iPad, but will you?
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By Joseph Milton
Apple have just revealed their latest techy offering after weeks of speculation and carefully controlled leaks - the iPad - but have they lost their magic touch, or can Apple save the newspaper industry by persuading people to pay for web-based content?
This new device is supposed to bridge the gap between laptop computers and smart phones, but much of the initial reaction in the blogosphere has been negative. Critics have pointed out the many things the iPad lacks, much of which is available on cheaper netbooks. It has no USB ports, no support for Flash animation, no disc drives, no keyboard and no camera.
So, is there a market for what, at first glance at least, appears to be a giant iPod touch with an associated e-book store? The gadget could do well as a content browser, but without a keyboard it is likely to be of limited use for work.
The market for e-readers is starting to take off. Amazon has reported strong sales of its Kindle e-reader and Sony also has a model on the market. Apple’s offering is glossier and more attractive, but could that shiny screen be its downfall? Other e-readers are based on e-ink, a matte black and white display which allows readers to use them for long periods without eye-strain. Apple’s glossy back-lit LCD display could hurt the eyes after long hours of reading.
However, critics were quick to write off the iPhone, which has since been a phenomenal success for the company. Publishers have been swift to sign up for the new e-book store, seeing a potential way to make money from web-based content at a time when revenue from print is plummeting and people are generally unwilling to pay for news on the internet.
So there is a chance that the iPad could rejuvenate media organisations and cause an explosion in the use of e-readers. I personally won’t be buying one for the moment - they’re too expensive and lack too many useful features. Let us know in the comments section below if you plan to get an iPad yourselves and what your reasons for buying into or staying away from the latest Apple gadget are.
Posted on February 2, 2010 at 11:54 am
I am no techno-curmudgeon and I appreciate the value of baggage efficiency but I struggle to see why the things the iPad streamlines need streamlining. This may all change if they patent a version that looks like a Roman wax tablet, replete with stylus. However, nothing about the iPad (or the iPhone) screams out to me; merely by having one, surely you must feel obliged to be continually connected to the infinitely rapid pace of the web? Downtime is as important as connectedness. Next week: how I turned to Buddhism
Posted on February 2, 2010 at 5:56 pm
For some brilliant insight into the whole iPad thing, have a read of these:
http://io9.com/5458822/why-the-ipad-is-crap-futurism
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/31/ipad-review-comments-naughton
And if you're feeling geeky, there's this too:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/feb/02/flash-plugin-browser-apple-adobe
Posted on February 2, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Will Google compete directly with the iPad? This Guardian article contains a link to a 'concept' video of the Google tablet computer.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/feb/02/google-tablet-computer
Posted on February 9, 2010 at 11:45 am
I like the 'crap futurism' article, mostly for the comments. The article makes some good points, but in turn misses the ultimate point, which is that while the iPad is a commodity, the purposes it serves are virtually uinnecessary, and the ease of access to so many myriads of mediations will only hasten the skim-read superficiality of cultural consumption as we know it. Real things like friendship, art, love, craft, work, physical activity…they're not items to fit in around one's iPad schedule! They're the validations of our humanity. I know I'm playing a Luddite card here, with a degree of hypocrisy given how much I use the internet, but there's a difference between home Internet use and the iMania I can perceive. Plus, this is just another way to subject oneself to ceaseless advertising. If you like that, good luck to ya.
Posted on February 9, 2010 at 11:48 am
Haha, basically I agree with John Naughton!
Posted on February 11, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Charlie Brooker good on this subject too "Apple releases world's most expensive rectangle"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/01/ipad-therefore-iwant-why-idunno
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Posted on February 2, 2010 at 11:36 am
It took alot of convincing to move me away from my Nokia 8210 - the 'do what it says on the tin' phone. In a huge leap for Nan-kind I made it to the iphone - which I admit I am impressed with, although it does often struggle to perform the task that my prehistoric nokia did with such ease (phone people!) Trying desperately to force myself to become addicted to Twitter.
Great article. You may enjoy a peak at this if you haven't caught it already! http://bit.ly/9nYH02