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keep taking the tablet

The iPad is already a game-changer, simply because of the volume of sales. Here is the conundrum: the iPad will never live up to customer expectations but will still be a hugely successful product.

Steve and the iPads

Picture credit: Photo Giddy

I spent 30 minutes in the Apple Store at Covent Garden yesterday, quietly exploring the iPad functionality and listening to the sales advisers’ responses to other customers’ questions.

It seems that too many punters perceive the device as a new form of laptop and expect a fully functional (multi-tasking, media-agnostic and USB connectivity) box, rather than a scaled-back tablet.

Nevertheless, I think that the iPad will inevitably sustain its current appeal and market – for the time being at least.

The forthcoming wave of competing tablets are likely to offer media-friendly features (such as Flash support) that severely hobble the iPad and prevent it from being a truly great product.

Of course the iStrategy is not about the hardware per se; the after-market (content) is obviously the primary business driver. The iPad is a razor, not a Ferrari. :mrgreen:

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  • richard

    Interesting post… that I only read thanks to Flipboard on my iPad. I agree about expectations and hardware – but it’s honestly the best home computer I’ve ever had. It’s also the first truly portable computer I’ve ever had (unless you count my iPhone). And it has that essential Appleness, it “just works”. It is, in shoet, a great product. For all those reasons ( and because it’s going to die out soon anyway) I can live without Flash!

    • http://www.colin-beveridge.com Colin Beveridge

      Richard

      the iPad is undoubtedly hugely successful and I have been thinking about buying one for quite some time.

      My expectations are realistic: no multi-tasking, ‘holes’ in websites/non-functioning inline video content(eg BBC) etc. etc.

      I also accept that the iPad cannot replace the heavy-lifting capabilities of my existing tablet (IBM Thinkpad X41T).

      However, listening to other prospective purchasers, I get the distinct impression that it will still sell well, in spite of its so-called ‘short-comings’ – because the form factor is good.

      Indeed, one of the short-comings – lack of multi-tasking – is actually a positive attribute for my intended iPad purchase: a way of helping someone who has never used a computer and is anxious about “pressing the wrong button and messing everything up…”

  • Nick Lapham

    Richard
    I am pleased to agree with Colin Beveridge’s comment – “Indeed, one of the short-comings – lack of multi-tasking – is actually a positive attribute for my intended iPad purchase: a way of helping someone who has never used a computer and is anxious about “pressing the wrong button and messing everything up…”
    … because I am thinking of getting one for my wife, who is reluctant about the internet but does not want to exclude herself forever I think. If she gets a non-threatening, easy to use gadget in her hands it could be the turning point.
    Nick

    • http://www.colin-beveridge.com Colin Beveridge

      Nick
      your situation seems to be similar to mine, I have been looking carefully at the iPad for a while because I think that it may finally help my wife to get online. Being able to stream the iTunes library from our home server is also a big plus.

      BUT the lack of Flash support IS a problem because it breaks the video clips on many sites, such as the BBC.

      I keep coming across more and more problems like this and wonder why Apple have taken against Flash for the iPad, when they presumably support other ‘standards’ like pdf files.

  • Nick Lapham

    Dear Colin
    Thank you for your note, we have the same opportunity (?) regarding helping our wives to use IT (???) – not sure I should call IT “IT” nowadays, but if I refer to it as the internet/the Cloud/I-don’t-know-what it will sound more daunting to someone who wrestles with the 3 TV controllers for PVR, Home Cinema and TV. What do you suggest we call IT nowadays? Home entertainment/Shopping/Networking? It’s all IT to me.
    I think that my wife’s main use of an iPad type device, initially anyway, would be to browse/shop the internet and to read books. She likes reading and I thought it would be handy for her to have a handful of books that she is interested in reading on an easy-to-use device when we go on holidays… and there is always something that she is thinking of buying in the clothes/shoes department!
    Regards