Well, it's been a few days now and most folks have heard about Apple's now unveiled iPad. There are many different opinions about the relevance of it, and most pundits are quick to jump onto the iPad-hater wagon. There are myriad reasons given as to its short-coming, including (but not limited to) its inability to multi-task, its lack of a camera, its lack of any meaningful way to connect peripherals aka USB, etc, etc, etc.
We have been asked repeatedly since the unveiling if we plan to develop applications for the iPad, and I can easily tell you the answer is yes. We are already at work trying to make versions that better fit the screen real estate of the larger iPad, and hope to be able to launch product updates to support it to coincide with its debut. More on that in future posts.
I also have been asked repeatedly what I think about it. For now, I am going to reserve judgment. Do I think that it is cool? Yes. Will I own one? Yes. Do I think it is revolutionary? I am very skeptical. Quite honestly, I fear that it will have a success akin to Dean Kamen's Segway scooter: i.e. it will be an object of tech-desire, have limited appeal and real customer value only in certain vertical markets, but overall be received lukewarmly by the general public.
At this point, I must admit that one of the reasons that I won't come out and call it a disappointment/failure as many pundits already have is that I still remember the original iPod launch. If you weren't an early adopter, or if your memory has faded, let me refresh you. At the time of the launch, and even for a few months after, the common sentiment among people who didn't own one was: "Big deal. It's just another MP3 player." The true revolution and beauty of the iPod came only when you viewed it as a cohesive system along with iTunes and the iTunes store. Fast forward a few years to the iPhone launch, and while it was absolutely the sexiest phone we had seen in a while, the true lasting power was in the App store. Without the App store, the iPhone would have been just another flash in the cellphone pan. Anyone still have their super sexy Motorola Razor?
My point here, is that the success of the iPad isn't going to be determined by the hardware. Quite frankly, the hardware is going to change over time. Heck, even the OS that runs on it will change over time. At some point, the things that many people complain about being lacking on the iPad may fade and disappear. No, the success of the iPad is going to be the system that Apple builds around it. Remember, Apple actually isn't a hardware company. It's a SOFTWARE company. Do I think Apple+Jobs can still turn this into a game changer? Well, I'm certainly not dumb enough to bet against them yet. We'll just have to see what other details around the iPad eco-system emerge over the next 60 days. It should be a fun ride!