WHEN the iPod arrived in 2001 it replaced the Walkman.
When the iPhone showed up six years later it replaced other mobile phones.
But the Apple iPad, revealed this morning, could herald the start of an entirely new category of gadgets.
This tablet computer is not designed to replace your laptop or your mobile phone. It is not an iPod, nor does it feature a camera.
Apple is asking technology lovers to invest in a gadget that complements other devices. It steals some of their functions, like web surfing and book screening, but it does not replace them.
For this reason the Apple tablet is perhaps not a ‘must-have’ but a ‘do-want’.
It’s also a risky strategy for Apple.
Tablet computers, or computers with touchscreens, have been available for almost a decade and have yet to make their mark.
Research firm IDC reports that Australians bought just 12,000 tablet computers in the last quarter of the year, and most of those were purchased for business use.
On the e-book front, the world’s biggest e-book brand, Amazon Kindle, is picking up new fans daily, but electronic books are still in their infancy and command just 6 per cent of the company’s book sales.
Add to this the fact that Apple has already created a device like a tablet computer, and pulled it from the market.
The Newton MessagePad emerged in 1993 and featured a green-tinted touchscreen and handwriting recognition, like a Palm Pilot. It was discontinued just five years later.
But that’s not to say there isn’t hope for this risky, new Apple tablet.
The iPad has the stylish, polished, features and the finger-friendly multi-touch technology that iPhone users adore.
It promises to run for 10 hours without charge – more than any netbook – and it is just a slender thing at 1.27cm.
But what will really sell this to tech lovers is its content.
What Apple does better than its competitors is package content, from music to movies and now books, and make that content easy to access.
The fact that Apple’s existing apps, like games, maps and social networking programs, will work immediately on this new device will provide early adopters with plenty to entertain themselves.
And that’s without the benefits of Apple’s new digital bookstore, iBooks, and newspapers that can be displayed on the iPad screen.
Apple’s iPad might not be an overnight success, but with so much entertaining content screening it’s bound to attract an attentive audience.
Comment:
This new i-pad creates some arguments in the community, will the launch of this product be a success? It is considered as a risky move to try on this product. However, it is supported and improved by the package content, along with the stylish and attractive features. I hope this new electronic product can inculcate the reading habit in more population so that the development of a country can be boosted as knowledges can be acquired easily and fast with this product.
