Jake Bellacera developer, thinker, whatever

[Ramble] Apple’s new iPad and why you -might- care

"Gorgeous!"

As many of you know, Apple unveiled a new tablet PC, named iPad, to their existing product line. Many people are looking at it and going "what the hell is this?" It looks like a huge iPod Touch. If you thought that, you're almost completely right, except for the hasty generalization.

Yesterday, I was stuck in the library at my college watching a live feed of what was brewing at Apple's live press conference over a "new addition" to their product line. Sure enough, they started talking about a tablet, comparing to the hype and excitement from the intertubes over the past few months/years to the "Ten Commandments." Funny, yes, Apple is finally starting to catch on that they are the new gods of technology due to their interestingly loyal fans. Anyways, so they talked about a tablet and then pulled it out, calling it the iPad. While Jobs was demonstrating it, he obviously seemed more into it than the crowd because everything they talked about was not new, we have iPhones already, why give us a larger iPhone? Easy, the small screen is a pain in the ass and is good for quick reads, larger screens are helpful for longer durations, seeing more at once, etc. But, it's not all about reading, even though that's basically all you do on a computer anyways. After I saw the thing, I thought it was lame, laughed at the iTampon jokes and closed my laptop. Bummer, thought it was going to be something a little more "intuitive." Later in the day, Apple released the keynote on their website so we could actually see this thing in motion. It looked nice, smooth and vibrant. Read some more reviews from people who actually had the change to view it and they said it grows on you. Interestingly enough, I looked at it again, and over time I see possibilities for this device in everyday life. Like most people are saying, view it as an application, not a laptop—because it's not anything like a laptop.

Apple knows what you want

Face it, they do. Their marketing, design and engineering teams are incredible. They have it all, they make the chips, design the software and hardware, and even make the hype. How Apple markets themselves is pure genius, whether you like it or not. Jobs and Woz (along with Gates) are always used as examples for entrepreneurs. They know what they're doing and they make great products. Unfortunately, Apple loves to assume. They can't cater to niche markets, they want to grab the majority and break them into technology. Think of them as the Wii of computing, except with a touch of Marxism. What Apple wants to do is take over multiple technology-related markets by "converting" old Windows users to Apple users. I'm not saying this is wrong, but the whole fight between Windows and Mac users has been mostly because of this. Mostly. The iPad not only supports my point but reinforces it. It's a locked device, most people are complaining because it's not OSX based and it's similar to an iPhone with a 9.7" screen.

It's more than what you think

At first glance, you don't know what to think of it. No webcam? No flash? What kind of fucking device is this? It's a tool. You read, tweet, or whatever from the device. Hopefully developers take advantage of it and we could see it in more places than on your kitchen counter. Think of replacing backpacks, cash registers, etc. It's an interesting device with a plethora of possibilities and a huge amount of processing power to go along with it. The iPhone is an interesting approach but this will appeal to a bigger crowd with much more practical uses. Also, it's an eBook reader; you can read books and other cool stuff on it as well. With the inexpensive 3G and AT&T's 3G network expansion, we could see this included in many people's bags in the city. NYC? SF? Will go great with public transportation.

Personally speaking, I have respect for both Microsoft and Apple. I use a MacBook and I have my own PC (that I built...mind you) running Windows 7. Along with that, I have an iPhone and an Xbox 360. Now, I don't want to tell you what I have but I want you to understand where I am coming from.

So despite what many people are saying, I started to appreciate the device. Maybe it's because I'm looking at it from a developer's perspective, but it's going to be a game-changer for the Tablet PC market, that's for sure. </ramble>