate. Condé Nast Digital Chief Sarah Chubb did tell the Times that an iPad version of the GQ magazine app will be ready by the time the device launches in late March. Secondly, the iPad’s lack of voice communications and video recording seems almost nostalgic. We thought Apple was supposed to be cool and out in front on things like interactivity. Its desktop operating system offers a seamless integration between you and the Web so that virtually any piece of personal media is easy to post directly to blogs. Traditionally, Apple has been about empowering creativity and letting people be publishers. This device is more about letting publishers be publishers. Will compelling content, whenever it comes to this device, be enough to sell a new category of hardware? Apple's Official iPad Promotional Video
If you have breaking news to share please contact Steve Smith at ssmith@accessintel.com
Take min's fun quiz and find out how magazine-savvy you are! COMMENTS
1.
Great points made in this article. I would have to think that Apple will address some of the iPad's shortcomings in the iPad 2.0. And I too am stunned that this cool new toy is missing some really key ingredients that seem so obvious.
Posted by A.T. on Thursday, January 28, 2010 @ 01:55 PM
2.
You are completely underestimating the significance of this form factor for a new category of computer. The mouse/touch pad metaphor just died! Gestures on a much bigger surface changes the whole interaction. This casual little computer is open to sharing with family and friends. A powerful distribution system is already in place. As with the first iPhone features will be added as the platform matures. Apple doesn't like to release products or services that don't work well. A handheld video conferencing device is problematic. We don't see that on smart phones either.
Posted by Jami on Thursday, January 28, 2010 @ 02:08 PM
3.
Does the iPad support Flash? Given that it's based on the iPhone OS it seems most likely that it does not support Flash, which limits its appeal as a Web browsing device. Moreover, I doubt many will want to read books on it compared to Kindle because of the backlighting strain on the eyes vs. eInk. So it's not a general Web browsing device or an eBook reader ... what is it?
Posted by Tim on Thursday, January 28, 2010 @ 03:59 PM
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