I think about the Ipad

Date: 2010-01-28 19:50:18 Created: 2010-01-28 14:48:45

Yesterday Apple introduced the Ipad, their all-screen, all-touch computer which looks much like an enlarged Iphone and can also run Iphone applications.

Personally, I would have thought it wonderfully entertaining if Apple had not released the Ipad. I would have loved to see the reactions of all those future-predicters on the web. But no mind, the pad is here and I know I want one.

Some people seem less certain, but I am not even sure when I last felt such an immediate need for a new toy.

As for what I will do with it, I will do everything I do today on my Iphone and/or on my old laptop, and it will probably take over some tasks from my Imac as well. Completely in agreement with Apple's stated intentions, everything the Ipad lets me do seems more appealing to do there than on the Iphone, laptop or dekstop. The phone (or Ipod) has the advantage of portability and always being with me. The desktops or laptops have some power, flexibility, screen estate and (sadly) openness advantages. But full-screen (on a larger-than-pocket-sized screen) and completely multi-touch adapted applications right in your hands, that is just a whole different thing. I can see it easily taking over all my surfing and email handling as well as a share of my media watching. And I am so looking forward to drawing in Brushes or other applications on it.

I am also looking forward to a whole new world of touch applications. I am not sure if Apple would allow such a thing, but ever since the Iphone debuted I have had a feeling/dream that it should be possible to create a great, highly visual and touch based IDE.

Starry-eyed guessing

Time to add my own to the ocean of predictions: I predict that the Ipad will be hugely successful, and that it will happen in a sneaky way so that many people will not notice until the Ipad is suddenly everywhere. Kind of the same way things went with the Ipod. Some people will moan about the things it does not do and how it should be different, right up until the moment they get to use one and find themselves having to change their minds. People will find killer apps, their own sets of things which are simply better, easier and/or more fun to do on the Ipad than on any other device. I could easily imagine another screen size or two coming out and replacing the lower ends of the Macbook line, but that is not part of my prediction.

One more thing

I had another thought on my way home from work: not only will the Ipad sell more because it is priced lower than expected, it will also absolutely kill the sales of everything cheaper in the same product category. What are the chances something 100 or even 200 dollars cheaper will feel appealing when an Ipad is such a small-ish step up? Especially as something significantly cheaper is highly unlikely to feel as well made.