The iPad has been much maligned since its announcement a few weeks ago. Everyone seems ready to second guess Apple on what critical features were left out. It seems that most professional analysts are afraid to endorse it because they’re worried what will happen if the iPad is not a success. I guess it is easier to find an excuse to why you were critical of a product that was successful then to explain why you endorsed a product that was a flop.
To me the question of whether or not the iPad is going to be a success comes down to a few simple questions: What would my family and I use it for and how is it different from other devices on the market today? I believe I am part of a large number of people uniquely qualified to answer this question because I own an iPhone, Kindle, and a really nice netbook.
Movies
We are probably not going to watch movies at home on this. We have a much larger hi definition television for that. However, I can definitely see us entertaining our children with this on Road trips. Our aftermarket DVD players in our vehicle are on their last leg and their seven inch screens are too hard to see from the back seat. Also, having the movies digitized and available on a device will save us the money of having to replace scratched DVD’s all the time. Although iPods can do the job as well, their screens are just not big enough to let multiple children share at the same time.
Web Browzing
If I am going to do some serious research, I will use a full size desktop computer. And when I say desktop, I mean my PC running Windows 7, the best OS on the planet. But when it comes to browzing the web during leisure times such as while relaxing in a chair or at night in bed, this device really makes sense. The instant on feature allows me to use it without waiting for it to boot, wake up, or log in like a netbook does. Also when not seated at a desk, netbooks are awkward and unweildy. The iPhone OS has proven itself on the iPhone as a very convenient tool for casual web browzing and now that the iPad has come around, it should be even better.
Reading
Both me and my wife were excited to get our Kindle (2nd Generation) a year ago. Its screen looks great in bright sunlight and its battery life is measured weeks instead of hours. So why did I quit using my Kindle when I got my iPhone? Because as much as I would like to claim otherwise, I don’t read my Kindle on the beach on bright sunny days. I usually find time to read at night. I use the Kindle app on my iPhone because it has a backlit screen and is just as easy to use. I can turn the light off and read while my wife gets some sleep or vice versa. The larger screen of the iPad will only make it better. However, I might continue using my Kindle app …we’ll see.
Music
iPods are the undisputed king of music. The iPad has full iPod functionality and if the speakers are good enough I could see my wife using it to do her irish dance when she is not at home. Otherwise we’ll stick with our iPhones.
Email
With email, I think this is a situation where the convenience and usuability of the iPad will allow us to use it in a more leisure way. We’ll be able to respond to email while sitting in a couch or in bed instead of seated at a desk. I expect my wife to use this as her primary email device while at home, and her iPhone while away. With the enhancements they have worked into the email application, this should be even better.
Gaming
I have discovered that the iPhone is a pretty decent gaming device. My kids and I are all addicted to Bloons TD, a tower defence game involving a never ending onslaught of balloons that must be popped. The flash PC version is more complicated and has more levels of strategy and so I cant wait until I see what kind of upgrade comes out with the iPad. The nice thing about gaming on the iPhone OS is that most games are very inexpensive. Since the iPhone OS has such an outstanding software distribution model (2.5 billion apps downloaded in 2009), it makes it a lot easier for game developers to charge less money to a larger audience. Also, we know that $.99 or $1.99 is so small an amount most people don’t think anything of it and are more likely to buy on an impulse. For me and my kids, it means spending less money on Wii and PC games.
Office Apps
My wife and I both write. Sometimes, you get the itch to write at night or during other leisure times, but you just don’t feel like sitting down at a desk. Since this device supports Apples new iWork platform, this provides a legitimate alternative to using a laptop in bed or on a couch. My wife thinks her words through carefully and doesn’t necessarily need to type fast while writing and so I don’t believe the virtual keyboard will be a problem. But the real advantage comes the next day when she can take the iPad to her desk and pick up where she left off with a dock and keyboard.
App Store
With access to the Apple App Store, there is no telling what other uses people will come up with for this device. I’m sure the best uses for this device are yet to be discovered. But with a device that is so portable, convenient and simple to operate, the potential is enormous.
When I think of all the ways that my family and I will use this device, I can’t think of a reason not to buy one. I don’t think I’m alone either.
Will the iPad kill the Netbook? Probably not, but it will do some major damage. Many people who own netbooks will need to execute software that requires a full version of Windows. But for the netbook people that just want to browse the web, send email and do social networking, most will eventually switch to the iPad. I personally spent almost $700 on my hp 2133, so I dont think price will hold them back.
Will the iPad kill the Kindle? No, but it will take a big chunk of its target market. People that read outdoors will stick to the Kindle. People who read mostly at night will probably switch to the iPad and take advantage of full color content.
For Apple, I’ll predict 8 million of these sell in the first 12 months. As for me, I’ll selling both my netbook and my Kindle on eBay.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
iPhone Breakthrough
When you get your first cell phone, it is a life altering experience. You are now connected. You can reach anyone you want anytime you want…if you can remember to charge your battery. But now cell phones have become so common place that it is increasingly being viewed as a necessity. Now people have moved beyond the basic cellular service and are experiencing the increased feature set of smartphones. The ability to be connected, not only by voice, but by data and the plethora of data services hosted on the cloud is truely a breakthough in mobile technology.
When I bought my first PDA, the Dell Axim, but ended up leaving it in my desk drawer I discovered that mobile technology wasn’t yet meant for primetime. Although it had many cool features, it was a second device I had to carry with me and it was just too awkward to use effectively in everyday life. After that experience, I resisted moving to a SmartPhone because although I recognized that mobile technology was necessary, it just wasn’t worth the hassle for mainstream America.
When the iPhone was released, I noticed a significant amount of industry buzz that flared up and it seemed as though many businesses were really taking SmartPhones more seriously. I think much of it was due to the fact that Blackberry and other device manufacterers such as HTC stepped up their game and started producing much higher quality devices.
Since my Sales Director used a Motorola Q, I decided to give it a try. At first, I was impressed with the Motorola Q’s features and capabilities. Although web browsing was very painful, the ability to stay in sync with my email was very nice. But as time wore on, I found that I used it less and less for email and with the keys being so small, I had trouble dialing phone numbers without hitting a wrong key a larger percentage of the time. In short, I found the Motorola Q to be a decent PDA, but a terrible phone. I went back to using a clamshell flip-phone from Samsung.
Then HTC came out with the Touch Pro. By then I had started looking into the iPhone but since I was a Microsoft fan, I didn’t seriously consider buying one, I just wanted to know what features Microsoft was behind on. I was impressed with HTC’s touch screen and navigation. I thought it was a little sad that HTC had to build a UI abstraction to make Windows Mobile more usable, but I thought hey, Microsoft will get this figured out, there just a bit behind.
The HTC Touch Pro was the first truely usable smartphone that I had ever used. It’s web browsing was a little painful because the zoom feature was a bit clunky, but I did use it. The email was usable and the large keyboard was great. For a while, I was really happy with it. But once again, as time rolled on, I found myself rarely checking my email with it. Although texting worked well enough, the UI just wasn’t friendly enough. And sometimes the navigation froze for several seconds while I was switching from doing one thing to another.
About this time, one of my employees showed me his iPhone, and I was anxious to show him how my HTC Touch Pro was superior. Although my phone had better technical specifications, his phone seemed so much simpler and so much easier to do common things. And although I was a Microsoft fan when it comes to their desktop, enterprise, and development technologies, I came to the conclusion that they missed the boat entirely when it came to mobile, and although HTC did a great job in trying to make up for it, they just couldn’t.
A few weeks later, I realized that I left my HTC phone on the airplane as I was leaving security, and they wouldn’t let me back in without a boarding pass. The airline’s office was closed for the night and after calling all week to see if it turned up, I knew someone had walked off with it for good. I decided to try the iPhone. At that time the iPhone 3G was the current model, but everyone expected a new version, so I went back to the Samsung until the 3Gs was released and bought one.
The most I had ever used my cell phone for anything other than calling was probably 20 min per day. Right off the bat, I realized that emailing, texting and web browsing took on a whole new level of usability. Returning email was a piece of cake as was texting. But the web browsing was unbelievable. Here at hh2 Web Services, we build web sites and the iPhone’s easy multi-touch pinch zooming capabilties made it easy to view the full size website and then effortlessly zoon the section you wanted a better look at or to read the text. There were a few occasions right off the bat where I someone called and referenced an email while I was out of the office and I was able to pull the email up during the call and respond to their questions.
Lets also not beat around the bush. I don’t just use my iPhone for business use. The iPod functionality is oustanding. My three year old daughter loves watching movies on it, especially the short films Pixar puts on the end of its DVD’s. Also, there is a thriving gaming industry with the iPhone. By looking in the App Store one day while I was bored waiting for my wifes turn to dance at an Irish dance feis, I discovered tower defence games. They involve much strategy and are very addictive.
The iPhone is definitely the most impressive and useful peice of hardware released in the past 15 years. It has accomplished what many before, and after, have not. It has brought the majority of things that a person uses his or her desktop or laptop for to a personal device that is small enough to fit in your pocket and useful enough that you wouldn’t go anywhere without it. Now, I never forget to charge my cell phone. Its just too important to forget.
When I bought my first PDA, the Dell Axim, but ended up leaving it in my desk drawer I discovered that mobile technology wasn’t yet meant for primetime. Although it had many cool features, it was a second device I had to carry with me and it was just too awkward to use effectively in everyday life. After that experience, I resisted moving to a SmartPhone because although I recognized that mobile technology was necessary, it just wasn’t worth the hassle for mainstream America.
When the iPhone was released, I noticed a significant amount of industry buzz that flared up and it seemed as though many businesses were really taking SmartPhones more seriously. I think much of it was due to the fact that Blackberry and other device manufacterers such as HTC stepped up their game and started producing much higher quality devices.
Since my Sales Director used a Motorola Q, I decided to give it a try. At first, I was impressed with the Motorola Q’s features and capabilities. Although web browsing was very painful, the ability to stay in sync with my email was very nice. But as time wore on, I found that I used it less and less for email and with the keys being so small, I had trouble dialing phone numbers without hitting a wrong key a larger percentage of the time. In short, I found the Motorola Q to be a decent PDA, but a terrible phone. I went back to using a clamshell flip-phone from Samsung.
Then HTC came out with the Touch Pro. By then I had started looking into the iPhone but since I was a Microsoft fan, I didn’t seriously consider buying one, I just wanted to know what features Microsoft was behind on. I was impressed with HTC’s touch screen and navigation. I thought it was a little sad that HTC had to build a UI abstraction to make Windows Mobile more usable, but I thought hey, Microsoft will get this figured out, there just a bit behind.
The HTC Touch Pro was the first truely usable smartphone that I had ever used. It’s web browsing was a little painful because the zoom feature was a bit clunky, but I did use it. The email was usable and the large keyboard was great. For a while, I was really happy with it. But once again, as time rolled on, I found myself rarely checking my email with it. Although texting worked well enough, the UI just wasn’t friendly enough. And sometimes the navigation froze for several seconds while I was switching from doing one thing to another.
About this time, one of my employees showed me his iPhone, and I was anxious to show him how my HTC Touch Pro was superior. Although my phone had better technical specifications, his phone seemed so much simpler and so much easier to do common things. And although I was a Microsoft fan when it comes to their desktop, enterprise, and development technologies, I came to the conclusion that they missed the boat entirely when it came to mobile, and although HTC did a great job in trying to make up for it, they just couldn’t.
A few weeks later, I realized that I left my HTC phone on the airplane as I was leaving security, and they wouldn’t let me back in without a boarding pass. The airline’s office was closed for the night and after calling all week to see if it turned up, I knew someone had walked off with it for good. I decided to try the iPhone. At that time the iPhone 3G was the current model, but everyone expected a new version, so I went back to the Samsung until the 3Gs was released and bought one.
The most I had ever used my cell phone for anything other than calling was probably 20 min per day. Right off the bat, I realized that emailing, texting and web browsing took on a whole new level of usability. Returning email was a piece of cake as was texting. But the web browsing was unbelievable. Here at hh2 Web Services, we build web sites and the iPhone’s easy multi-touch pinch zooming capabilties made it easy to view the full size website and then effortlessly zoon the section you wanted a better look at or to read the text. There were a few occasions right off the bat where I someone called and referenced an email while I was out of the office and I was able to pull the email up during the call and respond to their questions.
Lets also not beat around the bush. I don’t just use my iPhone for business use. The iPod functionality is oustanding. My three year old daughter loves watching movies on it, especially the short films Pixar puts on the end of its DVD’s. Also, there is a thriving gaming industry with the iPhone. By looking in the App Store one day while I was bored waiting for my wifes turn to dance at an Irish dance feis, I discovered tower defence games. They involve much strategy and are very addictive.
The iPhone is definitely the most impressive and useful peice of hardware released in the past 15 years. It has accomplished what many before, and after, have not. It has brought the majority of things that a person uses his or her desktop or laptop for to a personal device that is small enough to fit in your pocket and useful enough that you wouldn’t go anywhere without it. Now, I never forget to charge my cell phone. Its just too important to forget.
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