The Apple iPad: Yes, Please
Dear Apple, I love you. It's true. There's a deep seeded unabashed, unconditional, unrestricted outpouring of adoration and I don't care who knows it. Today, you showed me how much you love me. You gave me the iPad. And I have yet another reason to take a savory bite from the tasty tree-ovum that you are.
Dear Apple, I love you. It’s true. There’s a deep seeded unabashed, unconditional, unrestricted outpouring of adoration and I don’t care who knows it. Today, you showed me how much you love me. You gave me the iPad. And I have yet another reason to take a savory bite from the tasty tree-ovum that you are.
So listen, I’m not going to sugar coat it. I’m just going to be out and out frank with you here. I want an iPad, I need one, in fact. In truth, I’m selling my MacBook to buy one. Why? Why would I do such a thing? It’s really simple: the iPad presented me with everything I’ve wanted in a laptop, without all that messy laptop stuff to worry about.
But it’s a little more complex than that. There were some neural pathways involved in making this decision, belive it or not. See, there’s a keyboard that can be docked with the iPad. That’s the clincher right there. That, and the fact that the touch version of iWork rumor turned out to be true, too.
That’s it. It’s perfect. I’ve already got a desktop computer for all my “hardcore” computing needs. I’ve got a netbook for that “on the go” work here or there. But I don’t need my MacBook anymore. The iPad is my multimedia and workhorse combination. With Apple Pages for the iPad, I can write whenever, wherever. With Safari in full screen, I can blog on the go. With the iPad iPod application, I can browse my music library like I would on a desktop computer. I mean, I could write 2,000 words on why their Mail, Address Book and Calendar app will change the way you organize your life, but I’ll spare you the slobber.
I mean, if you’re not interested I’m not going to convince you, but there’s a metric ton of innovation in this machine. It’s got an IPS LCD screen with LED backlighting. What’s IPS mean? In layman’s terms, it means that viewing angle is a thing of the past. Any angle, super-bright, super crisp. That makes it good for book reading, for sharing movies, the web, whatever it is. Plus, nearly a year ago I had always thought Apple’s acquisition of PA Semi would be geared towards the iPad, and sure enough, custom 1GHz Apple silicon is the heart of this beast.
The custom tailored hardware and software combo is back. The result? 10 hours of battery. A month on standby. Do you know anything that lasts a month on standby? And the PRICE TAG? Once upon a time, people lined up for a $600 dollar iPhone that didn’t do half the stuff the iPad does. And now, for $499, you can experience tablet computing bliss.
The cool-factor is off the chart. it’s sexy and sleek. I can only imagine what it might be like to hold the aluminum and glass in my lap, cozied up to a bad movie as I look it up on IMDB-it and see what other atrocities Keanu Reeves was involved in. I can visualize myself walking to my room, connecting it to the keyboard dock and banging out 500 word for TheVARGuy. Answer my e-mails. Pop it out of the dock, crawl into bed. Instant message with my girlfriend using the on-screen keyboard and then call it a night.
It’s your everywhere computer. It’s the tablet to end all tablets. It’s a smartphone without size restrictions. This is the best thing ever.
And if you’re not convinced, if you’re whining about the fact that it still doesn’t have ‘multi-tasking’ like you’re used to, think about this. You launch an application, and the entire device, at that moment, is dedicated to giving you the best experience possible with what you want to do and the data you do it with. The tablet gets out of the way, and the only thing between you and productivity euphoria is a thin sheet of glossy glass.
Plus, there’s whispers that the iPad SKD has some tricks up its sleeve that hasn’t even shown up in the tech demos today. Dev’s aren’t allowed to discuss the features.
Just wait till you play with one. Just wait till I have one.
You’ll be hearing from me. I promise.
Hmm might get one myself – although I’m 100% against the closed, control-freaky stuff Apple insist on. Having said that (and actually doing a little research!) I just found out that enterprises can host their own ‘internal’ app store – as long as it stays internal.
Prometheus: Let us know if you build your own private app store… and what you stock.
-TVG
We do a lot of internal hospital-oriented apps so that would be the focus. It’s difficult to imagine implementation via a public store. Very likely won’t happen but it is crtainly food for thought.
…… So more of a repository than a ‘store’
Prometheus: All kidding aside… The VAR Guy would welcome the opportunity to interview you if/when you give the iPad a look for health care apps. You can track down our resident blogger at:
TheVARguy [at] NineLivesMediaInc.com
-TVG
yes we’d all love to have one it so cool… it could have been a lot more useful though, right now it just seems pointless… I mean there are mac books and iphones and gaming consoles… where are we going to need this?
The iPad is proof that Steve Jobs has finally succumbed to his own Reality-Distortion Field.
In the mobile-phone business, the customers may be accustomed to being corralled into walled gardens, where they can’t even fart without the permission of the provider, and the inclusion of a consequent extra item on their bill.
But this is the Internet we’re talking about here. Lots of vendors have tried to prevail against that with their own proprietary systems (Anybody remember CompuServe? The original incarnation of AOL? Microsoft’s original plans for MSN?). All have failed. Yet here we have Apple, like George W Bush, arrogantly ignoring the lessons of history.
Rule 1 of the Internet: nobody controls the Internet.
Lawrence,
I think you may be a bit misinformed about the iPad. First off, you should know you’re not locked down to a service provider like the iPhone. A 3G model is coming out, but doesn’t require a contract. Just a flat fee of 30 bucks a month for unlimited data. Cancel anytime.
As for your comment regarding ‘walled gardens’ – I’ve heard this before, but you seem to forget something. The iPhone is a complete and utter success. The iPad is the implementation of the the iPhone/iPod Touch model all grown up and matured. And if people don’t like what they get when they buy an Apple product, they don’t buy Apple. Most people know what they’re getting into when they buy an Apple product, too. But honestly? Their ‘walled garden’ is pretty cozy, and I don’t hear people complaining too much once they’re inside. If that doesn’t sound like something for you, get an Android device. As a Droid owner, it’s nice to not have any ‘walls’ but arguably, the Android marketplace feels like an empty warehouse with a few good gems, compared to the green and lush ‘walled garden’ of Apps that Apple has corralled in.
Steve Jobs is NOT trying to control the internet. If you want the internet through his device, you get it. Otherwise, shop elsewhere.
But AOL, MSN and CompuServe? What do old and out-dated ISPs have to do with a tablet computer? Relating Steve Jobs and Apple to George W. Bush? What lessons of the past? If anything, the fact that the iPhone is a hit is the ‘history’ that they’re building on to replicate success yet again.
Still not convinced? I’ll point you to this link: http://gizmodo.com/5461485/ipad-snivelers-put-up-or-shut-up
-Dave
And what you’re forgetting is that the iPad is not a phone.
Lawrence,
Are you arguing that because the iPad is not an iPhone therefore it wont be as easily adopted as the iPhone? If you are, I don’t find that to be true, since the iPad is already running the iPhone OS with millions familiar on the way it works.
If you’re arguing that because it’s not a phone, people won’t find a need for it, I’d simply point you to the netbook market that has exploded despite heavy skepticism from the start. Yes, the iPad is not a netbook, but with HP and Lenovo throwing their tablets in the arena, you’ll see the trend increase and reach a maturity most likely by 2011.
Apple has a solid plan for this iPad, and it’s being built on an already solid foundation. I sugest you check back here tomorrow to read the article on how Citrix is already using the iPad as a thin-client to run Windows 7 on it.
If you just have it out for Apple, I don’t think there’s much else I can say.
-Dave
Here’s a thought – the main reason I moved from being a nice confortable Nokia user to a I’ll-throw-my-iPhone-in-the-blender-but not yet kind of guy is that I can do at least 80% of my ‘cloud’ stuff on the phone while commuting. I actually do like the look of the iPad and may well grab hold of one – but at the expense of my iPhone. With an iPad, I could well go back to a basic still-works-in-the-rain phone.
Last thought: iPants