Integrated Casual Computing on the Apple iPad
This is a guest post written by Brenton Lyle, Senior Gaming Consultant at Interpret LLC. To give some context, Brenton gave me permission to publish an email he wrote to my office in response to an article sent to our listserv: Who will buy the iPad? I thought the points he made were strong, well articulated and pretty funny, so it would have been a waste if it just ended up in my Outlook Deleted Items.
I think it’s important to look past the day-one reaction of the tech-savvy internet commenter crowd; they’ve proven historically to be impossible to please without creating a product that’s doomed to failure (I imagine a quad-core, Linux-based, open-source tablet with seventeen USB outs and three HDMIs, all for $32 (or $2000), might have had a chance of avoiding the ire of the self-declared gadget elite).
The iPad may succeed or fail, but I think it’s important to know what it is Apple is actually trying to accomplish (conceptually, that is; shareholder value is the literal goal, of course). Jobs decided that room exists for a gadget with a new set of uses – uses you don’t yet realize that you’ll enjoy. If they’re right, this will go next to “Put Arm & Hammer in your fridge” as another famous example of expanding your market by introducing new consumption habits. Do you browse the internet on your couch, or check your email while eating cereal? You don’t, yet*, but Apple is hoping you’ll enjoy doing it.
Jobs said in his presentation that they’re filling the space between phones and laptops. That is actually a simplification of what they’re attempting (it was too obtuse to describe on stage during the introduction). They’ve identified an entirely new type of web-connected, technology-enabled media consumption, that is neither mobile, nor full laptop computing. The whole thing gets confused, however, when one (correctly) points out that a number of devices are already capable of doing these things. The obvious comparisons that spring most readily to mind are the iPhone and netbooks, but the key to the iPad is the fact that these devices were never intended for this type of “casual computing”, nor are they particularly well suited for it, the same way that your daily-driver car can roam the open plains and explore dirt trails, but isn’t exactly optimized for the task.**
This is illustrated below:
The space between mobile and laptop computing
The famous “Blue Ocean Strategy” article (I believe Kim Mauborgne wrote it) said (paraphrasing) that you’re more likely to succeed if you figure out how to sidestep your competitors, rather than beating them in yesterday’s marketplace. Nintendo demonstrated this so soundly with the Wii—woefully underpowered, laughable graphics, and a wildly unconventional and untested control scheme—that Sony executives still cry themselves to sleep 35% of the time. Apple is attempting the same thing with the iPad: cater to an entirely new type of computer use with a device that isn’t a phone, or a computer, or any combination of the two.
People are getting hung up on the fact that, with regard to technical specifications, it is by definition (and parts vendors) a combination of the two: capacitive touchscreen (mobile), A4 processor (computer), icon-based homescreen UI (mobile), etc. But attacking the iPad because of its specifications is like lambasting the Wii because it lacked the 8-cell processor of the Playstation 3: you’ve missed the point.
* If you said “yes”, you’re likely among the netbook hyper-minority, probably hate the iPad, and have likely already written a few comments online about it. You are not actually the market for this device, and I have it on good authority that Steve Jobs hopes you spill cereal on your netbook.
** If you drive an off-road SUV in Los Angeles, we cannot guarantee that people aren’t laughing at you in the Whole Foods parking lot.
Brenton can be contacted directly at brenton.lyle@interpretllc.com.
I agree with you, the potential for this device to continue the consumption metamorphosis begun with iTunes and iPod, is significant. As a loyal Kindle owner (yes, I also drive a SUV), I’m very intrigued by the iPad because while I’ve enjoyed “e” reading, I find myself complaining more often lately about what I wish it had that it doesn’t. I feel bad for Jeff Bezos whose legacy is ruined….;-)
I’m curious to see the iPad’s effect on netbook and macbook sales. My Powerbook is almost 5 years old, so I’m considering an upgrade to a new system, but I don’t know which combination of devices is ideal for me yet. I thought I’d just get a new macbook, but the more I thought about it, I realized that I really treat my laptop like a desktop. It sits on my desk at least 95% of the time because I don’t like typing with it in my lap because it’s awkward and I don’t like carrying it around too much in case I drop it or it gets stolen. Now I’m considering an iMac instead of a macbook because I think the iPad will fill my casual browsing and gaming needs (also interested in the iMac to watch video on a nicer screen in my room). I get frustrated with the amount of text that can fit on the screen of the iPhone. It’s a perfect screen for tweets, but not for reading articles on Safari. I even know some people who read eBooks on their iPhone, but I think the screen is way too small for that. I do wish they made a screen for the iPad that was easier on my eyes though. I was 20/20 through my last exam when I was 21, but they’re definitely worse now and I’m pretty sure I need glasses.
Hi, my name is Zak and I have an addiction.
Hi Zak, thanks for sharing your addiction! Good point about laptops actually being desktops in terms of their use. It would be interesting to see how most people use their laptops? Personally, I don’t like the heat that is generated when I use my laptop “in my lap” which deters me from using it in bed to watch programming. I’ll be curious to see how the iPad addresses this challenge as I’m also thinking the iPad will serve my reading, gaming, casual browsing and video watching needs.
Yes, Nintendo hit big with Wii. People couldn’t figure out what to do with it, and when it finally came out people thought “why didn’t we do it before?”
In iPad’s case, people are saying “yeah, we’ve seen that before – though it will be big.” I think people who think they already know what iPad is about will be shocked by the real usages – they will be wild. I believe Apple created a real PLATFORM as opposed to a device (which they used to do in the past). People still associate iPad with the latter, but I am betting that soon we will be using iPad the way almost nobody has imagined.
Your post on the apple ipad is super . Keep us updated on more ipad news take care
An fascinating concept this. I’m 1 of those men and women whom tend to wait for things to mature prior to taking action but in this case I’m mindful that inaction leads to only failures so I will heed your comments and begin to do anything about it.