My Thoughts On the iPad in 2010

For the iPad’s three year anniversary I’m not going to dwell on the thoughts of those that didn’t understand it back then (many of them still don’t), but these were my thoughts…

What always amazes me isn’t the [Apple] bashers’ lack of vision or imagination, or their misreading of the target market… or having learned nothing from previous Apple products’ successes… No, it’s the complete lack of originality in their arguments. I mean, it’s been 25 years since the Macintosh and they’re still calling Apple’s products “toys”

Dear Apple iPad Haters: Please Get A Grip (And A Thesaurus)

Touch devices need that input method close to their core, and an API to back it up. That’s why the iPad will be an incredible hit while tablet PCs will continue to fail, no matter what flavor of Windows you slap on them.

The Windows XP, Vista, or 7 UI Is the Tablet PC’s Biggest Weakness

I can’t understand how anybody can watch the videos for Keynote, Pages and Numbers and claim the iPad is “just a big iPod touch”. This device is going to change everything.

Apple iPad Guided Tour Videos: Don’t Tell Me This Can’t Do Serious Work

Right now the iPad is one-of-a-kind, no matter how many pundits blather about “tablets” having been around for 10 years. Those are laptops running a desktop OS with the keyboard snapped off. You don’t build the new paradigm with the old paradigm’s thinking.

iPad alternatives? Only if you stretch the meaning of “alternative”

However, I believe the fact that [the iPad] performs respectably for [some pundits] means it can be a laptop replacement for millions of non-geeks. They just don’t know it yet.

The iPad as a productivity tool

The result is the first and only practical tablet computer.… Apple rightly deserves credit for building what makes sense now, and not chasing failed “visions” from yesterday.

Microsoft: Getting tablet PCs wrong since 2002

Remember when tech pundits used to lead the charge for change, and get excited about new, powerful technologies that made things easier for non-technicians? Yeah, me neither.

What can we learn from the “moderated” Windows SuperSite blog?

increasingly, [iOS] is becoming “mainstream”. By this, I mean there’s less concern in the mind of the average consumer that a purely touch interface can work. No more garbage about how the screen will get too oily, you can’t use a software keyboard, etc. Put simply, the paradigm shift from keyboard/mouse to touch screen—at least for tasks most consumers do—is less of a question. As more and more consumers understand this, iPad sales will continue to roll.

What Sales of Two Million iPads Can Tell Us

It’s this [desktop OS] confusion that a touch OS simplifies. It isn’t just about touch, but about removing the complications of GUIs that have accrued over the years. To me, when I use the iPad I see something with current faults (just as the GUI had faults in the beginning), but it’s clear to me that every computer will eventually work this way.

Every Computer Will Work This Way

The tablet form factor is going to be huge. I’m already on record that it’s how “all” computers will work someday, and I don’t think critical mass will take as long as the GUI did, which is apparently what Forrester is expecting.

Forrester Research: Tablets Will Only Steal Sales From… Desktops?

omg this sucks

That’s TechCrunch’s conclusion on the HP Dreamscreen “computer”, “tablet”, or whatever-it-is device.

Watch the video review. This is a truly awful machine. The reviewer went so far as to say the only good thing about it was the box it came in. Ouch!

Dell Unveils a Tablet PC. But Why?

Dell unveiled a tablet PC, but I’m puzzled as to why they’d do this.

From a specs perspective it fits in nicely with what one would expect based on the 50 or 60 tablet PCs sold so far. A 12” screen, finger and tablet input, swivel screen so you can use a keyboard, relatively small and light, etc. Oh, and expensive, don’t forget expensive. But the whole thing puzzles me.

Consider that Dell is on a slow spiral downward. Is making an expensive niche product the way to go here? I can understand the One (disappointing though it is), but a tablet?

Tablet PCs have a very narrow market. They’re somewhat popular in the medical industry, and a few others, but you don’t see them too many places. In any case, it’s usually a pretty vertical app being used to take advantage of them. Besides, does anyone think Windows Vista is the best tablet OS? I mean, are you kidding me?!

If you want my opinion (and since you’re reading my site you’re gonna get it whether you want it or not) Dell is doing this partially because they’ve heard enough rumors about Apple doing it that they’re trying to beat Apple to the punch. They’re trying to “steal” a rumor, and introduce theirs a month before Apple does at Macworld (if the rumors are true).

I think Dell is nuts, but I also think Apple would be nuts if they introduced a conventional tablet PC. Luckily, I believe Jobs knows the tablet market is too small to go after, even though Apple has a better OS for tablets.

I do believe that at least one new laptop, whether redesigned MacBooks or MacBook Pros, or a new ultra-portable, is pretty likely at Macworld, but not a tablet. At least not a conventional one like Dell has done here.

I think the iPhone and OS X have shown the beginnings of what great things Apple could do with an unconventional tablet PC. By “unconventional”, I mean one that wouldn’t have to be so specialized. Something that wouldn’t require such vertical apps, so regular people could find practical uses for it right out of the box. But I just don’t think Apple is there yet. Get 6-12 months of iPhone SDK development in 2008, and see how many of those apps and ideas will translate well to a larger form factor. Then you have reasons for a tablet that would appeal much more broadly.

Until then, Apple’s not sitting idle because they’ll be making continual improvements to Multi-Touch for the iPhone. In essence, Apple’s “tablet OS” was introduced first on a smaller device, where it was immediately usable, while it continues to mature for utilization in a larger device when the time, and practical applications, make sense.