All The Apple Analysts Are Wrong About The iPad – It Is Revolutionary
28. Jan, 2010 
8 Comments
All The Apple Analysts Are Wrong About The iPad – It Is Revolutionary
I don’t think anyone will argue when I say: The iPhone was revolutionary. In a number of ways. For the first time, a phone maker set the terms of their deal with a carrier. Guess what, they did the same thing with the iPad. My bet, they told AT&T that the deal is off unless they give iPad customers what they want: a fairly priced data plan and no contract. The iPhone’s hardware and graphics were nothing short of industry changing. It’s not really a phone, it’s not a smart phone and it’s not a toy. It’s a very small computer. Capable of doing things that my first computer couldn’t even do. The iPad blows that away. But enough defending Apple, because the reason the iPad is revolutionary isn’t because of them.
At least not directly. The revolution they helped start is really two things: How we interact with computers and machines and how we interact with the physical world. When you go out to dinner, you now check in so your friends know where you are. It’s even a game for some to see who gets the most points. Sharing pictures, movies and audio instantly. You know you don’t look at books the same way. At least I don’t. Every time I reach for a book in the store I check to see how it was rated or can I get it cheaper with my Amazon Prime account? And these are dead simple examples. A local company built an iPhone app called FoodScanner that uses the iPhone to read a barcode and tell you the nutritional value of what your eating. In a decade or two we’ll be able to look at any object and the data about it will be streaming along side, if you want it to. Information, at your fingertips, anytime you want it. Not just information, basically ALL information. After all, everything is on the Internet now. They call this Augmented Reality and it goes well beyond my basic examples. The world will be very interactive in the future.
The second thing, and the more immediate way iPad has made a giant step in our technological evolution is how we interact with computers. Science Fiction has been showing us people using computers by sliding controls, swiping screens and using our hands to manipulate the virtual world. Some of them even got it right, movies like Minority Report. That wasn’t just some idea cooked up, that’s a real UI designed by a real UI designer. And that’s what’s coming because of the iPad. The iPod gave us a taste. Even my mouse uses this technology. Now the iPad is giving us a big space to work with. At almost a 10″ viewing area, all of which is touch sensitive, we can now do more complicated gestures to control our experience with the phone. It just so happens that Apple is the one using the technology the most, but some of the more amazing stuff is yet to come. Some of it will certainly be done by Apple, but other companies are coming. I’ve seen amazing proofs of concept and I’m just so excited about where mobile is headed, and it has nothing to do with tablets, smart phones or netbooks. Were headed for a whole new way of working with our computers.
And it’s going to be beautiful. It will make some of our most tedious, menial tasks on the computer seem like an after thought. How do you throw a pice of paper away in real life? We’ll, that’s how you’ll do it on a computer too. Move your fingers over it, pick it up, and then toss it into the trash bin. Poof. I think this amazing shift in how we do things is going to lead to even greater innovation. It’s coming and it’s coming pretty fast. And we can thank Apple for playing a huge role in that. The iPad is going to be marked in history as one of the devices that changed our lives. Like the first PC that wasn’t the size of a room did. Like the Internet did. Like the Web did. The technology in how we’ll use computers is the next big thing. Working with computers is becoming more natural and less mechanical.
That’s why I’m going to buy an iPad and why I’m excited about it. It’s why I think everyone is missing the big picture. Huge. It’s going to be huge. And it’s happening in my lifetime. I’m grateful that some of my dreams from Science Fiction are coming true and I get to see it. It’s so easy to forget or take for granted how advanced some of this stuff really is. I know I can be very cynical, right up there with the best of them, but oh man, take a moment to marvel at something now and then.
Author: Chrispian (33 Articles)
I'm the editor of MobilityHacks.com and have been in the computer business since 1992. I'm currently the development manager at a local web publishing firm. I'm a big fan of technology, gadgets, web development and just general geekery.
I agree that the way we’re interacting with technology & the world has changed significantly in recent years, but I disagree that the iPad (from what I know about it) is a significant step in that transition. It seems like the interaction technology is no different from the iPhone (except for the larger screen, as you mention), so isn’t the iPhone still the last major breakthrough on this front? Don’t forget portability that actually gets sacrificed by using the iPad… Just my two cents though! :)
First, thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Glad you weighed in. No, the iPod is the breakthrough, no argument. But the iPad is still, I think, going to play a major role in this kind of thing. Bigger space means more complicated hand gestures. Look at some of the things you could do with say, 4 fingers, controlling, real time, an equalizer. Games, obviously benefit, but so does things like image editing. You could hold a picture in one hand, rotating it, while making changes with the other. I’ve used the drawing programs on the iPhone and love them. But the iPad is going to blow it away.
I see it’s size as an advantage. A selling point. It’s not tiny. It’s not big. It’s about right. I won’t use it for work, I have a laptop for that, but I will use it more places that I did my Laptop. I’ll take it with me more often than I will for my laptop because it’s smaller and can do those things just as well. With some obvious caveats, like typing is not as efficient. Yet.
But I do agree that the iPhone gets the credit for introducing or making popular this type of UI. But I also think this bigger multitouch space is going to lead to some pretty amazing things that will get incorporated back into laptop design, etc. I can’t wait to see what’s next. I’m ready for that UI from Minority Report, and excited that its actually possible it could happen in the next few years or so.
“But enough depending Apple, because the reason the iPad is revolutionary isn’t because of them.”
Do you DEPEND apple often?
Yes! My first correction comment. I feel like a real blogger now. ;)
(Snark is my defense mechanism, going to go fix the post now, thanks for pointing that out.)
Apologies, it just stood out (OCD here).
Denny, I appreciate it. I read over the article at least 3 times and missed that. I’m glad you took the time to comment.
I agree and I think that everyone had so many preconceptions about what they thought an Apple tablet should have that dissappointment was inevitable. I think because it is a new type of device people are going to continue to compare it with existing platforms. I think it has a few shortcomings, like the lack of flash support, but all in all it is a device I could imagine using.
Keith, I agree. I think most people’s disappointment falls into 3 categories:
1. Most people just don’t care. Tech news isn’t their thing.
2. Anti-Apple crowed who hate everything Apple does.
3. People who read too many rumors and expected this device to be everything they wanted it to be at launch.
Everything *they* wanted it to be. People felt like this was their iPad and that it would have all the magical features they wanted and I guess I’m one of the lucky ones who wanted it to do exactly what it does: run programs and have a larger area than an iPhone and be more usable than a netbook.
Naturally, anything that gets over-hyped this much is going to see some backlash. And it deserved plenty of it.