“Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.” (Martin Peers, Apple’s Hard to Swallow Tablet published on the Wall Street Journal)
It has been barely over 24 hours since Apple unveiled its much anticipated "iPad" and people are already blogging about it. In this site alone there has already been a couple of mentions, namely Krizelle's and Mark's. The merits and demerits of the iPad is a hotly contested topic, blogs are being written left and right about it (the iPad occupied 4 slots in twitter's trending topics and is still a trending topic in yahoo), and with the event eclipsing even President Barack Obama himself even eclipsing Barack Obama himself and the State of the Union address, I feel like jumping into the fray to give my 2 centavos.
After reading several articles/blogs about the iPad which either praise and proclaim it as the greatest thing since sliced bread or bash it as a useless contraption, this much is obvious: the iPad is here and here to stay. Its arrival has sent a powerful signal to its competitors that once again, the industry is going to play by Apple's rules. Even before the iPad's official announcement, competitors have already released prototypes of their own version of the tablet PC with little impact. Now, with the release of the iPad, companies are likewise adjusting their software and hardware to be compatible with the device. It's ironic that the tablet PC, a device that's been around since the 1990s has suddenly become important simply because Apple decided to make one - again.
Many detractors are in uproar over the iPad's 'missing' hardware and software features, its price points, mostly standard fare when it comes to Apple products. Defenders of the iPad are just as passionate about its virtues, proclaiming it as a device that will challenge the dominance of, if not demolish the robust netbook, ebook reader, and mobile computing industries. Since the return of Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple products have transcended its small cult following to become a juggernaut and game changer in the music player, mobile computing and smartphone industries. So it's highly likely that the iPad will be the Jesus tablet people have been waiting for - and here's why.
Critics - mostly techies and experts, comprise a very small percentage of the consumer base Apple's been building it's products for. Their depth of knowledge and level of expertise tend to narrow their view of the tablet from a highly technical standpoint, as a fellow tech critic pointed out. Moreover, their myopic vision tends to focus on what the iPad isn't, rather than what it could be. Messianic expectations of what the iPad can deliver, compounded by the hype leading to its release add fuel to the fire.
Two things can be said of Apple's approach to its products - the first is the attention to detail and an iconic look and feel to each device. The second is that Apple products are deceptively simple but powerful, and revolutionary on so many levels.
Apple's technical and design choices easily indicate that the iPad was made with the future of mobile computing in mind. Given Apple's dominance of the industry in recent years, and its sheer impact on its competitors, it's clear that it's Apple calling the shots.
The iPad in its simplicity may seem like a glorified iPhone and iPod Touch hybrid. At the heart of it, however, is an intuitive user interface and an ecosystem that is both friendly to consumers and developers alike. With more than 140,000 apps on the App Store, we can expect exponential software development that promises even more groundbreaking apps designed to enhance the iPad experience. The iBooks app and the iBookstore similarly portend a future of digital books and newspapers replacing traditional print media - saving the world millions of trees in the process. The evolved iPhone OS on the iPad boasts of powerful apps that are easy to use and the inclusion of iWork (the Apple equivalent of MS-Office), a suite of productivity apps opens up new possibilities of content creation on top of media consumption.
Given the lather that the internet has worked itself into leading up to the unveiling of the iPad, it's not hard to see how and why some people feel underwhelmed and disappointed about it (people haven't learned that if we overhype something or someone, it will end up falling far short of our impossible expectations no matter how great and brilliant a person/thing is - Pres. Obama and the iPad). If we can just change our perspective a bit - move on from the what it is not, what it should be phase and just accept that it's here already and focus on where we might be able to use it and with what activities it may help us, we may be able to see it the way Apple sees it - a revolutionary device that is simple and affordable enough to find its way into various applications in many industries and professions and powerful and practical enough to change the way we live and how we do things.
Here are some scenarios: In the classroom, it can function as a tool for education - for both teachers and students alike. Students especially the young kids won't have to punish their backs carrying massive books and notebooks in their backpacks as the iPad can replace both. Design related professions such as architecture, engineering and the like will be able to use the iPad for presentations, concept building and execution. Health care professionals can use it for records (holding iPads as charts), diagnoses and post operation analyses. Those into Marketing and Sales can also use it to effectively advertise their products and offer a kind of interaction that cannot be achieved with mere brochures or flyers. For law students and lawyers, imagine having all the complete set of SCRA in your iPad and reading straight from there and not having to buy a highlighter ever again! Apart from that you can also make notes, and draft pleadings on the go, perhaps even draft contracts and use it for evidentiary purposes (best evidence). Even in law enforcement, perhaps a camera (one of the missing components of the iPad), handwriting recognition and an optional stylus will help document and transmit, say, images of a vehicular accident, draft a police blotter on the spot of the accident and notify other police stations of vital information. These are only a few scenarios which came to mind. There are, of course, other uses which we cannot even begin to imagine right now - the possibilities are endless (If you guys have other great ideas please feel free to comment). The bottomline is this: the iPad (love it or hate it) represents the future of computers and though it is not as groundbreaking to some - yet, it cannot be discounted that it has the potential to be exactly that, groundbreaking.
(photos from Macworld.com)
Entry no.9
It has been barely over 24 hours since Apple unveiled its much anticipated "iPad" and people are already blogging about it. In this site alone there has already been a couple of mentions, namely Krizelle's and Mark's. The merits and demerits of the iPad is a hotly contested topic, blogs are being written left and right about it (the iPad occupied 4 slots in twitter's trending topics and is still a trending topic in yahoo), and with the event eclipsing even President Barack Obama himself even eclipsing Barack Obama himself and the State of the Union address, I feel like jumping into the fray to give my 2 centavos.
After reading several articles/blogs about the iPad which either praise and proclaim it as the greatest thing since sliced bread or bash it as a useless contraption, this much is obvious: the iPad is here and here to stay. Its arrival has sent a powerful signal to its competitors that once again, the industry is going to play by Apple's rules. Even before the iPad's official announcement, competitors have already released prototypes of their own version of the tablet PC with little impact. Now, with the release of the iPad, companies are likewise adjusting their software and hardware to be compatible with the device. It's ironic that the tablet PC, a device that's been around since the 1990s has suddenly become important simply because Apple decided to make one - again.
Many detractors are in uproar over the iPad's 'missing' hardware and software features, its price points, mostly standard fare when it comes to Apple products. Defenders of the iPad are just as passionate about its virtues, proclaiming it as a device that will challenge the dominance of, if not demolish the robust netbook, ebook reader, and mobile computing industries. Since the return of Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple products have transcended its small cult following to become a juggernaut and game changer in the music player, mobile computing and smartphone industries. So it's highly likely that the iPad will be the Jesus tablet people have been waiting for - and here's why.
Critics - mostly techies and experts, comprise a very small percentage of the consumer base Apple's been building it's products for. Their depth of knowledge and level of expertise tend to narrow their view of the tablet from a highly technical standpoint, as a fellow tech critic pointed out. Moreover, their myopic vision tends to focus on what the iPad isn't, rather than what it could be. Messianic expectations of what the iPad can deliver, compounded by the hype leading to its release add fuel to the fire.
Two things can be said of Apple's approach to its products - the first is the attention to detail and an iconic look and feel to each device. The second is that Apple products are deceptively simple but powerful, and revolutionary on so many levels.
Apple's technical and design choices easily indicate that the iPad was made with the future of mobile computing in mind. Given Apple's dominance of the industry in recent years, and its sheer impact on its competitors, it's clear that it's Apple calling the shots.
The iPad in its simplicity may seem like a glorified iPhone and iPod Touch hybrid. At the heart of it, however, is an intuitive user interface and an ecosystem that is both friendly to consumers and developers alike. With more than 140,000 apps on the App Store, we can expect exponential software development that promises even more groundbreaking apps designed to enhance the iPad experience. The iBooks app and the iBookstore similarly portend a future of digital books and newspapers replacing traditional print media - saving the world millions of trees in the process. The evolved iPhone OS on the iPad boasts of powerful apps that are easy to use and the inclusion of iWork (the Apple equivalent of MS-Office), a suite of productivity apps opens up new possibilities of content creation on top of media consumption.
Given the lather that the internet has worked itself into leading up to the unveiling of the iPad, it's not hard to see how and why some people feel underwhelmed and disappointed about it (people haven't learned that if we overhype something or someone, it will end up falling far short of our impossible expectations no matter how great and brilliant a person/thing is - Pres. Obama and the iPad). If we can just change our perspective a bit - move on from the what it is not, what it should be phase and just accept that it's here already and focus on where we might be able to use it and with what activities it may help us, we may be able to see it the way Apple sees it - a revolutionary device that is simple and affordable enough to find its way into various applications in many industries and professions and powerful and practical enough to change the way we live and how we do things.
Here are some scenarios: In the classroom, it can function as a tool for education - for both teachers and students alike. Students especially the young kids won't have to punish their backs carrying massive books and notebooks in their backpacks as the iPad can replace both. Design related professions such as architecture, engineering and the like will be able to use the iPad for presentations, concept building and execution. Health care professionals can use it for records (holding iPads as charts), diagnoses and post operation analyses. Those into Marketing and Sales can also use it to effectively advertise their products and offer a kind of interaction that cannot be achieved with mere brochures or flyers. For law students and lawyers, imagine having all the complete set of SCRA in your iPad and reading straight from there and not having to buy a highlighter ever again! Apart from that you can also make notes, and draft pleadings on the go, perhaps even draft contracts and use it for evidentiary purposes (best evidence). Even in law enforcement, perhaps a camera (one of the missing components of the iPad), handwriting recognition and an optional stylus will help document and transmit, say, images of a vehicular accident, draft a police blotter on the spot of the accident and notify other police stations of vital information. These are only a few scenarios which came to mind. There are, of course, other uses which we cannot even begin to imagine right now - the possibilities are endless (If you guys have other great ideas please feel free to comment). The bottomline is this: the iPad (love it or hate it) represents the future of computers and though it is not as groundbreaking to some - yet, it cannot be discounted that it has the potential to be exactly that, groundbreaking.
(photos from Macworld.com)
Entry no.9
2 comments:
yihee. promoting Ipad. :)
But is it available in RP yet?
eh si gordon nga wants all public schools to have the amazon kindle. what say you to that? hehe. sayang, kakabili ko lang ng netbook. after four years ulit, if uso ang tablet, bibili na ako nun.
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