Why I won’t be buying an iPad
Since the release of Apple’s much anticipated tablet device yesterday, the web has fallen all over itself with predictions, implications, praise and derision. Many have said that it is trying to carve out a new space between smartphone and laptop, and most are complaining of the device’s shortcomings – no flash, no camera, no multitasking, etc. But as Stan Schroeder pointed out in a great post on Mashable this morning, these omissions were no accident.
The point of this device is not to give you a bigger iPhone, or a sleeker laptop. It is a media consuming gadget, and after you’ve dropped five to eight hundred bones on it, and you’ve got your AT&T data plan, then come the paid magazine subscriptions, video channels, e-books and other iTunes-esque purchases required to use this thing.
I don’t know about you, but as much as I would like to tote around a sleek new Apple gadget so I can watch episodes of Lost and read Maxim, who has the time or opportunity? I’ve got a couple games on my iPhone to keep me busy at the bus stop, and when I have time to watch TV, I do it at home, on my computer or television (speaking of which, when is the industry going to step up the union of similar devices instead of creating unnecessary in-betweens?). If I wanted to read books on a screen (which I don’t), I’d buy an e-reader that’s not as harsh on my eyes as every other device in my life. And I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a way to read newspapers and magazines in full color and clarity without all that annoying pinching and tapping.
So, in summation: Apple has created a device that is less portable than a smartphone, does less (way less) than a laptop, can’t run multiple applications at once, has a closed development platform, no USB, no flash, no camera, no stand, and is likely to charge you for content every time you want to consume it (which appears to be the main thing it was designed for).
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Hell, if on-the-go media consumption is your thing, spend away, my friend.
Me, I think I’ll pass…
Filed under: Fun Marketing Blogs | 4 Comments
Tags: apple, hype, iBook, iMac, ipad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, laptop, macbook, marketing, media, review, smartphone, specs, steve jobs, tablet
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My housemate nailed the iPad reviews last night in a simple paragraph. The iPad is not designed for you; meaning the tech savy. It is designed to take a bite into the Kindle crowd and the 50-90 year olds who want to be online but can’t stand computers. Simple device, intuitive interface, can read e-mail, surf web, share photos, and not feel overwhelmed by the interface.
I am also passing on the iPad but I can see a very clearly defined group of people who will see this as the ultimate communication device and one damn cool eBook reader.
Interesting idea. Of course just because most 50-to-90 year olds aren’t tech savvy and don’t like computers doesn’t necessarily mean they will like this. You are right, it is simple and intuitive, but it’s still a new gadget with a learning curve, which begs the question whether that demographic will even be interested in it.
But maybe I’m not giving them enough credit. Maybe it’ll be sitting on the backs of aging boomers’ toilets all over America by this time next year…
Great point about having the time for all this on-the-go media consumption. I don’t. I’m sure there’s a market out there for exactly this device–and it’s probably huge or Apple wouldn’t have bothered to build it–but I don’t think I’m a part of that market and that’s just fine.
I can see plenty of geeky artists, web designers and college students buying it for the novelty of having a semi-portable media station on which they can show off their portfolio or watch the latest Twilight movie in their friend’s dorm. And as Greg mentions above, maybe older people will even find use for it. I’m not saying it should never have been built – I’m just saying that I, like you, am not the target market…