Apple CEO Steve Jobs says the new iPad will be revolutionary. Pre-orders have sold well, Apple stock is soaring, and Apple Stores will likely be jammed this weekend for the April 3 launch of the device. But can the iPad really follow in the footsteps of the iPhone and change our media habits in a radical way, whether it’s reading books, watching video or playing games? Do you plan on buying one or skipping the hype? What’s your reason to love it or ignore it? Answer our poll below about how the iPad will change the media industry, and then post a comment below with your own detailed take on it.
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I find it incredibly interesting (and telling) that so many people are willing to make such grandiose predictions about the iPad (and pan it) without so much as seeing or holding one. Also find it interesting that many reporters who have seen it have changed their minds about the device and are (often) more enthusiastic about it after using it.
Michael,
Very true. There has been so much written about the iPad way before people have been able to use it in real life. The most we have is the Steve Jobs intro and demo, and some people holding it for a few minutes afterwards. I still can't tell if withholding them until launch is a ploy to sell more with all the suspense, or keep people from finding flaws.
Two thoughts:
1- iPad’s price is above the threshold for the average consumer.
2- Most news organizations will take too long to design their products to work with the iPad and similar devises.
Regarding 1: For even the casual computer user, the lower-end versions of the iPad don’t have enough – too little drive, no 3G wireless, etc. etc. But the higher-end version – which is the one that even the most casual computer user will need – costs $830. That’s too much. Of course, other computer manufacturers will be coming out with their own versions, like HP or Dell or Google, that will probably be less expensive. So the iPad, at its current price, wont do what the iPhone did, but it is indeed blazing a new trail for computer design.
Regarding 2: Unfortunately most news organization – specifically newspapers – won’t get onboard fast enough --- and they really need to as quickly as possible. They’ll take a wait-and-see approach to designing their news to work on the iPad and iPad-like devices. Most newspapers don’t have anyone on board to make the design happen and will have to rely on third-party developers, which means more money out of their pockets. They’ll have to split profits with lots of folks and that wont sit well with them. That means they’ll try to charge too much to make up the lose. In the end, they’ll lose out, someone else with come in and take the cake. So the iPad and iPad-like devices will indeed change the landscape of news and how it is presented, but unfortunately newspapers have waited, and will continue to wait, too long to jump on board.
Don,
Very good points. I agree that the initial price and features don't match up right now. However, you can assume the price will go down over time while the feature list will go up, just as it did with the iPhone (and probably angering early buyers).
As for newspapers, it seems like the bigger ones like NYT and WSJ are on it pretty quickly, but not sure about regional and smaller dailies. I was surprised at how fast magazines have been working on iPad apps even without having seen the device yet. So maybe this will be a boon more for magazines than newspapers. I think it's important for any and all print publishers to consider putting their content in front of wherever their readers are, so that could well include the iPad and tablets over time.
I'd say it's a good thing for the media industry because -- like the iPhone -- it will spur competition in both devices (Droid and the other Google phone offshoots, Blackberry attempts to match the iPhone, Palm Pre, etc.) and software (note all the apps made for all devices listed above -- they were spurred by the iPhone apps.
re: @michael stoner (I'm @dbenk) I'll have a piece on how Apple got its ducks in a row and received such paeans before the iPad had shipped.
I think that the iPad will be great for everyone. I will probably get one for each of my kids because it seems like such an amazing technology for them to use. Everyone will see tomorrow how great the iPad will be. I plan on sleeping in a tent outside my local Apple store just for kicks. :)