Macs new Concept

[mrbeuys]

I can go into it in detail, but it may bore people :)

Not me, do go on...

[ronin]

*the other issue is that if you're the sort of person who reads tech blogs and writes posts about what the iPad is missing then already you're not the target market anyway

That's for sure, but I have trouble seeing what the target market exactly is in this case. I understand that several people can each find a specific utility to the object (reading, music controller), but that's a bit weird and weak in terms of marketing in my opinion. I don't understand what core need it meets, or create (except for the hype, but is that enough?).

[pierce]

Its good to watch this google tech talk by Professor Barry Schwartz if you haven't read his book "The Paradox of Choice - Why More is Less".

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6127548813950043200&ei=EshoS5D8GIOm-AayvpHgDg&q=professor+barry+schwartz#

[fenrost]

That's for sure, but I have trouble seeing what the target market exactly is in this case. I understand that several people can each find a specific utility to the object (reading, music controller), but that's a bit weird and weak in terms of marketing in my opinion. I don't understand what core need it meets, or create (except for the hype, but is that enough?).

for the igeeks.

[ronin]

Its good to watch this google tech talk by Professor Barry Schwartz if you haven't read his book "The Paradox of Choice - Why More is Less".

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arry+schwartz#

I read the book a few years ago for my product conception class, but I had never seen the conference, it was nice watching it. It's an interesting, relevant and easily understandable theory, but I remember struggling to determine the peak position, the right amount of choices and the right amount of options (not absolutely correlated) for a certain product. The tree solution proposed in the tech talk is interesting but only applicable in interactive environments, and requires control of space disposition (virtual or real). Another solution is to allow the customer to create his own choice for a certain option (a client of ours, whose clients have the possibility to require their own seat coverings, for example, aside from the limited standard options proposed), but it's not always possible, you need to have a very limited number of clients and a permanent control over every step of production, plus some massive product lifecycle management tools. Have you heard of any theories on how to determine this limit? Even in a certain specific field, I'm interested in learning more about this.

Anyway, in this ipad, it seems obvious capability overpowers usability. But more important, capability doesn't even impress me, or attract me for that matter. I get it's targeted to igeeks, but is this market that consistent? really?

[fenrost]

i dont quite follow these gadgets myself, as said, it might succeed or fail, we will see. everything starts from a small market, they can grow. and all will depends on how these small market use them and make them important.

maybe down 3-4 years IF they are still around, more relevant than ever, i will just hop into it.

i guess welcome to the future?

here's another contender from google.

[Faust]

checked out jobs's ipad presentation today on the apple website. was thinking that it maybe be a laptop substitute, but doesn't seem to be that way. i would still like to be able to do substantial writing tasks on it, but i doubt that the virtual keyboard would allow that. still need to see this in person... i kinda like the idea that it's just a huge iphone, haha.

[BeauIXI]

Aw come on, the virtual keypad ain't so bad.. Imagine taking calls on that thing.. No mistake that you're on the phone with that up to your ear!*








*Yes, I know, the headphones will handle the calls-making aspect...

[pierce]

Jobs is always quoting Henry Ford "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses."

The way to look at the iPad is that it is an attempt to make "computers"
ubiquitous. Desktops and laptops especially are still treated as very personal possessions, we all have one of them and its ours. You lend it some one to maybe check their hotmail but that the height of it.
The iPad though is something that you could have on a coffee table, people come in pick it up, read the paper, leave it back. Maybe take it into the kitchen and follow a Jamie Oliver recipe. Its like we break that personnel possession connection or the "computer time" thing.
Also I can see news papers giving them away free or at least subsidized like mobile phones when you take out a subscription. When you devalue the computer so that its an almost free, people's attitude to the device changes.

[ProfMonnitoff]

Aw come on, the virtual keypad ain't so bad.. Imagine taking calls on that thing.. No mistake that you're on the phone with that up to your ear!*








*Yes, I know, the headphones will handle the calls-making aspect...

it can't take calls unless you mean voip...

[BeauIXI]

I guess I did.

[eat me]

Nice, I didn't actually I think there would be any tech heads here. I myself love all things related to electronics and technology, be it techno-textiles or automated homes.

On the iPad.

First of all, there is no way it would've lived up to the hype. I mean, there were rumors about iLife, multitasking, video conferencing, running simplified Mac OS X, PixelQi screen, OLED screen, foldable screen, see-through screen, handwriting support, stylus support (for drawing), and many others. And that's without touching the more conceptual scenarios, like popping out of the screen keyboard (kind of like haptic), 3D interface, solar panels in the front glass etc.

Second of all, Jobs really screwed it up this time. Probably the success of the iPhone and AppStore got into his head so much, that in his keynote he had decided to piss all over netbooks, then produce a bunch of "what this device needs to do better than a laptop/desktop" bullet-points, and then show a device that can barely do these things successfully, stating that it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Say Steve, how is browsing one page at a time is the best web experience? What about iWork with no multitasking (unless your idea of iWorking is moving a bunch of images around in a pre-prepared presentation)? Go back to the drawing board. Although I have a feeling that we'll see a lot of missing features in the next iteration, all the while Apple will be laughing on it's way to the bank with the money of millions of easily impressed fanbois. GTFO.

The only way I am seeing myself willing to buy this thing, is a killer app, something like SketchBook Mobile for iPhone/iPod from Autocad, which sealed the deal for me.

[Servo2000]

The iPad though is something that you could have on a coffee table, people come in pick it up, read the paper, leave it back. Maybe take it into the kitchen and follow a Jamie Oliver recipe. Its like we break that personnel possession connection or the "computer time" thing.

Exactly. People keep saying "who will buy this thing" and a consistent answer to anyone under 30 is "your parents." I know tons of people who have a computer in the kitchen for a very similar purpose with economic means greater than the average college student who would absolutely replace it with something they could carry around the kitchen with them and then carry into the living room.

[DRRRK]

Probably the success of the iPhone and AppStore got into his head so much, that in his keynote he had decided to piss all over netbooks, then produce a bunch of "what this device needs to do better than a laptop/desktop" bullet-points, and then show a device that can barely do these things successfully, stating that it's the best thing since sliced bread.

This sums it up best. It's unnecessary like a third or fourth pair of boots. Oh, wait.... Still, the iPad remains superfluous.

[ProfMonnitoff]

Nice, I didn't actually I think there would be any tech heads here. I myself love all things related to electronics and technology, be it techno-textiles or automated homes.

On the iPad.

If it had a PixelQI screen, a front-facing camera (there's no point in having a rear-facing camera in a device like this), and wouldn't be utterly dependent on a real computer, it would be a good product. People who are saying that this is a great product for your grandparents are forgetting the fact that you need to connect the thing to a regular computer to transfer music, movies, etc.

I actually do kind of like the idea of obscuring the file system, as nobody except the biggest geeks (me!) really care about any of that. And even I've given in to iTunes and iPhoto's automatic file management. I also like that Apple are trying to bring an end to having to look at computer specs. I tried to find out how much RAM the iPad has, but they haven't divulged that. I suppose when you only need to run one app at a time, it doesn't matter.

That being said this single-platform thing only works for a limited amount of time. As we've seen from the iPhone, apps will only be compatible with all models until Apple release the iPad S.

I've been reading a bit about how publishers' decision to price iBooks at $15 (and stop selling Kindle books at $10) is to protect hardback sales. When the same argument was made for music, I had no sympathy whatsoever. With books, I certainly do.