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Check Mate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move

radar.oreilly.com

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Re: Check Mate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move

#21

Post by CWuestefeld »

I thought this was awfully shallow by O'Reilly standards.

I didn't catch a single compelling reason that anyone should want to use this device, particularly in preference to iPod/iPhone or a larger netbook. A statement like

But the final bit of noteworthy, and compelling, good about iPad is that this just feels like the device that real people (read: non-techies) are going to flock to.

really doesn't come close to a real argument.

Also, the paragraph

the iPod and iPhone that came before it were truly revolutionary devices, offering wholly new functionality, delivering new value chains, and fundamentally changing the relationship that consumers had with, first their media ... and then their communications.

Seems incorrect to me. iPod was another MP3 player, of which we've had a zillion. iPhone, too, is just evolutionary, in its melding of phone + PDA; really, is it that much of a revolution to add a better UI (even if that UI is great by all accounts)?

And if it's this UI revolution (if it is one) that is going to carry this, then -- as the article admits -- it will do so by cannibalizing existing Apple customers. In that case, how does this affect Google's prospects at all?

Re: Check Mate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move

#23

Post by adolph »

Maybe the author intended to make more of a statement about Apple's emphasis on the relatively full featured operating system over Google's Chrome OS operating system as web browser host? The link at http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=1084725 expresses this better.

I'm pleased that Google is there to keep Apple working hard unlike Symbian, Mobile Linux and Microsoft. Checkmate? More like "please keep playing!"

Re: Check Mate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move

#24

Post by pchristensen »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #4

A good article, but I think it misses one important point: the eventual commoditization of devices like this. Apple's entire touch screen platform does look compelling for non-techs, but there will be a raft of very inexpensive similar devices hitting the market, and I still think that lower cost will win the most market share (eventually).

I wrote about this at my blog (http://www.pchristensen.com/blog/articles/a-closed-apple-pla...) but here's a quick recap.

Since technology advances faster than consumer demand, the differentiating factor for purchases changes over time. First it's possibility, then power/flexibility, then price, then convenience/usability. iPods and mp3 players got cheap enough that the usability of th iPod/iTunes Music Store became the deciding factor and there was no demand for undercutting it on price.

Also, the music use case is so well defined that there wasn't much room to compete on flexibility. PCs have miles and miles of flexibility, but by defining the role of the iPad as music, movies, books, and games (basically media consumption), it might be staking out a territory where it can outperform everyone rather than compete with commodity devices.

Re: Check Mate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move

#25

Post by briancooley »

scott_s wrote: post #17
briancooley wrote: post #12

It is weird to see "75,000,000 people already know how to use it" as a selling point for a device that is also sold as extremely intuitive to use.

An intuitive interface is one that is easy to learn - but it still requires learning. That people already know how to use it is orthogonal to how easy it is to learn to use.

While there are certainly many factors that go into determining the number of users who know how to use a device, orthogonal is a poor word for describing the relationship between people who know how to use the device and ease of learning. The two are definitely correlated, IMO.

Consider the extremes. Something that was impossible to learn would have zero users that know how to use it. Everyone would know how to use a device that required no learning.

It's this latter hypothetical to which the iPod/iPhone/iPad aspire. So why should Apple care to make the point that so many people already know how to use it?

After some thought (and I may be slow to the conclusion that everyone else has come to already), I think it is because they knew that "It's just a big iPod Touch" would be one of the main objections. This particular point about the 75MM users was an attempt to turn an aspect of the device that could be perceived as a big negative into a postive.

For me - the relatively uninitiated into the world of pitchmen - it's an interesting piece of marketing.

Re: Check Mate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move

#26

Post by CalmQuiet »

jakez wrote: post #2

"it is a product that is deeply personal to Steve Jobs, and I believe the final signature product on an amazing career." Kind of touching in an odd way. I will miss Steve Jobs when he retires from Apple.

As someone of Jobs' age I would be most pleased to discover that there are still some human/silicon interfaces waiting to be dramatically polished to someone's sense of perfection.

When someone else amasses both the will and the capital to achieve what Steve has then more power to 'em.

Re: Check Mate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next Move

#27

Post by stcredzero »

dgabriel wrote: post #16
stcredzero wrote: post #5

Similarly, while iPad lays clear Apple's ambition to pursue the e-book market aggressively (they demonstrated a nice iBooks player and added an iBook Store to complement the iTunes and App Store marketplaces), they demonstrated virtually nothing that harnesses the touch, tilt, rich media and programmatic elements that they can bring to the re-invention of print media. I'm looking forward to downloading and running th…

I have the kindle app, and it's not anywhere near as much fun to use as my actual Kindle. It's small, backlit, and slightly less comfortable and intuitive.

I also have the PC app on my old hp tc1100 tablet. I have to make Sure to keep my forearm vertical while holding it, but it works well for me.
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