Excitement about iPad: A Large Screen Multi-Touch Platform

[steve-p]

But that's not the people Apple is aiming the iPhone/iPad at. They are aiming it at the people who still don't know all the in's and out's of their desktop. Who would need somebody sitting next to them to point out that they need to install Flash for x web site to work, so type this in, then double click this, etc... and then go back to the web site and now it works. Apple is going for getting enough devices out there, that all the web sites out that use Flash to create an HTML5 version just for Apple devices and see how they work. And then maybe use that version also for all the other SmartPhones with browsers based on WebKit, so they don't burn up their batteries with their Flash version. And maybe that web site owner will go, damn, it works pretty good. And I don't have to pay Adobe [or Apple] to create or serve that content, so I'm saving money. Then maybe some will decide to stop serving Flash at all, and for those browsers that can't display their content [like IE6/7/8], they can send a really cheap pay saying "Go to this web site [firefox/safari/opera/etc] and use one of those browser, and this site and the rest of the internet will work so much better for you".

You do realise that current iPhone/iTouch browsers represent only 0.64% of browser share, and most sites couldn't probably care less when they still have the other 99.36% to deal with? 50 million iPads could make it as much as 1% - and still make no difference. The idea that Apple is saving the Internet from Flash is hilarious, frankly. If that was a motivation they would not ship it with OS X. There are other reasons for not supporting it, but that's unlikely to be one of them. And besides, those very same people that you say won't know how to install Flash will also be kind of pissed when the little blue bricks show up all over the place.

 

[Oflife]

True, but and it's a BIG but...

...for remote access to content, files and more, wireless broadband needs to be very fast and seamless. As of January 30 2010, no nation on Earth offers this. Not the USA, not England, nor even Japan. Large screen devices will quadruple the bandwidth requirements of devices like iPhone.

Governments (not the private sector) need to invest trillions of dollars in a global network - just as they did with proven economic results with the highways, autobahns and motorways of the 1950s and 60s.

There's an article that just appeared in Forbes touting the iPad as the perfect virtual desktop viewer. Why carry a laptop, when you can carry something even lighter than the lightest netbook, and view the desktop of your hot heavy Mac Pro, or octo-core PC workstation?

Enterprises can get rid of most of their laptops and PCs (except for power users, and remote field workers with bad net connections) and virtualize all of this stuff in their server room. Just give all their employees a VM in their private cloud server, fast wifi, an iPad, and a Bluetooth keyboard.

There are already over a dozen VNC and RDP apps in the App store, just waiting to get an iPad large screen update.

 

[robfromabove]

You are so spot on!

While the iPad was not aimed at the business market, it does allow an executive to regain his distance from typing. In fact, with the Dragon app, he/she can dictate their thoughts just like in the olden days of 1950.

Pair that with a Bluetooth microphone that you can hold in your hand while you conjure up your thoughts... and I'm sold.

(I don't know what it is psychologically, but it seems it's easier to dictate holding something tangible in your hand vs. just speaking aloud...)

 

[nelmat]

I think the iPad is a device that is going to take some time to really catch on. Whether it ever becomes a hit for Apple will depend on the quality of the apps that are developed for it. As it is right now, it's a bit of a dud. No built-in camera for video conferencing means this is really just a big iPod Touch. It's too big to be a portable device you can drop in your pocket. You need a bag or a backpack for it. And if you're going to do that, you might as well carry a more powerful laptop with a real keyboard. Apple saw this as filling the gap between smart phones and laptops, but I don't think there really was a gap there. The iPad may yet prove to be a success, but it will have to carve out a niche for itself, and for that to happen, Apple needs the help of developers to create apps to win over buyers. That and Apple needs to improve the features set.

Well I do think there is a gap. Myself and just about everyone i know can't wait to have one of these and leave the computer in the other room when we're relaxing. The niche already exists, the last remaining sector is also ripe for the picking - people like my elderly parents who don't want to learn to use a computer but do need email and the internet, and a way to read their favourite books and screens with the font enlarged.

"No built-in camera for video conferencing means this is really just a big iPod Touch."

What a ridiculous statement. Who stated this device was for video conferencing? "No rabbit in the garage means this garage will fail".

Nonsense.

Apple know what they're doing, they wouldn't launch a device that they didn't think would be profitable. This thing has massive success painted all over it.

 

[Journojulz]

The idea that Apple is saving the Internet from Flash is hilarious, frankly.

Most of the web designers I know are now shying away from it because anyone spending £400 on a iPhone or iPad is going to be able to spend money on other things. Its still a small market - but it is disproportionately wealthy set of potential customers to alienate.

Most flash is just ads now, can't think of a single flash built site i can't find a decent alternative to.

It won't kill flash - but it will increasingly marginalise it.

 

[surferfromuk]

Most of the web designers I know are now shying away from it because anyone spending £400 on a iPhone or iPad is going to be able to spend money on other things. Its still a small market - but it is disproportionately wealthy set of potential customers to alienate.

Most flash is just ads now, can't think of a single flash built site i can't find a decent alternative to.

It won't kill flash - but it will increasingly marginalise it.

Hope they like being unemployed 5 years from now, cos no matter how many do 'shy away' the main thing is the SDK is free, so there will be a million bright open-minded super imaginative coders dreaming up incredible new ways to use this platform.

The one's with really cool ideas will end up being millionaires.

Plus some really big intelligent companies will be making some *incredible* software on this thing - true Star-trekkian mind blowing touch experiences.

So maybe it's a good thing, and kinda comforting to know that those 'stuck in the 90's' web designers won't be messing up the iPad with lack-lustre lazy ports!

 

[GL2]

In 3 years time people will be laughing at all the haters, that's where the real joke will be at.

Of course the iPad will be a far superior tool in three years time, with more features, more storage and more computing power. Just as importantly, there will be far more apps available by then to take advantage of all that. Nobody is saying technology will stand still or that the iPad will go down in a ball of flames and shame Jobs into an early retirement. But must everyone love the current iteration because of what it will become in three years? People are commenting on the iPad's current feature set and what it does and doesn't offer today. And today it offers little more than an iPod Touch except a larger screen. That's not saying there isn't potential for much more down the road, but I'm not going to buy one today because of what it might become at a later date. (Does that make me a 'hater?')

It will be interesting to see what developers come up with to exploit the iPad's current and future capabilities. I'm not feeling it right now and won't until I've been convinced it's worth parting with my hard-earned cash for one. That may change with a future iteration that has more features and apps available. Until then, the iPad isn't something that will suit my needs better than what I already have.

Not everyone has 500 large burning a hole in their pocket, waiting to be the first to pick up the next big gee-whiz gadget (let alone for the sole pleasure of playing the MLB app). Some of us buy the product we need when we actually see the need for it. Hopefully, I don't have to wait three years to see the need.

 

[nelmat]

OMG I am so excited about iPad!!!

- no I can't multitask
- no I can't do video conferencing due to lack of camera
- no I can't install anything I want on it
- no I can't browse the net properly due to lack of Flash
- no I don't have USB port on it

But I am excited!!!

Well at least until I do reality check and see other Tablet devices from competing manufactures...

Flash is an issue. an issue for Adobe to sort.

The others 'faults' aren't an issue. There are no other devices on the market focussed in the way the iPad is, except the Kindle. It destroys the kindle, hands down.

If you want a mobile computing experience, get a laptop. This is a new product, a new type of device. Do keep up. it doens't need a USB port (but it does provide one and an SD card slot). It doesn't do video conferencing, it's not a phone. You can't install anything you want on it. No, and I can't run my petrol car on diesel.

 

[csimmons]

With all due respect...

I think the iPad is a device that is going to take some time to really catch on. Whether it ever becomes a hit for Apple will depend on the quality of the apps that are developed for it. As it is right now, it's a bit of a dud. No built-in camera for video conferencing means this is really just a big iPod Touch. It's too big to be a portable device you can drop in your pocket. You need a bag or a backpack for it. And if you're going to do that, you might as well carry a more powerful laptop with a real keyboard. Apple saw this as filling the gap between smart phones and laptops, but I don't think there really was a gap there. The iPad may yet prove to be a success, but it will have to carve out a niche for itself, and for that to happen, Apple needs the help of developers to create apps to win over buyers. That and Apple needs to improve the features set.

I'm sorry, but the "too big to put in your pocket; you'll need a bag to carry it" is the lamest argument out there against the iPad. You need a bag to carry a laptop, yet millions of people do it. You need a bag to carry a netbook, yet millions (I guess) of people do it. You can't SERIOUSLY deride the iPad for not being a "real" computer and at the same time complain that it's too big to put in your pocket!

So the iPad is for many people nothing more than a big iPod touch. To that I say: You're absolutely right. In fact, one could reasonably argue that, given how long this device has been in development, that the iPhone / iPod touch are indeed smaller iPads.

(NOTE: just because Apple only recently bought PA Semi doesn't mean they hadn't been working on the chip together prior to the acquisition.)

 

[Winni]

Joe Hewitt, a prominent developer who had given up the App Store, is excited about the prospects of the iPad.

I appears that this guy didn't get the memo. Maybe somebody should tell him that the iPad is also locked to the AppStore - the very thing "he had given up".

 

[nelmat]

Just bring PowerPoint to the iPad! Ideally the full Microsoft Office in the iPad.

Why? I don't wanna play VHS on my blu-ray player, thank you very much!

 

[PsyD4Me]

Great post. It's always nice to see that some people get it...

The MLB app alone is worth buying the iPad. Too many people on this forum doubt the talent and imagination of developers.

i have an iphone for that and it works great..

 

[csimmons]

iPad != AppleTV

A note to all those who say that the iPad will be a failure like the AppleTV: While the AppleTV is not selling in iPod / iPhone-like quantities, it's the best selling device of it's kind on the market, with 6.5 million units sold to date. That's more than the Netflix box, more than Boxee. It's hardly a failure.
just sayin'.

 

[PsyD4Me]

Why? I don't wanna play VHS on my blu-ray player, thank you very much!

your saying that iWork is > MS Office?

common now... MS Office is recognized all over the world and it offers a lot of flexibility in editing

 

[terramota]

The Age of the Jetsons is Coming

I watch the promo and can't help thinking of Jane Jetson sitting on her couch hitting a series of buttons on her iPad 3000 and voila Chicken Cacciatore comes right out of the oven. Flash...baby stuff .....I am waiting for dinner. Save up your sheqels so you can cook with your own . The future is here!

 

[nelmat]

You do realise that current iPhone/iTouch browsers represent only 0.64% of browser share, and most sites couldn't probably care less when they still have the other 99.36% to deal with? 50 million iPads could make it as much as 1% - and still make no difference. The idea that Apple is saving the Internet from Flash is hilarious, frankly. If that was a motivation they would not ship it with OS X. There are other reasons for not supporting it, but that's unlikely to be one of them. And besides, those very same people that you say won't know how to install Flash will also be kind of pissed when the little blue bricks show up all over the place.

LOL - figures from where? I used to hear this same argument about internet explorer - everyone uses it, so you have to dumb down your work to ensure it displays OK, other browsers are irrelevant. Firefox anybody?! Consumers dictate the market place in 2010, not the software manufacturers. Give people what they want, or they will find an alternative. It's very, very clear that people want the iPhone/iPod, so software developers need to pay attention. It's not just apple who want the flash plug-in sorting, it's also google. Apple and Google with a common message is a very powerful thing to sway consumer opinion, if you think otherwise, you're an idiot.

What percentage of the mobile browser share is iPhone/iPod Touch? I believe you'll find that the Ipod OS running mobile safari has the largest browser share on any sub-laptop mobile device/smart phone.

As long as Apple is in control what you can do with the device, what other devices it will work with (hint, only other Apple devices),

Jobs stated this will sync with windows machines, as does the iPhone and iPod touch. That the software allowed to run it has to pass approval - then that's a good thing. No - it's a FANTASTIC thing. it means there is accountability, stability, security and a consistent user experience. it's the free for all on windows that makes it a nightmare of viruses, malware and awful software.

 

[Winni]

You're not buying laptops for 1000 employees, and worrying about what happens to your companies data when somebody (at least one) loses a laptop. With a remote desktop viewing app on an iPad, none of your valuable disk drives ever have to leave the building.

It's called Terminal Server, and it has been around and in use for DECADES. Without a stupid iPad. Heck, EVERY Windows Mobile phone had a client for this built-in from the start.

Just because Apple now finally also caught on to the Tablet PC concept that Bill Gates was so excited about YEARS AGO doesn't make the iPad a revolution. This concept has been around long before His Steveness - the man who always said that he even couldn't imagine a customer for a notebook computer except for maybe a journalist - pretended to re-invent the wheel. Again.

 

[nelmat]

your saying that iWork is > MS Office?

common now... MS Office is recognized all over the world and it offers a lot of flexibility in editing

No, I'm saying there are better alternatives, and microsoft office on the mac is bloatware. Powerpoint is a piece of cack compared to Keynote. Neo office, Open office are both more stable and easier to use that Microsoft Office - not to mention a hell of a lot cheaper. How does word offer any more flexibility in editing than pages? Pages is much, much easier to use and exports to every major format.

Just because something always has been, because it is 'known' doesn't mean it is better. Everyone uses it because they always have, that doesn't make it the best solution, and that luddite mentality prevents progress.

 

[Journojulz]

your saying that iWork is > MS Office?

Have a play with the alternative - i was blown away.

 

[Winni]

There’s something very satisfying about sitting in a circle with family and friends and sharing an experience, whether it’s gathering around a camp fire, around the kitchen table or around an iPad. At the moment multiplayer games often physically separate people from each other. You might be in completely different places playing World of Warcraft over the Internet. You might be sitting on a sofa playing console games with friends, but facing a large screen instead of each other. iPad could be different, and once a family has gathered around it to play a board game, we think they are far more likely to try other kinds of games too.

Yep. That sounds VERY MUCH like the design study of that multi-touch Table (without the T at the end) PC that Gates and Ballmer have showed off so often in various keynotes. It's actually an old hat. But seemingly it's only sexy when Steve Jobs shows it in a device with an Apple logo on its back.

I always wonder how some people manage to survive with their extremely selective perception of the world.

 

[Journojulz]

Hope they like being unemployed 5 years from now, cos no matter how many do 'shy away' the main thing is the SDK is free, so there will be a million bright open-minded super imaginative coders dreaming up incredible new ways to use this platform.

I was using flash 10 years ago, nowadays most of it just used for ads or streaming video/audio.

It is capable of great whizz-bangery, but the number of killer mainstream sites that rely on it to be cutting edge are few and far between.

Would love to see some of the best flash sites about though - what do you recommend?

 

[jb1280]

Yep. That sounds VERY MUCH like the design study of that multi-touch Table (without the T at the end) PC that Gates and Ballmer have showed off so often in various keynotes. It's actually an old hat. But seemingly it's only sexy when Steve Jobs shows it in a device with an Apple logo on its back.

I always wonder how some people manage to survive with their extremely selective perception of the world.

can you remind me where consumers have been able to purchase devices with this Microsoft concept?

 

[nelmat]

Yep. That sounds VERY MUCH like the design study of that multi-touch Table (without the T at the end) PC that Gates and Ballmer have showed off so often in various keynotes. It's actually an old hat. But seemingly it's only sexy when Steve Jobs shows it in a device with an Apple logo on its back.

I always wonder how some people manage to survive with their extremely selective perception of the world.

Sorry, I don't follow your logic. I've seen Microsoft talk about the touch table. Is that a portable device? Is it manufactured and retailing at ten dollars more than a kindle dx? This is the first to market that I'm aware of, and it's great. It does what Stever says it will do - with the exception of flash. And, well, that's not Apple's problem.

 

[-=XX=-Nephilim]

Yep. That sounds VERY MUCH like the design study of that multi-touch Table (without the T at the end) PC that Gates and Ballmer have showed off so often in various keynotes. It's actually an old hat. But seemingly it's only sexy when Steve Jobs shows it in a device with an Apple logo on its back.

I always wonder how some people manage to survive with their extremely selective perception of the world.

LMAO exactly!

I am Mac user but this does NOT mean my mind, eyes, ears and all other forms of perception are shut to anything else but what Steve tells me...

For example, before it was even released - I already saw 2 competitor Tablet products that are way better than iPad...

I am sometimes ashamed of the fact that I belong to Apple user community - it often reminds me of some very dark, obscure, religious sect - which is not cool at all...

 

[Journojulz]

But seemingly it's only sexy when Steve Jobs shows it in a device with an Apple logo on its back.

Yes, Cos that little usually means 3 things:

1. it works well enough to have earned the logo
2. it will be in the stores within 2 months
3. you will probably enjoy using it