iPad Success not the Fruit of Apple's Labor

[Ryan]

Apple is getting a lot of attention from the new iPad, but is Apple really the company the deserves the credit for the revolutionary applications that finally making tablets interesting? Or is Apple just a beneficiary of third-party applications and crazed fans that soak up Apple hardware by the millions?

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=917

[Windrunner]

I loathe companies that lock consumers in to a platform / product. It stifles innovation. I don't think the practice is unique to Apple, ( See console gaming ), but with the iphone and friends they're sure getting good at it.

[Gator650]

When I got my iphone 3G S I wasn't over impressed with it. The hardware was cool and a few of the apps were neat but overall I was kind of meh.... then I spent the 2 minutes and braindead easy steps to jailbreak it.

My Jailbroken iphone I find to be one of the best devices I own. In fact, I have purchased more apps available through Cydia than I have through the app store.

I'm also tempted to get an ipod touch + Jailbreak and an ipad + Jailbreak because it seems to be the best of both words.

It sucks I have to resort to that to get some of the basic usability I like, but so be it.

Verdict - Success despite Apple.

[Airbrushkid]

Well I see it another way. First if there wasn't a iPad then the developers wouldn't be making apps for it then no success for either. Next jail breaking who cares, be there done that. Not anymore. I'm happy the way my iPhone is stock. When I ran it jail broke battery life suck bad and I mean bad. Once I put it back stock way way better battery life. And despite Apple, without the way Apple's thinks then there be no iPhone or iPod or iPad. We be stuck with the other junk out there.

[Ryan]

The jail breaking debate does make the discussion much more interesting.

[Agentkhiem]

I agree with Windrunner with the fact that proprietary applications does indeed discourage innovation.

I believe an Android-based tablet would generate a different reaction to the public- an unfortunate bias in a techy world of fashion proprietary over innovative functionality. So yes, the existing fanbase (who probably were AOL users that forward chain emails) played a major role in the iPad's early marketing success.

[grimmster]

Just got an iPad 3g on Monday from work. I also own an iPod touch. Yes it's true apple would not have gone anywhere without the 3rd party app support, but there never would be 3rd party app support if the hardware was not worth something to begin with. Can Droid catch up? It probably can, but it will require a LOT of marketing to do it.

As for the iPad, I am still debating over it. It is heavier then you think 1.6 pounds would be and not very comfortable to actually hold in your hands (table or lap are good though) and we have hit a few sites that are flash only that stopped us cold and we had to sign onto our windows computer.

I do have a jail broken iPod, but not sure if I want to try that on the iPad or not. Maybe I just don't use the jail break to its full potential to see the extra benefits.

All in all, it's nice and has fun games, but for $630 not something I would buy for myself, and something that we are still debating whether to keep.

[Windrunner]

Sure there'd be 3rd party app support if the hardware was junk, just look at console gaming. The xbox 360 is absolutely archaic in its hardware, but the majority of games are developed with it in mind.

[jayman30]

Hey Ryan,

Great article! I have a WiFi iPad and agree with your frustrations. I wanted to let you know you can have limited multitasking on the iPad without jailbreaking with a very useful app that is simply called Desktop that allows two apps to run at the same time, including two instances of Safari (for copying and pasting info from a web page to a forum post, for example) Get it in the Appstore for $.99.

Keep up the good work!

[AMcghie]

Apple is getting a lot of attention from the new iPad, but is Apple really the company the deserves the credit for the revolutionary applications that finally making tablets interesting? Or is Apple just a beneficiary of third-party applications and crazed fans that soak up Apple hardware by the millions?

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=917

Ryan,

I feel you are absolutely correct in your article.
As a Windows touch Tablet capable owner (Touchsmart convertible laptop) I have thought to myself countless times, why isn't there more touch streamlined applications available to me?

I may be in the minority of people across the world who have a a computer capable of enabling pen and touch features but it's just downright prehistoric that there is not any real applications developed windows 7 and touch.
Now there have been pen/touch tablet capable laptop PC's on the market for some time, granted at higher weights and prices than an IPAD but there -was- a market there that could have been developed.
And really the IPAD is cheaper and lighter because it can't do everything a fully functional mobile PC can.

Microsoft with the release of the advanced touch features of Windows 7 has all of it's code online for developers on MSDN but obviously they need to provide some more motivation or develop more useful touch applications themself.
Those 'touch' enabled games and finger painting programs that come with HP or the 7 touch pack are neat but really that's not going to draw anyone who may be considering a touch enabled interface for a full mobile PC experience.

I don't see why developers haven't jumped on making a touch versions of common applications.
-Ereader's (Blio comes to mind but it is -still- coming soon)
-Office suite
-Web Browser
-Music Player

Most of the issues with using native windows applications in touch in my opinion could be mostly handled by reskinning gui's (buttons larger, and flick support)
These things are not insurmountable I would think.
Native windows games are another thing entirely but if you go the 'APP' method running a touch display interface on top of the windows backend kind of like a browser game works I don't see any reason why most ipod apps could not be on a windows tablet.

It just seems Microsoft is putting everything out there for developers but giving them no incentive to bother, which hurts the Windows 7 touch industry really.
If no software is compelling then no one will buy what is currently out there.
Obviously that means development on making lighter, faster, and more feature rich Windows 7 tablets will never come to pass as the market will be seen as unlucrative.

[bernstein82]

Well i completely disagree. How a waste of time to read.

No i do not own an iPad. But i spent half an hour with one. And i have been owning an iphone 3gs for a year.

So let me explain.

A year ago i was going for a htc magic. But, the iphone was so heavily subsidized it was actually cheaper. Given the newer hardware and the app store i was sold. But iOS has its drawbacks. So i spent he last year, believing android was the better platform.

However recently my girlfriend bought a htc desire (my suggestion) and after actually using an android phone i was shocked. Compared to the iPhone's buttery smooth UI, this supposedly UBERandroid phone was a slouch. Near impossible to use. How someone can use a phone with such a bad keyboard is beyond me (or us). Luckily she could return the phone a week later. I deliberately went trying all available android phones (samsung, sony) but it turned out the desire, having the biggest screen, was actually the best of the android flock. And there are other drawbacks (battery, buttons, screen, touchpanel) but these are meaningless in comparison.

Still i believe android IS the better platform. Maybe even Windows. I hate apple's closed down policies. I hate having to jailbreak to get SBSettings and get replacements to apples apps (mail, ipod, adblock safari, ...). I hate not being able to use the phone as memory stick. well i could go on, but you get the point...

However credit must be given where it is due. To date (in my opinion) there exists NO competition to Apple's :
* iOS keyboard (i haven't tried palm, but even windows' multitouch ui is no match)
* battery lifetime (not extreme on the iphone, but insane on ipad/macbook)
* buttery smooth UI
* build quality (screen, touchpanel (of the 3gs) seem way better)
* subsidized pricing is insanely low in comparison with anything else. You get the better hardware for less money. sick. (at least here in switzerland)

The point being is that the latter five points actually make the iphone/ipad. From another perspective one could say it is the inexistence of any other useable phone/slate platform that makes apples platform. (Well in fact it's all about pricing. At $1000 after subsidizing not may would buy one. But at it's current price point there is nothing that can stand against it).

Then comes the app advantage, which to me is partly a mystery.
None of the iphone apps work well on the ipad. point. end of discussion. Not even games.
While all that streaming you americans praise (after 250mb thats $1/mb over here), really why i would want to watch anything on a portable device is beyond me. i have a 2,5m cinema plus 40" tv at home, complete with pvr (anyone has at least a 40"tv). but alas, i am one of the few that work best on the go and again over here distances are very short.
On the iphone there are only 5-10 additional apps i actually use (plus SBSettings, Adblock and a few tweaks to Mail,Safari,Notes)

but then why not a standad- or featurephone? keyboard. safari. UI of mail, calendar, ipod, notes, maps. (plus ti calclator, tomtom, public service timetable, xbmc remote)

And the flash disadvantage.
Granted there were a few sites i wanted flash for, but there were loads i was happy not having it. imho it is a blessing.

well i see the ipad is a bit different, and indeed the software is much more important here. But the millions that are purchasing it all around the world, BEFORE there is a limitless supply of apps, should finally stop the mouth's of all those claiming that there is no market for such a device, that apple created this particular market segment. And shame on everyone claiming it's only apple's die-hard fanbase buying into a hype. the years long failing of the appletv is the best proof that even apple can't create demand with a crappy product (again it's all about pricing, but the appletv can't be had for $5 so it's crap).
There has always been a huge market for slates. However microsoft really failed to see what makes this market for a decade.
* UI.
* well plus the hardware (screen, touchpanel, battery, weight).
In a way the iphone has alread proved this. Why have people bought the first iphone if not for the UI?

The pc is great but it's UI is designed as an individual workplace on a desk (more often than not it sits in a separate room at home. even notebooks.) There has long been a market for a significantly better UI & ergonomics.

So the ipad goes where no pc will ever go: the living room, kitchen, ...

In the end its the iphone all over again. That since the iphone's inception, NO company has been capable to see this market AND create a device suitable for it is a testament to how many years ahead apple is.

Because of it's lead and it's low price point apple is effectively pushing everyone but other IT titans out of business. And this is really depressing. Because until others catch up iOS will be a heavily closed platform. Windows all over again. ugh. I pray Google/HTC fix their UI problem asap.

[bernstein82]

oh and about windows digitizer/touch support. i actually own a win7 touch convertible notebook.
while in theory it is great, in practice in put my fingers and the digitizer to rest long ago.

the culprits?
* weight.
* windows really is still not optimised for these input options. (the digitizer works great for graphics creation but then thats it)
* lack of apps.

really how is any windows app developer going to care about those 5% that own such a device?
in essence a digitizer ui is completeley different from a mouse one and again from a touch one. even ms didn't go the long way of creating really different ui's for these input types. it's going to take a few decades until such an integrated ui will work. it is much more work than simply developing three distinct ones.