Months of frenzied online speculation verging, at times, on near religious hysteria, culminated last week with the launch of Apple, Inc's new product; the long awaited and much speculated upon iPad was finally revealed to a waiting world On January 27th. Too small to replace your laptop too big to fit into your pocket the iPad is a totally new device... and the reaction? In one word disappointment, in two words, huge disappointment. But this lukewarm reception by the techno-nerds misses the point completely, iPad is a fantastic product that will be a huge success...here's why
OK so the ipad doesn't have a camera or a phone or allow multiple applications to run. These are details that will be ironed out in due course if the demand is there (personally I can't see the point of a camera or phone function but what do I know)
It would be more worrying if the same types of people heaping such derision on the iPad hadn't been similarly vocal about the iPod, take these three examples from MacRumors forum back in 2001
No way!: All that hype for an MP3 player? Breakthrough digital device? The Reality Distortion Field(TM) is starting to warp Steve's mind if he thinks for one second that this thing is gonna take off.
This isn't revolutionary! I still can't believe this! All this hype for something so ridiculous! Who cares about an MP3 player? I want something new! I want them to think differently!
Why oh why would they do this?! It's so wrong! It's so stupid!
What a load of tripe: Gee! An mp3 player with a HD! How original! Kind of reminds me of a JUKEBOX I once knew...
So techno cry babies will whinge on but they are missing the point. The iPad changes the way we will consume digital media. Smart phones are too small to make reading magazines/books or watching movies enjoyable. And if you have ever tried to watch a movie or read on your laptop you will know how awkward and uncomfortable that is. With the iPad you can curl up and consume your digital media just like you read a good book. You can wrap one arm around it and use the touch screen with the other. If you understand the science of ergonomics or have simply observed how people relax when they are passively consuming you will spot the real genius of the iPad - it's not about technical features, it's about how it will be used.
Don't take my word for it, Michael Pusateri, Senior VP of technology at Disney-ABC was at the event and said...
"...you need to hold it for yourself. It's a different computing experience. It's intuitive and simple. The device is blazingly fast and obvious how to use. It is a third kind of computing between a smart phone and a laptop.
I know you won't believe till you hold one in your hands. You'll bang on about features, data plans, DRM, open source, and a multitude of issues. You'll storm the message boards, wring your hands, and promise you won't buy one till 'Gen 2'. The din will grow and grow as time passes. And then one day, in a few months, you will actually hold one and use it. And you will say, 'I want one. I want one right now."
Products developed purely by engineers and scientists may be technically advanced and structurally robust but unless you practice 'outside in' thinking and understand how your customers will actually use the product, in some detail, you will never enjoy a world class success story. Apple is not primarily a technology company. It is a marketing company. This is what the technocrati miss.
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