Yesterday Apple released information on their much anticipated tablet called the iPad. Speculation of this device had been blowing around the internet for quite a while but it reached fever pitch at the beginning of the year when Apple announced a ‘media event’
Since its announcement it seems to have split opinion right down the middle. All of the tech geeks and apples pro users seem to be let down, frustrated and just plain angry that apple hasn’t released a tablet for them. Consumers and business analysts however seem to be looking much more favourably on the new device claiming it fills a new role not currently (or adequately) filled by any other device. Now while I definitely fall in the the first group of people I actually agree with the second group of people.
When you think most laptop users only really use their devices for surfing the web, listening to music, sending emails and watching films, this device does all of that but comes with a reported 10 hour battery life all for $500 (we will wait to see what Apple think is a fair conversion to pounds) Yes your tied into apples app store and iTunes but is that such a big deal? to average consumers I don’t think it is. The device currently can not run applications in the background (unless they are Apples pre-installed apps) now this is an issue but the much rumoured OS4 due in the next few months is reported to fix that issue.
Yes I would have loved to see a Snow Leopard running photo munching behemoth that could replace a laptop but why would I really need such a device when I could just by a laptop? Even if apple did build such a device it would be a minimum of five times the price of the iPad.
The real power of this device, much like its iPhone cousin before it, is the App store. Once developers start creating some specific apps for the iPad its uses will become more apparent.
Apple have taken a risk putting a new product category into the market place but I think they may well succeed.
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