Posts Tagged: apple ipad

technology — 10 Comments
5
Apr 10

iPad finally comes home

Saturday morning, a very jolly UPS driver pulled up to my house. He said he felt like Santa Claus, because his entire truck was literally filled with goodies. Delivering iPads was his only mission for the day.

My mission, of course, was to suppress my giddiness and experience iPad like any new customer. Here’s how it went.

The packaging was beautifully simple, though not nearly as jewel-like as iPhone. I was pleased to find that my iPad came with a full tank of Chinese electricity. When I powered it up, my heart sank as I saw a series of horrible scratches on the screen. False alarm. They weren’t scratches, they were part of the home screen photograph Apple had chosen for me. Don’t scare me like that, Apple.

From the moment I turned it on though, one thing was clear: it’s every bit as fast as the reviewers have been saying, especially in the screen orientation department. I found myself wishing iPhone would take a few lessons from iPad.

It took only minutes for iPad to melt my heart. It takes no effort to see the mega-potential in this device. There isn’t a single medium iPad doesn’t handle well. I do, however, have one complaint. And it’s a biggie.

Following the launch, I had wondered how iPad would handle “user switching” in Mail. The answer is: it doesn’t. This will be highly disturbing to the many who loved the idea of a “family iPad” that would be used all over the house.

You can have multiple email accounts, but there’s no switching. All accounts are seen by everyone. To make it worse, you can only sync one set of Contacts, Calendars and Bookmarks. So it will work fine for one person, but everyone else will have to write emails without the convenience/necessity of an Address Book.

Obviously, iPad needs its own approach to privacy. Its music, movies and photos are meant to be shared by everyone, and you’d set it up with that in mind. But email is a different animal. It’s too personal. Little Suzie’s best friend shouldn’t be reading mommy’s email. No doubt there is a technical reason why there’s no email privacy in iPad right now. But this needs to be fixed asap. It will be a deal-breaker for some.

Zooming back up though, I’m extremely happy that my UPS man showed up and I’m sure the other boys and girls on his list are pretty darned happy too. iPad is lighting the way to a very interesting future vision of computing, and I’m already anxious to get there.

technology — 8 Comments
2
Apr 10

iPsychology 101

Well, that was fast.

Now that the confidentiality restraints have been lifted, there’s been a flood of super-enthusiastic, “new era in computing” reviews for iPad. This, of course, completes a total reversal of momentum following the iPad launch event — at which time the loudest voices said, “woeful name, just a giant iPod touch, no breakthroughs, major letdown, overhyped, flop in the making.”

Surely the Apple executive team is thinking “we told you so.” My big question is: why such a negative reaction in the first place?

As a near-psychology major in the pseudo-psychology division of an agriculture-based university, I feel eminently qualified to offer an opinion.

I think there is a sizable group out there just determined to see Apple fail. Interestingly, this group falls into two categories: friends and foes.

The foes are easy to figure out. They’ve held a grudge for years, and their dislike of Apple simply grows with each new Apple success. They often dislike the users of the technology as much as the technology itself. To them, Apple is a cult of mindless sheep. Smart people prefer things faster, cheaper and more customizable. It’s galling to see Apple manipulate the world into another revolution, and dammit, they will do what they can to derail the train.

Not a lot of people in the middle on this one

It’s the friends who are more befuddling. There are hundreds of journalists and bloggers covering the Apple beat, all of whom use the technology and love it. But opinions are their livelihoods. If they can’t prove themselves to be smarter and more insightful, their stock goes down. Since Apple doesn’t make many mistakes, they eagerly dive in when they think they’ve found one. Just as eagerly, in fact, as the Apple haters.

Whatever their motivation, we have people who are willing to judge in minutes what a lot of very smart people have been working on for a year or two.

While I disagreed with the naysayers, I do believe Apple gave them the opening. The iPad launch event was long on function and short on vision. It may have been a perfectly fine presentation, but it fell short in context of the hype. Now that we know what we know, it’s easy to imagine a more convincing launch event. The fact is, Apple did know what we know now — and they still crafted the event as they did.

But who cares. All is forgiven now. If things go as they appear to be going, Apple will once again prove that it truly understands human technology. Its fans will be delighted. Its detractors will celebrate their independence by jumping on board with one of the many imitators to follow. We’ll all meet again in three years for the next revolution.

In the meantime, I will be doing my finger exercises in preparation for tomorrow’s special delivery.

advertising / creative / strategy — 22 Comments
8
Mar 10

iPad commercial ships early

iPad may not be shipping for another three weeks, but the commercial made a sooner-than-expected debut on the Oscars last night. After the mixed reactions to the product itself, it was interesting to see how Apple plans to present iPad to the masses.

First reaction here: not exactly shocked.

A little background first. Most who don’t see the big deal in iPad criticize it for being “just a bigger iPhone.” My personal opinion is that iPad is going to be a very big deal — because it’s “just a bigger iPhone.” The iPhone OS, multitouch and the App Store are the key ingredients for revolution. iPad delivers what was missing: a bigger screen and better processor. By doing this, it will liberate developers, revitalize the publishing industry and, for a great many people, make everyday uses of a computer happier.

So back to the commercial. I find it interesting that iPad’s commercial is, well … a bigger version of an iPhone commercial.

It’s basically the same shtick, amped up. We get more screens, more content, more uses, more fingers, all set to the same kind of soundtrack. Instead of being cradled by Mr. Hand, iPad is nestled in Mr. Lap.

It happens fast, so you need to watch it a few times to get the full range of what iPad can do. The truly curious may do this, but for most the message is simple: iPad can do a whole lot of cool stuff. That may well be enough, since the buzz is what’s going to sell this thing in big numbers — as soon as the influencers start getting it in their hands.

As a believer, though, this spot leaves me with the same lament I had after the iPad launch. I love the product, but Apple’s telling of the tale doesn’t feel big enough yet. I was hoping this commercial would breathe some fire into it. Maybe that’s in the next one.

Don’t get me wrong, I still believe iPad is another revolutionary device, on the same level with iPod and iPhone. I still believe the critics will end up feeling a bit foolish. For the moment, though, this revolution remains fairly well disguised.

strategy / technology — 7 Comments
16
Feb 10

Ain’t so easy this time

This one may take a little work

Some people look at iPad and see the future. Others radiate less happy thoughts, ranging from “ho hum” to “major dud.”

Gee. Whatever happened to that air of inevitability, that “instant hit” thing that came along with iPod and iPhone?

Personally, I believe iPad will shake things up in a hundred different ways. But even those who agree with me can’t escape the feeling that something is different this time around. That avalanche of positive vibes didn’t quite materialize.

Two reasons for this:

For starters, iPad isn’t here yet. It’s a bit hard to judge this kind of technology by analyzing specs. Multiple multitouches are required.

Far more important: market conditions for iPad are strikingly different from those encountered by iPod and iPhone.

iPod actually sneaked in the back door. Music players were becoming popular, but the category was leaderless and uninspired. Apple swooped in with its irresistible combination of fun, cool and easy.

iPhone’s entrance was the antithesis of this. Thanks to iPod’s success, iPhone was hotly anticipated. This time the category was filled with heavyweights — but the natives were restless and anxious for something better. The competition awaited Apple’s entrance, then started copying their little hearts out. Droid, Storm, Pre, none of them would exist were it not for iPhone.

iPad faces entirely different circumstances. It was also hotly anticipated, but given the success of iPhone’s touch technology and the App Store, it wasn’t too hard to figure out where Apple was headed. A legion of competitors has met iPad with new ideas for netbooks, tablets and hybrids. The fact that some are in concept form is made less pitiful by the fact that iPad isn’t a real product yet either.

Google's take: looks cool, but still vaporous

HP has a neat idea, Google is previewing tablet concepts, the JooJoo tablet is making some waves, and Microsoft continues to taunt us with its Courier tablet.

Apple’s competitors are not uninspired — they’re duly inspired by Apple’s previous successes and motivated never to let such a nasty thing happen again. Though the odds are that it will — simply because Apple continues to enjoy its multi-part unfair advantage:

• Great design/superior software
• The world’s undying attention
• Far better marketing
• 150,000 apps
• A sea of developers chomping at the bit to get in on iPad’s ground floor

Looking forward to all of this becoming less theoretical in the coming months…

strategy — 7 Comments
3
Feb 10

Apple says the magic word

Today’s topic is marketing, not technology. But it’s still about iPad, so you may credit me with dragging this topic out for yet another day.

One of the neat things about Apple is that they put as much thought into their words as they do into their inventions. They come up with key words, normally clear and clever, and use them consistently in all communications. If you’re a marketing afficionado, it is a thing of beauty to see Steve’s topline message played back almost verbatim by the world press.

However, this isn’t to say Apple always gets it right. In fact the copywriter in me winced more than once on iPad launch day.

It started when Steve introduced iPad by using the word magic. It was a little too self-admiring, the kind of word that works better when someone else says it about you, instead of you saying it yourself. And it turned out that the magic was just beginning. The M-word was again invoked by Jony Ive on the iPad video. It now appears front and center on apple.com. It also leads off the official iPad press release. Clearly, magic is high up on the official list of iPad words.

Problem is, magic loses its magic when the magicness is unrelenting. Even more important, you can’t expect the magic word to work if what you’re about to share is anything less than 100% certifiably magic. I do believe iPad will change the world, but the technology and the content revealed on launch day just felt too familiar to many.

The iPad video didn’t help create much magic either. Unfortunately, these videos are starting to feel more like an item on a checklist than a creative element. In videos past, we’ve seen interesting celebrities reacting to the product, or some departure from the ordinary. Here, it seemed to be a bit of video-by-numbers, just the usual suspects cultishly gushing over iPad, calling it beautiful, amazing, breakthrough, phenomenal, etc.

Speaking of superlatives, Neil Curtis has put together a hilarious video that reduces the iPad launch event to its essence. If you haven’t seen it, you must click below. Watching this reminds me of a critique I received long ago for an ad I’d just written. Clearly pained, my boss said “I wish I had a nickel for every adjective you crammed in here.” (I’ve gotten better, I swear.) Methinks Apple could use a visit from the Adjective Police.

strategy / technology — 12 Comments
1
Feb 10

iPad: joining the revolution-in-progress

We now return to the revolution — already in progress

Now that I’ve done the research, I’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities. Apple has either (a) created another technology masterpiece, or (b) suffered its most humiliating failure.

The sad fact is, months of over-hype force an instant response. Not enough “new” = disappointment. Attack on the mother ship = knee-jerk defense.

Now that we’ve had a chance to sleep it off, I think we should look at the forest, not the tree. iPad isn’t a revolution in itself — it’s actually Part III of a revolution that started seven years ago. Some of its most important features came well before the hype began.

Apple started down this path with iPod. That’s when the company demonstrated its ability to combine software genius and gorgeous design — and immediately grabbed a 70% market share. iPod was technology you could fall in love with, small enough to fit in your pocket. At the start, it was all about music. Then it matured with photos, movies, podcasts, radio and TV shows.

iPhone was Part II of the revolution. Adding phone and Internet to iPod’s capabilities, the pocket device was now a full-fledged computer. It just didn’t feel like one. The spectacular advance was the multitouch screen, which gave us a whole new way to interact. Competing against a legion of high-powered villains, iPhone was an instant success — because its technology matched up so well with human behavior. Then came the App Store, which gave iPhone and iPod an advantage of monolithic proportions.

At this point, all the pieces were in place: advanced OS, multitouch screen, intuitive interface, Internet, email, music, movies and 140,000 apps. No need to think about file systems, viruses, all those ancient concerns — you could just do what you want to do. For a great many people, iPod/iPhone had become all the computer they really need, except for one thing. It was all in miniature. Cue Part III of the revolution. iPad is the life-size version of the technology that the world’s already fallen in love with. And I suspect it’s a device whose potential may be seriously underestimated.

“Where are the new killer features?” iPod and iPhone have already laid the groundwork for iPad, so yes, parts of it feel familiar. This is both a strength and a weakness. The theory is that the features people already know and love are far more scintillating in the new iPad format. Hard to say until the product ships. One thing we do know: with a bigger screen, more powerful processor and even more responsive multitouch, iPad developers will be having the time of their lives.

“It’s just an oversized iPod touch.” Well, yeah. And that’s the reason iPad has the potential to change everything. iPod touch and iPhone offer a tiny window (literally) into a potentially world-changing way of computing. iPad is built on the same foundation — but blows away the limitations.

“No multitasking? What a joke.” Maybe yes, maybe no. Apple is creating a less complicated, more interactive world. They’re handing us a beautiful screen on which we can easily communicate, watch, listen, share, browse and create. Obviously iPad will continue to evolve. I expect multitasking will appear to some degree soon — and naturally we’ll see bigger screens and faster processors. There’s also that “little” matter of the global revolution in magazines and newspapers we were expecting.

Oh, and don’t go thinking that Part III is the revolution’s finale. By the time it’s over, we’ll be well conditioned for Part IV — at which time the whole idea of laptops and desktops may start to change.

If you’re interested, Andy Ihnatko had a good, level-headed review in the Chicago Sun-Times following his personal interaction with iPad at the launch event.

observatory — 23 Comments
29
Jan 10

iPad: critiquing the critics

Every time a new Apple product comes out, the experts share their opinions. But who reviews the reviewers? Well, that sounds like a fun job…

Erica Ogg (CNET): “… the quintessential Apple device …”
Nice, Erica. I buy that. If you look at everything Apple’s done in the last few years, you can easily say “it all led to this.”

Donald Bell (CNET) (Editor’s Take): “… a bit of a misfit… fortunately I like misfits… I’m a fan of disruptive technology… it is going to change the way we think about mobile technology beyond the smartphone.”
Disruptive is the key word. iPod and iPhone were disruptive. While some will be sniping over iPad’s missing features, disruption will be happening all around them.

David Pogue (NY Times): (paraphrased) Phase 1: Apple rolls out product. Phase 2: basher-bloggers scream about its many limitations. Phase 3: positive reviews, people line up to buy it, basher-bloggers disappear.
We like you, David. You don’t take yourself too seriously, and you see the folly all around us. You’re a smart guy, though not the best singer.

Walt Mossberg (Wall Street Journal): “It’s about the software, stupid. … public acceptance… depends heavily upon the software and services that flow through its handsome little body.”
A little creepy there at the end, Walt, but the sentiment is correct. Also, congratulations for scoring an invite to the event even after that tawdry little piece you wrote about Windows 7 being as good as Mac OS X.

Michael Hiltzik (LA Times): “After months of hype, the reality was underwhelming… Hard to see it as anything other than a threat to Kindle; depending on how it is exploited, eventually it could be more.”
Hmm, I’m a little underwhelmed by your ability to imagine. Somehow I think Apple may have a plan for “exploiting” this thing. Since you mentioned it, I’m also now wondering if iPad really is a threat to Kindle. Kindle might have a shot at life as your basic e-reader — if they cut the price to a fraction of what it is today.

Adam Frucci (Gizmodo): “My God, am I underwhelmed by it… absolutely backbreaking failures that will make buying one the last thing I would want to do.”
My goodness, Adam. You sound like a very confident man. By the way, what you would want to do — fascinating as that might be — really isn’t the story here. It’s what a few million other people want to do that has resulted in iPad.

Mark Wilson (Gizmodo): “Substantial but surprisingly light. Easy to grip. Beautiful. Rigid. Starkly designed … touch responds like a dream.”
Mark, would you mind having a word with Adam? You guys work in the same office?

Nicholas Deleon (special to CNN): “Will size matter? … We’ve adjusted [to iPhone's size] and there are no signs that people are tiring of it. … iPad… couldn’t possibly be considered portable… a 10-inch behemoth.”
Dear God, man. Do you carry your own coffee? In one hand?? It’s an eight-ounce monstrosity!

Claudine Beaumont (Telegraph UK): “…  had hoped to hear more about how iPad could be used to read magazines…  potential to be a game-changing device, but it will be the second- and third-generation versions that will really drive the agenda.”
I hear ya, Claudine. Had that same hope for the magazine thing myself. Revolution temporarily on hold.

Michael Miller (PC Magazine): “Given the hype… the most surprising thing is that Apple was still able to have some pretty big surprises… the pricing was much more aggressive than I thought it would be… felt faster and more responsive… applications aimed at creating content.”
The content-creation part of iPad hasn’t nearly gotten as much air play after the intro. But I agree, Michael. What people do with iPad — a computer with no visible OS — may surprise many.

Josh Topolsky (Engadget): “… was fairly underwhelming… unimaginative might be more accurate… will really come into its own when developers get their hands on it…”
Correct, Josh. And on the third Sunday of next January, the sun will rise in the west. Developers did have a wee bit to do with iPhone’s runaway success. And as we saw at intro, iPad gives developers a far richer place to let their imaginations run wild.

Hiawatha Bray (Boston Globe): “Not a world-changer, but not bad.”
I’m disappointed, Hiawatha. Have you gone soft? I was kind of hoping for something more definitive, like your first take on iMac in 1998: “The iMac will only sell to some of the true believers… doesn’t include a floppy disk drive drive… an astonishing lapse from Jobs, who should have learned better… the iMac is clean, elegant, floppy-free — and doomed.” Not that I hold a grudge…

naming / strategy / technology — 29 Comments
28
Jan 10

iPad: the day after

First the Jesus phone, now this?

Some stream-of-consciousness thoughts about yesterday’s launch of iPad:

Understatement of the day. CNN included this statement in their pre-event coverage: Apple CEO Steve Jobs is said to have taken an active role in the development of the company’s rumored tablet device.

The name iPad. It had been growing on me prior to launch. Back-rationalizing aside (or is that back-pedaling?), there’s a lot of logic to it. My idealized version of Apple just isn’t quite so logical. The good news is: the name is short, heavily branded and looks damn good on the device. Remember, names are only scrutinized at the beginning. After that, they’re just names. (Google? Get out.) And yes, this does give our little friend i a new lease on life.

Home-grown processor. A double big deal. Those who played with iPad after the show reported that it’s wicked fast. Even better, Apple makes the A4 processor themselves. That’s a ton cheaper than buying it from Intel, and clearly the main reason it’s as affordable as it is. Good name, too. I can just imagine the conversation. “It’s Apple’s first processor, so let’s call it A1.” “Nah, doesn’t sound very advanced. A4 is three generations faster.”

Leaks hurt. When product details leaked in advance of past Macworld shows, the event never seemed quite as exciting. Yesterday felt a bit like that — because so much about iPad had been rumored or predicted with fair accuracy. iPhone looked nothing like the rumors had it.

Professional jealousy. I know from experience that all this fanfare and anticipation often grates on other technology companies. “5% of the market share, 95% of the PR,” they moan. Hey, nothing’s stopping Dell from holding a major press event to announce their newest Inspiron.

User switching. iPad feels like the perfect device to keep on the coffee table for the whole family to use. So how does email work when you pass the device to another user? Log off/log on? Fast user switching? Just curious.

Category overload. Steve took special care to present iPad as a third category of product, positioned between iPhone and MacBook. He even concluded the show by asking “do we have what it takes to establish a third category of products?” I get that. Not to be a stickler, but Steve did introduce iPhone three years ago as Apple’s third category of products. Those are the product tabs currently on apple.com (Mac, iPod, iPhone). So how many categories of product does Apple now sell? Three or four? Will the tabs on the website change, or does iPad join forces with iPhone? (Even though it is actually more similar to iPod touch.)

Multitasking. Missing in action. Big problem. Especially when even Droid is out there multitasking its little heart out. iPad runs zillions of apps — but only one at a time. Fix, please.

No camera. Big problem #2. How can you have offer such a natural, trend-setting, socially-minded device without the ability to video chat? Probably some physical reason why, but Apple has bent the laws of physics before.

Where’s iLife ’10? Okay, so I was wrong about this prediction. But now that I am humbled, I do remember how Mac OS X was once delayed for six months because Apple’s software resources were focused on developing iPhone. We have to remember that Apple isn’t Microsoft. (Like that’s tough to remember.) They don’t have thousands of programmers. When they have a major challenge, it’s all-hands-on-deck time. Maybe we’ll get a new iLife by spring? I will continue to predict until I get it right.

Apple logo. Is that big Apple logo on the back facing the right way? It’s correct in portrait position, but it’s sideways in landscape position. The images on apple.com seem to be a 50-50 mix of vertical and horizontal orientation, so there is no right or wrong here. I think it’s time for the world’s first accelerometer-based swiveling logo.

Questionable icon. My eyes, my eyes. What’s with the iBooks icon? Click the right arrow on the iPad Gallery page to see the icon lineup. They’re all colorful and beautifully designed — until you get to iBooks. It’s Zune brown, and feels a few decades behind. Can we send that one back?

Overall: iPad has a lot to love, but nirvana is still up the road apiece. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing — Apple’s starting point is light years beyond the other guys’ ending point.

strategy / technology — 42 Comments
27
Jan 10

Welcome, iPad

Hello, iPad — what took you so long?

Damn, I love the smell of new technology in the morning. Now the smoke has cleared, iPad is among us and the conversation can get even more intense — because we’re talking reality, not theory.

For some, the product can never live up to the hype. Personally, I love this thing. I want one now. I have no doubt it will play a huge role in defining how we interact with our technology well into the future. However, I do think Apple left vital parts of its body unshielded, and will suffer some hits for it.

I have one major disappointment.

I was really expecting Steve to be in his best revolutionary form today. Maybe a reference to the fact that the print industry hasn’t changed in principle all that much since Gutenberg; that every day we print millions of tons of paper only to see it thrown away at night; that Apple has now developed the technology to bring magazines and newspapers to vibrant life, in a way that will ignite a new era of publishing. I expected him to have the CEOs of the major publishing companies and booksellers on stage at the scene to talk about how iPad will create a revolution in print — just as iPod created a revolution in music.

Sports Illustrated has had a demo of their tablet-ized magazine on YouTube for quite a while now, and it gives us a glimpse of the new world.

We didn’t see this revolution today. The NY Times demo was almost off-handed in the scope of things. For all the rumors about Apple being in talks with the major publishing companies, we saw none of that.

So count me in for an iPad, because there’s an awful lot of fun built into it, ready to go. I’ll be here, with a full 10-hour charge, anxiously waiting for the real revolution to arrive.

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