Posts Tagged: ipad

android / iPad / microsoft / observatory / steve jobs / strategy / tablets / technology — No Comments
3
Jan 11

CES: the second annual tablet-fest

No matter how hard I Google, I can’t find the exact number of tablets that were launched at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Best I can come up with is “dozens.”

Whatever the number was, it’s a perfect match for the number of tablets that have been largely forgotten in the 12 months since. Steve Ballmer, Vapor Master, made the keynote speech in 2010, delivering a non-demonstrative demo of HP’s Slate tablet, which never saw the light of day. At least he didn’t try to hype Microsoft’s own Courier tablet, which was quietly euthanized three months later.

Now comes CES 2011. Once again, Ballmer will take the stage for the keynote, giving him a chance to wash down the emptiness from last year. With the tablet floodgates opening, one would hope he’d have an easier time coming up with a few devices that actually work. Logic says he’ll try to wash away the bad memory with sheer quantity.

Another company with big dreams is Toshiba. A quote from their director of marketing in today’s New York Times sums it up perfectly: “We could have done this a year ago and rushed it out, but it wouldn’t have had the right features.”

He might just as well have said, “We could have done this a year ago and rushed it out, but we didn’t yet know what to copy.”

There’s really only one strategy these guys can follow: offer more features than iPad, hopefully at a better price. The problem, of course, is that iPad is more than just iPad — it’s rich ecosystem with 300,000+ apps and countless accessories. A few more features or a slight savings don’t quite make up for the lack of such things.

While one of the favorite anti-iPad zingers is “It’s just a giant iPod touch,” we will now see a deluge of tablets that are simply giant Android phones. This is not a criticism, as I’ve long felt that this is exactly what tablets need to be — a faster and bigger-screened version of the smartphones we’ve already come to love. Now that the Anti-Apple is following Apple’s course, we’ll see if that put-down begins to fade.

Expect also to see the haters out in force, damning Apple’s evil plan to control us all, cheering on a spate of superior devices that will finally turn the tide against Apple. By necessity, they will gloss over the fact that none of these new devices would exist if it weren’t for Apple’s invention. And never mind that Apple customers have been enjoying the tablet’s benefits a full year before everyone else.

As always, the problem with copying Apple’s technology is that you’re copying last year’s model. Just a month or two after all these new models show up at CES, Apple introduces iPad 2. For the most part, competitors are playing a game of leapfrog in which they never manage to leap the frog.

This year, I refuse to get my information second-hand. I will be journeying to CES to get my furry little hands on these devices myself. I’ll let you know how it goes…

advertising / android / app store / creative / google / observatory / tablets / technology — 7 Comments
21
Dec 10

Motorola, iPad & the theory of evolution

I love it when technology companies talk tough. Add Motorola to the list of contenders who brazenly proclaim that they can make iPad look silly.

This video is Motorola’s way to help build the excitement leading up to the grand unveiling of their mysterious tablet-to-come at CES.

Does it work? Well, as always, that depends on who you are. I’m sure there are people in the world who look at this video and think, “Wow, cool, I wonder what they have up their sleeve.” As a teaser for the event, that’s all they can ask for. So I’ll give them the honorary G.W. Bush “Mission Accomplished” medal for that.

However, as our friend W. discovered, things aren’t always what they seem. At some point, Motorola has to produce a working tablet that really does make you want to move beyond iPad — or they’re going to look laughable for making the claim.

Let’s just pause for a moment to consider the reality:

One year ago at CES, when everyone knew Apple was about to revolutionize the tablet category, companies fell over themselves trying to beat Apple to the punch. Not only did they know what Steve Jobs had up his sleeve, it was pretty obvious Apple was going to build upon the technology already established in iPhone. Steve Ballmer stood up during the keynote waving the Microsoft/HP tablet prototype, which was never heard from again.

Now, after all this time, with Apple owning the lion’s share of the tablet market and still no real competition in sight, Motorola will now “evolve” beyond iPad?

Pardon my lack of faith, but it’s a bit far-fetched.

The technique used in the video is to establish a sense of humor by first bashing “tablets” that have been around for eons (Egyptian Hieroglyphic Tablet, 10 Commandments Tablet, Rosetta Stone, Mayan Engraved Tablet), and then apply the same humor to iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab before leaving us with a tease about Motorola’s higher evolution.

Dismissing iPhone, the title says “It’s like a giant iPhone, but … it’s like a giant iPhone.” Others have made this argument, and honestly it’s one of the most brain-dead arguments there is. iPad really is a giant iPhone (minus the phone), and that’s exactly what it needs to be. Apple already had the magic combination with iOS, multi-touch and the App Store. A faster processor and bigger screen were the only missing ingredients.

The video dismisses the Galaxy Tab by saying, “Android OS, but Android OS … for a phone.” Never mind that Motorola’s tablet will run on a tablet-optimized Android OS, just as iPad runs on an iPad-optimized version of iOS. By their own logic, Motorola’s “evolved” tablet will be nothing more than a giant Android phone.

The spot ends with the Motorola logo, at which time a bee enters the picture. It’s jarring enough that a number of YouTube commenters thought the bee-buzz sounded like a certain human emission. In theory, we’ll soon find out what the bee is doing there in the first place.

Then again, maybe that bee was never intended to be there at all, like the fly that got into Seth Brundle’s teleportation machine. Be afraid. Be very afraid…

android / naming / observatory / tablets — 7 Comments
15
Nov 10

Galaxy Tab: they love it, they love it not…

Samsung may have a way to go before they challenge Apple in its ability to simultaneously evoke extremes in love and hate.

But they’re off to a good start with the Galaxy Tab — which, unlike any non-Apple product I can remember, is doing a good job of splitting the better-known reviewers.

As most probably know by now, the Galaxy Tab (yes, that name will be on the year-end crappy name list) is a 7-inch touchscreen tablet running Android.

Gizmodo was quick to attack, headlining it as “a pocketable train wreck.” They explain, “Typically, the point of a compromise is to bring together the best of both sides. The Tab is like a compromise’s evil twin, merging the worst of a tablet and the worst of a phone.”

Wired would beg to differ. “Requires some retraining … but once you get it, it’s a pleasure to use.”

Engadget jumps right in to gush, “we can confidently say it’s the best Android tablet on the market … the first true competitor to Apple’s iPad.” This, of course, is curious given that Google itself does not recommend the current Android OS for use in tablets.

Despite reports that David Pogue (New York Times) loved the Galaxy Tab, he was actually a straddler. “The whole thing is superfast and a pleasure to use,” he says. But then he pounces on the negatives: poor battery life, few apps optimized for screen size, bad email config and a very high price (it’s more expensive than an iPad that delivers twice the memory, four hours more battery life and bigger screen).

Walt Mossberg (Wall Street Journal) is also in the middle. “iPad now has its first credible competitor …. On balance, however, I still prefer the iPad.”

Time Magazine had a review too, but I quote it here only for comic relief. “If you use the Galaxy Tab in the way Samsung advertises (and you certainly will), what is the point of having a smartphone? Smaller screen, shorter battery life, more expensive plan? The phone becomes expendable.” Call me odd, but I use my phone to make phone calls — which the Galaxy Tab does not do. (Update: Time has now cut this part out of their article.)

It will be interesting to see how the Galaxy Tab sells, especially since Steve Jobs has publicly proclaimed that 7-inch tablets are DOA.

And Steve would never fib, would he.

advertising / apple / creative / iPad / observatory / strategy — 4 Comments
10
Nov 10

Verizon & Apple start dating

After months of winking at one another across the room, Verizon and Apple are finally seeing each other. In fact, it’s a little embarrassing the way they’re carrying on in public.

Just in time for the holidays, Verizon is selling iPads — and now they’re running an ad to make sure the world knows it.

Call it infatuation for now. But we all know the way these relationships blossom. First iPads, and before you know it there are iPhones everywhere.

Poor AT&T. Hey, they sell iPads too. They could be running their own ads if they wanted to. They just seem a bit resigned now that Apple has started to see others.

Okay, I’m sick of this metaphor. What about the ad itself? Good? Bad? Ugly?

Honestly, my reaction to this spot is supreme indifference. It’s an ad. It says what it’s supposed to say. It doesn’t make me leap from my seat, but then it doesn’t make me want to hang myself either. I’d file it right there in the middle under “seen and noted.”

I have a theory about how this happens. We know that Apple insists on approving ads from their partners. But they can’t get involved in every step, and there are deadlines to meet. I think they look at a spot like this and say, “That’s about as good as we’re going to get from these guys.”

This ad clearly says that the iPad has now available on Verizon. It has special effects. It uses the word “magic.” What more do you need?

Apple hates relying on other people’s creativity. When all they can do is say yea or nay, at some point they’re forced to approve — if only to ensure that the ad airs within our lifetime.

But let’s not lose sight of the important thing: Verizon and Apple are finally working together. This should make 2011 a much more interesting year. There’s plenty of time to worry about the pesky little details later. Like better ads.

iPad / iPhone / observatory / technology — 2 Comments
16
Sep 10

Learning to read with Stephen Fry

Years ago, I was tied down and forced to watch several days’ worth of British comedies. Very quickly, the restraints became unnecessary and I began to eagerly devour it.

One of the biggest reasons for my transformation was Stephen Fry. Damn, he’s good. So it is with great affection that I have watched Stephen emerge as a personality in the technology world.

His tweeting skills are legendary, and he wrote a great piece for Time Magazine at the launch of iPad — in which he guides us through his adventure at Apple, including meetings with Steve Jobs and the executive team.

Now Stephen has dipped his toes into app territory with a neat little thing called MyFry. This is actually the app version of his autobiography, The Fry Chronicles. What’s interesting about it is that it isn’t just another book — it’s a whole new way of reading a book.

Stephen explains it all in this video, sounding suspiciously like the narrator for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe — which in fact he was (in the  2005 production).

The video is a sweet introduction to the idea. Stephen’s style of speech makes him hard to ignore, and there’s little time wasted  — except for that long, clicky opening that makes you wonder if your sound is working. And yes, it would have been nice to have a good zinger line at the end, as opposed to more clicking.

But my imaginary hat is off to Stephen for being (a) funny, and (b) creative. He’s just proven that writing a book is only half the fun.

advertising / apple / creative / iPad — 7 Comments
20
Aug 10

A smorgasbord of iPad

Here’s the latest iPad commercial. As one might expect, it features a bunch-o’-stuff you can do with iPad, set to a catchy tune.

However, as a special bonus Apple has cleverly embedded a copywriter’s aptitude test. Here’s the sequence of words that appear on-screen. Which one doesn’t fit the pattern?

iPad is: delicious, current, learning, playful, literary,
artful, friendly, productive, scientific, magical

Visually, iPad does look delicious in this spot — even if Apple neglects to promote it as tableware. For the moment though, let’s just say it remains one adjective short of magical.

advertising / technology — 14 Comments
12
Apr 10

Searching for meaning in iPad

What could possibly follow an entire week of iPad-related posts — but yet another. Bear with me please. Just one more.

Now that I’ve had a week to chat it up with fellow iPad owners, probe those who have resisted temptation and those who are so far temptation-free, one reaction to iPad stands above the rest to me: an awful lot of people just don’t have a clue how they’d use it.

This is stirring an ancient memory.

Back in Apple’s earliest days, when they were promoting the steam-powered Apple II, the company had a similar problem. While that newfangled personal computer thing was intriguing, people simply didn’t understand how it fit into their lives. So Apple ran an insert in major magazines with the headline “Will someone please tell me what a personal computer can do?” (or something close). Inside, it listed 100 uses that would blow your mind — like writing a letter, storing recipes, shooting aliens, wild things like that.

Obviously this is a very different time, and people are infinitely more sophisticated about technology. They don’t need an education about the kinds of things they can do with an iPad. But iPad does shake up the time and space factor. Many can’t quite tell how it fits into their lives. In effect, they’re asking “Will someone please tell me when, where and why I’d use an iPad?”

This is a perfectly human reaction. It’s positive in the sense that it confirms how new iPad really is. That lost feeling can’t help but fade as more imaginative apps appear, and as real people (not reviewers) begin to share their personal experiences.

My only concern: a campaign that only features people sitting on a couch doesn’t answer too many questions. I hope the message gets richer.

advertising / creative — 3 Comments
9
Apr 10

iPad ads revisited

I’m suffering a bit of blogger’s remorse about my comments yesterday re: the iPad marketing campaign.

I was initially reacting to a single ad I had seen (New York Times), and I probably shouldn’t have been so quick to react. One song in isolation is hardly enough evidence to judge an entire album.

Now that I’ve seen the ads going up around town, and I’ve revisited the TV commercial, I think that visions of iPad will indeed be dancing in more people’s heads. That, combined with the intense buzz that’s already out there, will drive more and more people to the Apple Store to see iPad for themselves. What Apple is doing is what it often does: they are visually making the product the absolute star of the ad, to make it as clear as possible how it works and what it will look like in your life.

The TV ad, although way too fast for many, adds an interesting effect when taken in context of all the print ads and posters. You can examine an individual screen in print, get a sense of the quantity of screens in the TV.

A wise man in advertising once taught me that if you’re going to reject someone’s work, it must be because it’s terrible — not because it isn’t what you would have done.

So I won’t quibble about certain elements of this campaign. I will only continue to wish there were more Apple cleverness in these ads. If ever there were a campaign that should make you smile, this is it — because that’s exactly what iPad makes you do.

advertising / strategy — 6 Comments
8
Apr 10

The under-hyping of iPad

iPad ad in Wednesday's NY Times (excuse the bleed-through from the page behind)

Many of our fellow humans were underwhelmed after the iPad launch in January. Overall, they thought it was just too over-hyped.

Personally, I thought iPad was a very big deal. My only lament was that the launch event didn’t feel like a very big deal. It just didn’t seem like we’d witnessed a major moment in history. This isn’t a technology thing, it’s a marketing thing.

Not the end of the world, I figured. Surely things would change once the advertising kicks in. Being one of the most important launches in the history of Apple, something very special must be just around the corner.

Instead, it seems like the over-hype is being followed by under-hype.

The commercial that ran on the Academy Awards was a variant of the iPhone ads we’ve been seeing for three years. And in yesterday’s NY Times, Apple ran a full-page ad for iPad: just one word over the image of someone using iPad to view a photo collection.

If there’s a revolution in here, it’s pretty well hidden.

Looking at this ad, I wondered where the other half was. Maybe there was supposed to be an opposite page, a grid of six iPads featuring one seductive app after another. Or maybe the headline fell off. That one witty Apple line that makes us smile as it captures the importance of the moment. Hell, where’s the word “magic” when we need it?

It strikes me as odd, because iPad already does amazing things, and it will only become more amazing with the inevitable flood of imaginative apps to come. It’s a story of almost unbelievable magnitude — being doled out by the spoonful.

Obviously, there is boldness in buying a large space and keeping it so minimalist. I’m a huge fan of elegance and clarity. I just want to see people raising their eyebrows, ripping out the page and tweeting “cool Apple ad!”

I’ll cross my fingers that this is the first of 20 such ads, and equivalent billboards will be springing up everywhere. But a lot of people (like yesterday’s NY Times readers) only see what’s in front of them. And I’m pretty sure this story is a bit bigger than a photo gallery.

[Update 4.8.10 5:50pm EDT] Okay, more iPad ad sightings are now coming in. Here we have posters for Mail, iBooks and Safari. I’m assuming many different apps will be featured in many locations, which will make the launch feel more like an event. The no-copy approach works well in posters — but I do miss the Apple wit.


technology — 9 Comments
6
Apr 10

iPad hits the road

The timing was perfect. After spending a day with iPad, I found myself taking a 36-hour trip out of town — so it was sink or swim for the little fella. I was determined to put my iPad through the paces in airports, planes, hotels and bars.

No incidents at security, though the guard did demand that I turn it on just so she could play with it.

No incidents at any of my other stops, aside from the fact that everyone wanted to get their greasy fingertips on it.

Not unexpectedly, everything worked as advertised. On the plane, I listened to music, watched a movie and did some reading. Perfect. I roamed the Internet and did my email pretty much everywhere. Sweet. If I had to sum it up, I’d say that iPad is one of those rare bits of technology that just makes you smile. So many things are right about it.

A few things I should highlight. First, typing on iPad is more than usable. It’s actually pretty good. I never warmed up to typing on iPhone, but doing email on iPad is a surprisingly happy experience.

Interestingly, the thing that felt most like the future of computing to me was our old friend, Safari. I never really thought about how much I had to mouse around a web page to navigate before — until I no longer had to do it. Directly tapping links with my finger was so natural, and so fast, by the time I got home iPad had become my favorite way to browse. The fact that I can do it anywhere is icing on the cake.

Last, I think the disappearing OS is one of Apple’s greatest accomplishments here. With iPad, you just do what you want to do. No OS to mess with, no file hierarchies to navigate. Why should an app even be able to see files it can’t open? iPad truly is the computer for the rest of us, and in time will probably become the computer for most of us.

Obviously, iPad is not the device to use for serious creating. But only a fraction of we earthlings create content, and only a fraction of the content creators do their creating on the road. Given my experience on this trip, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to recommend iPad to anyone as a mobile computer or, depending on your needs, even a laptop replacement. You barely notice it in your briefcase, the battery seems to last forever and it does all of its jobs beautifully.

Of course when I returned home I once again had to confront iPad’s horrendous flaw — the total disdain for privacy I mentioned in my previous post. I had to delete my email account, though I was able to keep my Address Book, Calendars and Bookmarks. I know it’s not Apple’s normal policy to acknowledge such deficiencies, but in this case I wish they’d just fess up and give us the plan. I’d cross my fingers for this week’s iPhone OS 4.0 event, though it’s hard to believe they’d schedule a fix one week after the product’s release.

But let’s not let one flaw rain on our parade. No doubt there will be many improvements to come, privacy included. As it stands, iPad is incredibly fun and incredibly useful. If you have a family, you may need more than one.

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