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iPad: Why you'll want one
MacBooks and Netbooks have long been the halfway point between the desktop computer and the mobile phone. But since the advent of the smartphone, and the way the iPhone particularly has changed the way we communicate and access content on the move, the balance has shifted and Mr Steve Jobs has found a new hole in the market.
Somewhere between the Kindle, iPhone and slimline laptop markets, Jobs knew the entertainment-loving, let alone Apple-loving, public would lap up an iPad without a second thought. Not just marketed towards the diehard Apple fans that will buy anything Jobs casts his eye across, the iPad is set to be a device capable of luring everyone in: from stressed secretaries to your 65-year-old nimble-fingered nanna. While Jobs reportedly gave credit to Amazon for their path-paving Kindle, Apple’s online bookstore - iBooks - will no doubt have those at the Kindle camp quaking in their Oprah-blessed boots.
Why will you want it? It’s compact enough to carry around in a handbag, but is big enough to share with a buddy or two. It shows photos and videos and plays your music but will stand up to a business meeting with the freshly optimised versions of Apple’s iWork software. It will run all your current iPhone apps, including games, across 9.7 inches of LCD screen.
While some are dismissing the iPad as a "comically oversized iPhone", we think it’s got legs as a viable product, particularly for those considering a Kindle or a second computer - such as a MacBook. The iPad wouldn’t replace your work computer, or home computer for that matter, but it could definitely function as backseat entertainment for the kids, a new way to the read the daily newspaper in bed and as an enviable distraction for commutes onboard public transport. And while your 65-year-old nimble-fingered nanna may be afraid of the giant desktop computer you passed on to her after the recent upgrade, can’t you just see her flipping through the latest celeb-penned paperback or showing off photos of the grandkids at lunch with her girlfriends?
The iPad will definitely provide publishers with a new platform to work their way back into the black. Of course, as we’ve noted previously, the iPad, just like Google, will not gift a profit, but, it will provide the device that could make it possible. We think we’d be more likely to pay for premium news content on an iPad than on an iPhone, given the larger screen. And, if they harness the technology effectively, magazine publishers can look forward to a new life onboard the iPad.
And the most astounding thing? Even the most deluxe, 3G compatible, high storage version will cost less than $1000, with the cheapest model starting at just over AU$500. When just compared to the Kindle and other gaming devices - regardless of the web browsing capabilities, sweet-looking calendar and email facilities - it’s definitely set for a successful debut. The first wi-fi models will begin shipping in late March.
