Birth of Confusion – the iPad Debuts Tomorrow
The revolution begins...?
Well greatly confusing things are born on April 3rd it seems.
Tomorrow the iPad is born, and I, the editor of the DK Web Tech Blog, turns 30. So do I and the iPad have anything else in common other than a birthday that is way too close to April Fool’s Day? Yes, as a matter of fact, our ability to confuse.
While my girlfriend wonders how I don’t see the problem in keeping shaving razors and toothbrushes together, the iPad is really shaking people up because no one knows what to think of about it. There have been mixed reviews over the global appeal of the product as seen in this great article. Many people wont find the need to buy a machine that lacks a USB drive, CD drive, and keyboard among other things. However, features such as it being lightweight, availability of 150,000 apps, an amazing e-reader application, and a 12 hour video battery life will make a large number of people splurge on the product.
Confused technology fans are debating that if they already have a laptop and an iPhone, why would they also need to spend a minimum of $500 for an iPad? So, will the iPad be able to gain long term appeal as their iPod or iPhone have? Guy Kawasaki, a renowned Silicon Valley entrepreneur summed it up by saying, “You can’t make a phone call with it, you can’t take a picture with it, and you have to buy content that before now you were not willing to pay for. That seems tough to me.” Much of the confusion about the iPad’s purpose is covered in this New York Times article.
So how will the iPad do on the Apple Retail Store shelf? While it will likely sell out its immediate limited supply, long term success is impossible to predict. It largely depends on the amount of apps that are built for it that will enable its functionality to grow exponentially. Positive signs include the fact that firms such as Kleiner Perkins have committed large amounts of capital to development in this area over the last few weeks in anticipation of the iPad launch. However, unfortunately we likely wont see many apps released for another 6 months.
More helfpul information about the iPad launch: