Last Wednesday, I was ready to be blown away and energized upon learning about Apple’s newest creation. After the announcement, I felt empty and  disappointed when I first heard the features that they were highlighting the iPad. I was disappointed because:

• There seems to be no ability to multi-task. I would not be able to read a book and listen to music
• This seems like a machine for consumption of material, not creating material. There are very limited inputs (no camera, no microphone, no USB expansion for keyboard, memory card readers, etc).

There are a number of other features I would like to see added in future models (GPS and the ability to manage in a school setting) before I think that they will be ready for K-12 education.  At this point, the iPad is a continuation of the iPod Touch, iPhone line of development. There is nothing transformative in this first generation announcement. It will be interesting to see what ships in March. I would get one, only if my iPod crashes and I need a new one.

But I do not think that I am the target market. The target market, I believe, is 18 – 25 year olds who have grown up with the resurgence of Apple Computer. Slap a white Apple sticker on a bag of crap and have Steve Jobs introduce it while wearing the trademark black turtleneck and jeans, and you have a buzz worthy product for this market of students who have grown up lusting after iPods during their youth, iPhones while in high school, and MacBooks. The target for this device is students who want/need:

• eBook readers – including potentially the textbook market. This would be a huge seller, especially if one could purchase books by chapter and it does give the ability to add multi-media. Especially if one could highlight and annotate their own passages, which would make it better than Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook, or Sony’s eReader.
• A Media watching devices – more and more young adults are consuming their media (television and movies) via their computer. By connecting this device to Hulu or getting the ability to download from Netflix on Demand will enable them to be able to consume their material. The one problem is that the current configuration only has a 4:3 aspect ratio and not the 16:9 ratio of the new HD systems, but this may be corrected in future revisions.
• Newspaper and Magazine delivery – this industry is dying and the ability to connect in new ways, using a model similar to the Sporting News or what they were showing with the New York Times. This may save the industry
• Gaming systems – one of the interesting demos during the presentation and largest markets for the iPhone/iTouch is gaming. This presents the opportunity to create a Wii like handheld gaming console (that allows you to listen to music, read books, watch TV) with its compass and multi-touch screen.

Apple has made mistakes in the past. In 1998, Apple released the eMate 300, a tablet netbook, which failed since it was introduced too son. (see my post, What’s the Buzz – http://vvrotny.org/2010/01/26/whats-the-buzz-tell-me-whats-happening-pt-1/). Elegant ideas do not always translate into commercial success. The iPad is really a version of Alan Kay’s DynaBook, first shared in 1968 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook).  The Dynabook did have its roots in the theories of progressive educators Seymour Papert and Jean Piaget. The iPad is the first realization of Kay’s concepts.

What we have to remember is that first generation products are only the beginning. The original Macintosh was labeled a mere toy. It was limited in the memory that it had and did not have the ability to add a hard drive or easily add memory. It wasn’t until a year later when Aldus PageMaker and the LaserPrinter were released that this product began to demonstrate what it was capable of.

The original iPods were limited in their functionality. As the product matured and new iterations were developed, it added color and the ability to play video. 3rd Party vendors began to make items, including a microphone that allowed your iPod to not only play, but also record mp3s, sparking a podcasting boom. It shrank and now includes a video camera in its Nano line and has introduced its iTouch cousin, which now has the ability to run apps. When introduced, no one thought that playing video and capturing where possible, this was a music player.

When the original iPhone was released, it had a limited set of application available. Real development didn’t occur until Apple allowed to develop new apps via distribution in an App Store and release of the programming specifications one year later, Since, the focus and buzz around the iPhone is now centered around the creative teams who are creating new uses and functionality for the systems.

So this now leaves us back with the iPad. It is a first generation product which has been announced and not released. Given Apple’s current trend, it will grow and develop in the scope of its capabilities. There will be several developments which are not anticipated or foreseen at this point in time. Where it will go remains to be seen. The future does look optimistic.

And were does that leave me. Pre-announcement, I was hoping that the device would have more tablet computer like functionality. I was all set to run out and get one ASAP. Now that I have seen this, I am leaning toward getting the entry level, device for testing and potential development of apps. It will not replace my iPod or computer, but I want to test it out.