It is the most over-hyped device since the iPhone, but there’s just one question: Is the iPad worth buying? If you already own an iPhone or an iPod Touch and wish it had a much bigger screen, the answer is probably yes — if you can afford US$300 for even the most basic model. If you already own a notebook PC and would like something smaller, the answer could well be no; you’d be better off with a netbook at less than half the price.
Such rationality may not stop you from succumbing, however. The iPad is a wonderfully shiny new toy from a company that understands seduction. And it’s cunningly designed to fit in between your smartphone and your laptop without replacing either.
The iPad is the latest and most popular example of what Intel calls mobile Internet devices or Mids. There is a battle between devices that are mobile phones but larger and devices that are notebook PCs (mostly Microsoft Windows) but smaller. It is not just about “chip” technology — Arm chips that power most smartphones versus Intel chips that drive most computers; what really makes phone-type Mids attractive to technology companies and developers is what might be termed “propensity to pay.”
It pains the creative industries that computer users generally won’t pay anything for a four-minute song, but will happily pay US$1 or more for a ringtone version of it. PC users won’t pay to send and receive thousands of e-mails a year, but will pay to send one SMS text. The iPad is clearly on the “will pay” side of the great divide, which makes its users much more attractive than any number of netbook buyers on the “won’t pay” side.
At the moment, most iPad apps have been written for the iPhone and adapted. But there is clearly lots of potential for newspapers, magazines, books, games and other apps designed for the iPad’s brilliant-looking screen.
Another thing to bear in mind is that the iPad is missing a lot of functionality: It has no camera for videochats; no SD card slot for loading photos from your camera; and no USB. Like the first iPod and iPhone, it’s just a starter for a string of enhanced versions that will tempt you to buy a new model every couple of years, or when the sealed-in batteries no longer work. And you’ll be delighted to buy every one.
IPads are already on sale in Japan and Australia, though Apple has decline to say when they will be sold in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. Those made of stronger stuff can wait for similar tablets based on the Google Android software already used in many smartphones. Scaled-up Android tablets won’t have the iPad’s sheer class, but it’s a free, open-source Linux-based system that will enable hundreds of companies to compete. Additional reporting by AFP
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