The WOW! Buzz

Several weeks ago I posted an article on the Apple iPad, and how it was an evolutionary product for Apple.  I may have understated the potential waves it may make in the business–not so much that this first iteration will remain the “be all and end all”, but rather that this device may herald a new paradigm that will be widely emulated, both self-plagiarized by Apple, and certainly by other manufacturers as well.

Now that we’ve seen the product up close, a couple of thoughts come to mind:

1)  The idea of a touch pad keyboard that is nearly full sized is an idea whose time has come.  Capacitive keyboards are not perfect (as anyone who owns an iPhone knows), but the ability to type on a non-mechanical input pad that supports rapid input is very cool.  There are simply situations where mechanical keys are a liability–high moisture, jetsam and flotsam, etc.  Unlike a laptop, lending the iPad to a (careful, well supervised) 6 year old child who has just finished his milk and cookies does not become an exercise in “ownership schizophrenia”. (Ever notice how cookie crumbs hide in the clothing of small children for hours only to cut loose when they sense the presence of delicate electronic equipment?)

2)  This device is a “kindle killer”.  I must confess I’m a bit old school as far as books are concerned.  Over the years, I have collected many books, from softbound editions to those which are works of art in their own right.   I like the feel of a book in my hands, and respect the skills of typographers and illustrators as a high art form in addition to the merits of the content.  Owning a Kindle never interested me in the least, but I have to say that Apple’s reader is crisp, clear, and quite effectively emulates the “art form” of the best typography and illustration efforts of master publishers, past and present.  It would be even better if the device would allow you to add type faces like Adobe Garamond and Merganthaler Frutiger.  It may even be possible, but I haven’t figured it out yet.

3)  Apple’s omission of a camera for iChat or other SIP based video/audio interactive session leaves me completely puzzled.  I just don’t get it.  It seems to me the design of this device is a natural for “video chats” that are becoming a pretty common way to stay in touch with family and friends.  There are well placed rumors that Apple will augment the current platform with a video camera in its next iteration, but I don’t understand why the omission initially. Perhaps to encourage a second wave of purchases when released?  That’s a cynical thought.

4)  In the technical press, there has been much made of Apple’s decision not to support Adobe’s Flash standard in the iPad.  Apple has taken the position to strategically support HTML5 as the standard for complex content on these types of devices.  At present, this leaves a lot of internet video/picture content inaccessible to the iPad.  It brought me back to the days when both Adobe and Apple were smaller companies, and Apple (under John Sculley) and Microsoft (under Bill Gates) had mutually announced introduction of TruType fonts that would pass seamlessly between Mac and PC word processing platforms.  John Warnock, a founder of Adobe, was present at the press conference and let out audible groans as Gates announced the companies’ intentions.  Adobe, at the time, had been the exclusive supplier of high end (Postscript®) fonts to Apple, and was collecting significant license fees from the company.  Adobe survived and prospered.  Apple did too.  I hope that the decision to not support Flash is rooted in sound logic of “a better way”, rather than other considerations.  At best, it’s an inconvenience to customers as standards evolve to new technologies.

Happy Padding!