Is the iPad the start of a tablet revolution?
On 27th January, Apple’s Steve Jobs unveiled the company’s latest product offering, the Apple iPad. The announcement brought months of speculation and rumours to a close, and what was unveiled stayed in line with the majority of predictions. The iPad is a competitor to other Tablet PCs currently available on the market. But rather than bring the traditional desktop OS to a smaller device, Apple have chosen to take their mobile iPhone OS, and bring it up to a larger device. This difference in approach by Apple could be a key factor in deciding the fate of these Tablet devices.
Historically, Tablet PCs have seen limited adoption outside of niche business areas. Their expense and unconventional interface has not caught the imagination of the general public. Apple is trying to change this. Firstly, by basing the device around the iPhone experience, they’re instantly making the iPad accessible to a large number of existing users. But secondly, by focusing heavily on the price, ranging from $499 to $829, they are making a once expensive and exclusive piece of kit more affordable for the mass market.
So, in its current form, what can you actually do on an iPad? The device is based around a variation of the iPhone operating system, meaning a lot of the functionality you would expect on the iPhone has carried across to the larger 9.7” device. But Apple has redesigned almost every application in the process, optimising them for the extra screen real estate available. Web browsing, email, music, photos, contacts, calendars; the list goes on.
The new application on the block is iBook, an application for reading electronic books directly on the device. Built into this is a book store, where users can easily buy new books directly on the device. This puts dedicated eBook readers such as Amazon’s Kindle in an awkward position. Why would a user buy a device that can only do one thing, read books, when an iPad can do that and a lot more? That’s a good question, and one we’ll have to watch closely.
The most interesting aspect of the iPad is that fact that it takes the multi-touch technology features in the iPhone, and opens it up to a larger, more powerful device. In turn, this has allowed Apple to redesign all their applications to make better use of finger based input. And as part of this, they’ve introduced new user interface elements that take better advantage of this relatively new input technology. Looking at the device from that point of view gives us a glimpse into a possible direction for desktop PCs in the future. The iPad is the first multi-touch device that could be truly productive, and the inclusion of keyboard dock accessories make it a machine that could well replace a desktop or laptop PC in some homes. How other PC manufacturers respond to this in developing their own Tablet devices will likely rely on Microsoft. It will be interesting to see Microsoft’s response, and whether they deem it necessary to begin development of a dedicated Tablet PC OS in order to compete.
Whether or not Tablet PCs, the iPad included, can find their place in the market, sitting somewhere between mobile phone and laptop, remains to be seen. And there remain a lot of unanswered questions about the iPad. Will the general public, and businesses buy it in sufficient numbers to make it successful. Can it truly be a workhorse for productivity that could replace a laptop or desktop PC? When the device launches in March/April time, we may get the answer to some of these questions.
Paul
