The Apple iPad Experience

Loads of web savvy technophiles are reviewing the iPad with zeal. Most are somewhat disappointed, but not terribly shocked.

It's a nice looking piece of hardware, unfortunately the software limits it's functional application considerably. Only being able to install apps from the app store, having that dinky on-screen keyboard. The iPad is going to be jail-broken within seconds of it's release. And somebody is going to figure out how to get Linux loaded and somehow drive that lovely touch sensitive screen.

It supports multi-media and people will use this device a lot in flight, where it will be very welcome. But you're not going to sit down at home in front of your 100cm plasma and watch the latest star trek film on a 10" screen with dinky little speakers. It would be handy in a train but who's going to carry a 10" device in a carry bag just to watch movies on the train? I'll tell you who'll carry it, somebody already carrying a bag it'll fit into ... ie. somebody carrying a laptop with them.

But to my mind, the biggest failing here is the choice of the custom arm chip. Who cares about an extra 2 hours of battery life? If it was running even a dinky little x86 chip, it would be an excellent Windows gaming system... think MMORPG's where the keyboard and mouse are really a barrier to playing the games. A touch sensitive Windows system which was light enough to use for hours on end and sold at around $600 would be a very hot item for a large gaming audience.

But instead... ho-hum. We get a dinky little iPhone OS ARM based 'device' rather than a tablet computer. It's cheap, and that might be it's real saving grace. At $500 people will just say 'what the hell' and buy the base model. The 3G connectivity won't be a big seller, because it's not a primary mobile device. If it's an over sized iPhone, why get a second data contract and carry a large bag with you when your iPhone is 'good enough' and already in your pocket?

This is a device for the polo-necked sweater crowd. But it's not just a niche market, because the price is so low. The iPad will be a family facilitator. This will be the second or third computer in a family household, so the kids can play games while the parents check their e-mail or google recipes. The iPad is going to sell, no doubt about it, it's just going to sell to a different market than the current range of Apple goods.

And maybe that's the point. Whenever Apple comes out with new gear, you've got to keep a single question in the back of your mind. Is Steve Jobs an idiot? The answer is no, never and probably never will be. This product might appeal 'somewhat' to the tech savvie PowerMac wielding OS X command line loving avid technophile, but it's going to appeal a whole lot to the mum-and-dad, big-fat-mortgage, why-can't-I-just-buy-a-computer-that-works market. These things will sell like hotcakes but more importantly, the iPad will introduce a whole new group of people to Apple, it's brand and it's device quality.

The iPad is an exercise in marketing Apple branding to a wider consumer audience. And you know what? It really does epitomize the Apple good-design, simple-to-use, instant-on, out-of-the-box beauty of the Apple brand. And with Apple's pricing slowly dipping lower and lower over the last 2 years, there's a whole new market of sales for Apple's real hardware which is about to explode. Hold your breath everyone... Steve has finally taken Apple mainstream.