NET RESULTS: While some 300,000 early-adopters raced to buy Apple's new device, later versions will no doubt be even better
WHEN I head out to California soon, one of my first stops is going to be the Apple store in Palo Alto. To have a look at the iPad, of course.
With the usual buckets of hype for a new Apple device, the iPad went on sale to American consumers on Saturday, but Apple still has not said when it will be available in Ireland. That means it is likely its release here will lag behind its UK debut in coming weeks.
Hence, the US visit will be my first chance to handle one – but, as I will explain, I will not buy it.
Coverage of the launch was eager, with over 6,000 articles listed on Google News by Tuesday. Sales came in at the higher end of what analysts had initially predicted in advance of the launch, but lower than what some had said in revised predictions after many stores saw hundreds of people lining up to get the device.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak did an overnighter in front of one of the Silicon Valley stores himself.
In the end, about 300,000 units were sold, according to Apple. This figure was pretty much in accordance with analyst expectations. Upwardly revised estimates of up to 700,000 devices by Piper Jaffray proved wishful thinking, though.
I was intrigued that sales figures exceeded the iPhone’s launch sales of 270,000, and the iPhone was riding the crest of an even bigger hype wave. As with other groundbreaking, category-changing Apple devices such as the iPod, iPhone sales have seen a slow but steady build towards domination of their niche. I predict the same will hold true for the iPad, which has to educate and pull users into an entirely new category of device.
The general feedback has been positive and full of excitement. A roster of big name technology journalists given early access to the device came in with overwhelmingly praising reports.
There have also been some post-launch glitches and frustrations, most to do with poor WiFi reception.
There is also some annoyance with the well-publicised limitations of the device – the lack of flash support, the inability to do two things at the same time (multitask), and the lack of a built-in camera or a USB port.
For all these reasons, I want the chance to play around with an iPad, but I won’t be buying one – not yet. I’d prefer to wait for the dust to settle and for any problems to be resolved before I plonk down my credit card.
Also, my early-adopter lust is far outweighed by my wariness about purchasing the first iteration of anything.
Buy the first version and, while you get the glory of having the toy before everyone else, you also get the limitations of both hardware and software that come with Gadget 1.0. I have no doubt that many of the issues and want lists cited by reviewers and users will be addressed in future releases.
But I am sure I will eventually be buying one. Why? Because I strongly believe the iPad will ignite a new category of devices, somewhere between touchscreen mobile phones like the iPhone or Google’s android handsets, and the larger functionality (and bulk) of a laptop.
I think there’s a latent demand for something new to occupy a media consumption slot. That is in essence what an iPad is – it patently is not a tablet computer with full computer functionality. But it brings in enough basic functionality to be a “laptop lite”, while by all accounts, offering an amazing way to do the things we increasingly use our laptops for – browsing, reading, watching, listening and playing games.
In coming years, we will view the period in which we used desktops and laptops to do these things to be as quaint and cumbersome as when voice communications were limited to a tethered landline plugged into a wall inside a building.
For a generation that has grown up with mobile phones that slide into a pocket, the notion must be bizarre that at one time you had to be physically in a room with a ringing phone attached to a wall to answer it, or you’d miss the call entirely.
A computer is a clumsy device for surfing the web, reading documents, checking e-mail, listening to music, watching a film or perusing a book. It makes sense to do all these things on smaller, thinner, lighter and more portable devices that place a premium on viewing quality and the user interface.
The signs are already there. The fact that one-quarter of a million e-books were purchased from Apple’s iPad store this weekend alone, when even two years ago e-books were seen to be a stagnant category, indicates that people are rethinking how they want to interact with even the most basic, old-fashioned media categories. They will pay extra for a device that can do many things rather than simply be used for reading books alone.
I can’t wait to get an hour or two with an iPad. I firmly believe that will be an hour or two spent with the future.
Klillington@irishtimes.com
Blog: Techno-culture.com
Twitter: Twitter.com/klillington
