Apple released the near-mythological iPad to hungry audiences on Wednesday, and the critical response inspires dèjá vu—even the necessity of this blog entry reminds me of 2007’s iPhone release. Most opinions jeer at the device’s apparent similarity to the iPhone or the iPad’s lack of “features”, but many of us are enamored with it despite the naysaying. The iPhone was met with a similar response upon its debut. Eventually, the reviewers came around once they got to play with the device. Will the same happen with the iPad?—I can’t be sure.
What I have learned from this whole ordeal—the rumor-mill, the academic water-cooler talk, random conversations with die hard geeks—is that the average joe doesn’t know what he wants. Most of us don’t know what we’re looking at until we’ve had a chance to smell the roses. We must—in the end—overcome our misunderstandings or we may end up being the idiot on the bandwagon who swore he was there the whole time. We must judge slowly (carefully) so that we don’t say things we do not regret.
When most people look at the iPad, they see a “giant iPhone.” What if we reversed the order the products were released—would it matter at all? Would we call the iPhone a “mini iPad,” and would the name detract from the device at all? What is the fundamental difference between any given two devices, anyway?—this last question is key. An iPhone is just a traditional Blackberry with a touchscreen and no keyboard, laptops are enlarged cell phones, and desktop computers are just laptops chopped into interchangeable pieces. The only real difference between any given device is the form factor and the software sitting behind it.
“I thought the iPad would run Mac OS X,” I’ve been told about fifteen times.
Throwing Mac OS X on the iPad would not have fit the form of the tablet, the slate, the mobile media appliance, the touch screen. Apple is not alone in this. Do the computers in Minority Report use a “windowed” interface? Tom Cruise’s wild hand gestures are a work of fiction. What about Jeff Han’s Perceptive Pixel devices (which predate the iPhone, I might add)? Or Microsoft’s own plans tablet concept? What about the fabled Microsoft Surface? Or the awesome Reactable music interface? Or the MISA digital guitar? What is the real difference in all of these devices really beside their intended application? Not much: they’re all a bucket of chips, some way of inputing info, and display to show me what’s going on. What more is there?
More.—That’s the operative word. The real difference between iPad and iPhone is the form, the size, the space, the experience, and the interface Apple has devised for it. It may look like the iPhone, but it is designed for more. Apple’s improved SDK takes the iPhone interface and expands it for heavier use on a larger screen. The real difference is appropriate use, and there is definitely a use. Imagine all of the uses! If we concentrate on what lies ahead, the similarities won’t cloud our judgment.
Update (1/30/10 02:00-ish): Apparently, I’m not alone!
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