Things that are Underestimated, Part I

Before I begin my post, let me clear up a few issues I feel must be addressed. When I started blogging in a regular fashion last year, I did so for two reasons. The primary reason I began blogging was because it is a good means for me to vent about serious and trivial issues that I feel passionate about. The second reason is that it gives me a good medium in which to write, which I find relaxing. First and foremost, this blog is for me--not for you. I post my entries in a public forum for people to read if they so choose for whatever reason they choose to. My goal is not to offend anyone, since this blog is not for anyone but me. Take this as you may.

Let me now turn to what has been the big hype today: the Apple iPad. Even though Steve Jobs terminated the Newton project (Apple's touchscreen hardware from the 90's) in 1998 when he became interim CEO of Apple, there have been rumors of an Apple tablet. The magnitude of the hype has fluctuated over the years, but there has been a massive increase in hype over the past year. Ever since the eBook reader became popular over the past few years, people have expected Apple to reinvent the tablet, just like it reinvented the phone with the iPhone in 2007. The rumor mill has exploded with everyone speculating on what an Apple tablet would be. People have guessed at a name (iPad, iTablet, iSlate, etc, etc), the functionality, what it would look like, the list goes on. The speculations were just guesses, nothing more. People would say what they'd like to see in an Apple tablet, whether it be realistic or not. Over the past month, the tech reporting industry has predicted basically *everything* for an Apple tablet that it would be virtually impossible for Apple to do something unpredictable (because everything was predicted...). Accordingly, so many people this afternoon followed a liveblog of today's Stevenote on engadget, gizmodo, macworld, etc with incredibly high expectations. That is not to say that Apple didn't deliver on a splendid product (only time will tell), but that few people watched the Stevenote with a clear state of mind.

After the iPad was announced, many people were immediately disappointed with the product because of misconceptions put in their head by the endless rumors. I'd like to clarify some of them now. I've heard many people say they don't like the name iPad because it sounds silly. To this I would ask: how does iPod sound any different? The iPod, originally released in 2001, has just as silly a name. What does music playing have to do with a pod? Moreover, in 1998 when Apple introduced the iMac, the "i" stood for "internet", because Steve Jobs believed that the future of computing was dependent on the internet. The iSomething naming scheme quickly caught on, and was used in naming the iPod, even though the first iPod had nothing to do with the internet.

I've also heard that people are unimpressed with the functions of the product. Okay, but there are a few facts that people should get straight before they're unimpressed (which many have so far failed to acknowledge). The iPad is a tablet--not a tablet PC. It is not supposed to have the functionality of a regular computer. It's primary purpose is to serve as a breakthrough mobile internet and media device. To this end, there is little need for regular computer components such as a file management system, external ports (video, ethernet, etc), and heavy computing applications. The tablet is incredibly good (and intuitive) at watching videos, listening to music, viewing pictures, playing games, surfing the web, checking email, and scheduling. The fact that is has iWork (productivity) is an added bonus, but not part of the primary purpose of the device. Accordingly, this device is not for everyone. People expecting a tablet PC are disappointed, but they shouldn't be disappointed because the product doesn't do what they want. Apple just chose not to make that product. Apple wanted to tackle another part of the consumer computing sector. So to people who are saying, "why would you pay $500 for a tablet with a 1Ghz processor and a small hard drive when you could get a decent tablet PC for not much more money?" I would say the question does not make sense. Such a person is referring to two different types of devices. The iPad, is more like a big iPod touch than a PC because that is what it's supposed to be. The major difference is that it also served as an eReader and it better shows video. So paying $599 for an iPad doesn't seem that bad when a comparable iPod touch costs $299 but is much smaller, doesn't play video for as long, doesn't serve as an eReader, along with the other functions only on the iPad.

The iPad certainly is not for everyone. It will attract a different part of the consumer market than a iPod touch or tablet PC would. When you forget about all of the hype and crazy rumors, it is easy to see that Apple has created a new product that no other company has even begun to think about. I cannot think of any other mainstream product that has the same purpose and niche as the iPad has. Perhaps this type of product will not attract a huge market of buyers, but that is not to say that Apple has not created a completely new device that performs in a way like no other. I will be interested to see how the iPad fares in the coming months. Hopefully people's misconceptions of what the iPad is (due to the endless rumors and predictions) will not prevent everyone from seeing the iPad for what it actually is and judging it accordingly.