Apple has a problem that few of us will ever have to deal with; they are a victim of their own greatness.
Their latest launch, the iPad, has met a slew of criticism and a heavy dose of junior high humor, aka the iTampon, etc. The name is wrong, there are no ports, it will not support flash, it will not allow multitasking, there is no phone, no camera; the list of complaints is long.
But, is the iPad really so awful ?
It does after all have a low entry point at $500.00 US, it is 3g capable, which means unlike a laptop it will be able to access the internet from virtually any point on the globe, it provides a larger format for browsing/working than the iPhone or iTouch allows, but is small enough to be unobtrusive.
I have to say that the lack of USB or HDMI ports and the fact that you cannot run multi-task on this computer is somewhat off putting. However, this device was not ever meant to be a laptop killer, it is a mobile internet device that is equipped with a multi-touch interface, and even though it may not meet the initial expectations of the Apple fan-boys or left the Apple critics with their mouth agape it is still a pioneer in a new facet of computing, the mobile web.
Not that the hecklers don’t have any valid points… that name could use a little work.
I venture to say that the criticism will die down once people get a chance to get their hands on the iPad.
The multi-touch interface is the real story here, and the iPad, which is accused of being a larger iPod touch will get a chance to prove its medal once the apps start rolling out.
Wired (who has been accused of Apple collusion as of lately) says:
The iPad opens a path for an improved web experience for everyone. As soon as the iPad and its competing slates are in people’s hands, we’ll see a host of websites tailoring their content for touchscreen tablet browsing, and it’s going to be far more pleasant than the web experience we’re used to today….The iPhone and the iPad give web developers an excuse to break free from traditional user interfaces.
Bottom line.. the iPad will put friendly mobile computing in the hands of a wider audience, it’s interface will enable younger and older persons to more easily access the web. How many kids can spot the McDonald’s logo who are years away from being able to spell, much less type? And it will drive innovation in multi-touch and mobile computing interfaces which will give us a wider variety of choices and formats.
Apple may have not “changed the world” with this release like they did with the iPod and the iPhone, but just because they haven’t achieved greatness, there is no reason to hate what is essentially good.
