Here are my thoughts on the newly announced iPad from Apple. I know everyone will very quickly become sick of these as every person in the media is going to throw their 2 cents into the ring, but hear me out.
For anyone that loves their iPhone or iPod Touch, they are going to adore the iPad if they want a larger screen on their device. The iPad essentially is a big 10″ version of the iPod Touch (WiFi model) or iPhone 3GS (WiFi + 3G model). If you like the iTunes App Store, the ability to easily and quickly transfer your apps, knowing full well the cosy safeness of iTunes is always backing up the device without fail, the ability to have hundreds of thousands of apps to choose from, this is going to be the new iPhone whether we all like it or not.
For me I liked the iPod Touch, the ability to not be able to use it on the go, out in the street from an internet connected state really was annoying me and that forced me to migrate to the iPhone. The iPhone is a superb device, it’s fast, sleek, it does everything you want. You can download Apps, Games, communicate on Facebook, on Twitter and do so much more when you’re out walking, at the coffee shop when you don’t have WiFi connectivity or you can even drive with it. The big problem with the iPhone for me is it’s portable. This is great, why is it a big problem? The problem is that I love the portability but the screen sometimes gets too small for me. I’d like a larger screen, ultimately a 7″ or 8″ screen would be better still making it kinda portable so you can keep it with you. The 10″ iPad is great with the screen size but it also makes it a little less portable. That said, anyone wanting a bigger screen is going to go and buy an iPad too.
Apple have catered for every niche of their product range, they’ve decided everyone now wants bigger screens so let’s give people a nice 10″ screen. They’ve also catered for the price point, if you don’t want a connected device and would just like a larger iPod then there’s a model for you called the WiFi model. If you want or need the added 3G connectivity with a 250mb or unlimited data plan, then they’ve created a 3G model for you called the WiFi + 3G model. The WiFi model will ship in 60 days (by beginning of April internationally) and the WiFi + 3G model will ship in 90 days (beginning of May internationally).
Now those dates might slip a little, Apple do not like to run out of stock, so they will need to ramp up production and produce a huge amount of each model for these dates.
Now the big problem is that many techies like myself would probably prefer to go for the WiFi + 3G model in the 32gb or 64gb range, just because we want the best experience it can give us. The problem here is that Apple are going to not ship it for 90 days. This is going to force some people who seriously can’t wait to go and maybe buy the 16gb or 32gb WiFi model in anticipation of another 30 days for the WiFi + 3G model. Apple aren’t stupid, many people that then buy the WiFi entry models will then soon after buy the WiFi + 3G model if they’re still wowed by it.
How would I see myself using the iPad? Well for me I doubt it will be something I will use out in the street, but I will probably pack it my rucksack next to my Laptop and take it to me to places like the office, the hotel when traveling etc. The main use I would find for it is at home, in the lounge, so although I wouldn’t need 3G the WiFi + 3G model would still come in handy just in case I need it.
The best thing about the iPad is that all of your iPhone and iPod Touch apps and games are going to work on it without major compatibility problems. So this should (hopefully) mean that you can log in as your old iPhone/iPod account and still transfer your purchases to the iPad like you currently can on the iPhone and iPod Touch (you’re limited to 5 devices to install apps and games onto). Apple have been really smart here, the biggest problem on launching any new device is not having the software to go on it. They took a huge risk with the iPod Touch, but the risk took off. When they released the iPhone, they had thousands of apps and games already compatible with it. Now with the iPad they’re going to have even more apps available for it, this is a very smart move by Apple and will quickly see the iPad sales sore to new highs.
The iPad is going to be the Kindle killer, it has full eBook support, it’s also an iPad that can play your iPod or iPhone music. Many of the eBook readers have e-ink and that’s something they have going for them in terms of battery life. There will still be people that want a true eBook reader with e-ink, but for the most part I truly believe (unfortunately for the likes of Amazon) that the iPad will probably become the eBook reader of choice, and Apple already have thousands of books available within iTunes!
Will I buy one, hell yes! Which model? Well I’m impatient so I will probably buy the non-3G model to start with, see how it goes and then maybe trade up to the 3G model later in the year if I find I’m using it out and about more.
