Nikki Baird

Apple's iPad: Magical, Revolutionary and Cheap (Really)

January 28, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Now, Apple is out front with a new item that apparently it has no lack of superlatives to describe. However, the claim that may resonate with most consumers is low price. What do you think of Apple's new iPad?      [more...]

Well, my household is almost 100% Mac at this point, and I really want one. I've been tempted by netbooks and I've been tempted by eReaders, but this should give me the best of both (hopefully). But PC World identified some things the iPad is missing that do have me worried. Most especially the lack of multi-tasking, the lack of support for Adobe Flash, and the lack of a camera (not on the back, but on the front for iChat, etc.). The one they didn't mention that also concerns me is that I have to either learn how to use iWorks, or hope that Microsoft rolls out Office apps in the app store--honestly, for all I know they may already be there, but I can tell you I'm not real keen to learn iWorks just to edit a Powerpoint file.

Hopefully, this will evolve significantly to be able to be my laptop away from my laptop. But honestly, for not much more than a Kindle, I know I can get not just books but all kinds of digital media, not to mention leveraging all the movies and music I already have through iTunes. If that's the extent of the value of the iPad, it'd still be worth the money in my book. Everything beyond that will be bonus.

Now, the next question is, what does this mean for retailers if all of a sudden there are a slew of customers walking around with a new device, tied yet again to iTunes, and just waiting for a WiFi connection? Unless you're in the media business, I'm not sure that the impact is necessarily profound. However, one thing I know for certain: there will be consumers who figure out a way to incorporate the iPad and its fast followers into their lives in a way that will surprise retailers and force the industry to think in new ways to keep up. That has been true of almost every single innovation in consumer tech to-date.