Justin Thorn

Revolutionary, evolutionary or just a passing fad?

It has been nearly a week since Apple’s iPad launched. In that time I have managed to test one out twice at the store. Initially I planned to write a review as quickly as possible on launch day to catch all the buzz. I quickly realized that would be a waste of my time since I only spent a total of 30 minutes with the iPad. Also everyone else in the world had already posted their iPad reviews anyhow. Writing another iPad review seemed redundant.

Instead of a review I want to focus on the bigger picture of the iPad. Not just the increased screen size but the broader reach of this new category of computers. Will the iPad forever change the way we think about and use computers or is this just another passing fad.

If you are looking for a full featured in depth review you are not going to find that here. If your interested in more details and haven’t already learned everything there is to know about the iPad here are a few suggestions. Engadget is a good place to start for full coverage. TiPb is also another great option for a deep look at the device. Finally if you want to be a walking, talking encyclopedia of iPad knowledge look no further than the 18 glorious pages ArsTechnica posted.

Just 30 years ago this is what the average computer looked like. A huge desktop PC with nothing more than a loud, clunky keyboard and a small monochrome monitor that had to warm up first to be visible. When you turned it on you were greeted with the cold, unwelcome glow of green text on a black background with only a command line interface. There was nothing else but a flashing cursor prompting you to input specific keyboard commands to operate it. Of course this required a deep understanding of the computer’s commands and file systems before you could get it to do anything at all. For nearly everyone but geeks and nerds a computer was something they had no interest in. They could not see the value of owning or even learning to use a computer like this.

In 1984 Apple's Macintosh revolutionized the personal computer.

Apple got everyone’s attention in 1984 when they first launched the Macintosh computer. No one had ever seen a computer like this before. It did things no computer had ever done before. It looked different than computers had ever looked before. Instead of  a cold green and black command prompt flashing in your face the computer screen came alive with pictures and sound. The text based command prompt was replaced with windowed interfaces and black n white icons (eventually color). The Macintosh introduced a strange new control mechanism called a mouse which mimicked your hand motions with a pointer on screen. This was the first time point and click was used to operate a personal computer. Together the Macintosh’s graphical user interface (GUI) and mouse controller opened up an entirely new world of applications that were never possible before. Paint brush applications. Music programs. It was an entirely new way to use a computer. A friendlier more human like way. No longer was the computer just for boring applications like word processing, spreadsheets and databases. People who never had an interest in the clunky computers with command line interfaces suddenly had a lightbulb click on. Computers began to make sense to more people. They weren’t just for geeks and nerds anymore. Sure there was still a learning curve but it was not as steep as before.

Microsoft followed suit years later, eventually abandoning their MS-DOS command line operating system for a GUI called Windows 3.1. This really helped bring computers to the masses. More than a quarter century has passed since the mouse and the graphical user interfaces were introduced. Since that time not much has changed with the core method of interaction with the computer. Sure the form factors have changed. Desktop machines shrunk while screen sizes grew larger. Laptops offer much more mobility. The internet has connected billions of computer users around the globe.  The machines continue to grow faster and more powerful with each new release. In turn, this allows more sophisticated software to be developed and harness the increased horsepower. However with all these steps the computer industry has taken forward, ultimately we are still using the same interface built around keyboard and mouse input.

The iPad promises to change all that. Its the size of a sheet of paper. At 1.5 pounds it weighs less than nearly all laptops/netbooks on the market. Most importantly of all its operating system was built from the ground up for multitouch interaction using nothing more than the touch of your fingers to operate. This is the future of computing. For those of us who have been using computers for years or even decades the keyboard/mouse combo seems second nature to us. It seems like everyone knows how to use them and that everyone has a personal computer or access to one somewhere nearby. In all reality there is still a growing digital divide between computer users and non-computer users. I believe not having the knowledge to operate a computer or even access to the internet in the 21st century is equivalent to being illiterate in the 19th century. For many people it is a financial problem. For others its a geographical problem. In third world countries its a combination of both. Still some people have no interest in computers or see the value in learning them. While the iPad can clearly not tackle all the issues of the digital divide it certainly can bee seen as the first stepping stone in shrinking the gap. Just like the original Macintosh and Windows 3.1 machines helped pave the way for people who would never use a clunky, old command line interface the iPad can be the next generation of this transition. People who don’t care for the keyboard/mouse interface of a desktop or laptop machine may finally see value in using a computer if all they have to do is touch it with their fingers. My grandparents and their generation first come to mind. I can imagine handing them an iPad and teaching them in a matter of minutes how to read books, magazines, and newspapers. How to see the latest photos and home videos of the grandkids or keep up with the family on Facebook (Yes I know one who tries to use Facebook on a laptop today).

As a testament to how naturally intuitive the iPads interface and controls are watch this video clip of a 2 year old girl using the iPad with very little direction from her father.

The iPad and similar devices like it will open up the world of computers to lots of new people. Its multitouch interface will also allow developers to create applications that would never be possible with just a keyboard and mouse interface. We have already seen signs of this in the past few years since the iPhone and iPod Touch were launched. Unfortunately the small screen size greatly limited the usefulness of many apps. The iPad has a screen four times larger. This will certainly allow new apps to finally show the full potential of operating a computer with a multitouch interface.

I realize I keep calling the iPad a computer but its really more of an appliance. Think about it. You turn it on instantly with one button and its ready to use. Tap an icon and your ready to go. There are no windowed interfaces. There are no commands. There is no mouse cursor to track. No single click, double click, right click to worry about. Even adding new functionality in the form of new apps is a breeze. You don’t need to go to Google and search for an application, then find the download link, then find the saved file, then open it and click the Next button ten times while it harasses you with questions you care nothing about. Just tap the App Store icon, search for an app, tap to install and your done. You don’t need to understand a file/folder hierarchy subsystem of the iPad to use it because there is none. Everything is made much simpler on the iPad.

Look for the iPad to expand and challenge old markets not affected significantly by traditional computers. The first that comes to mind is education. One look at the iBook application and you can clearly see the direction that textbooks are going in the future. In digital form they can take learning to a new level beyond static texts and images. Offering new interactions to make a subject come alive. One example of this is the Elements app which takes the mundane periodic table and whips it into 21st century shape. This is just one of many examples of what is to come in the future.

Another industry I can see the iPad taking a bite out of is in automotive computing. Today most vehicles offer some kind of expensive “upgrade” to your center console. Typically it involves a color touch screen to control features of the car and offer GPS turn-by-turn navigation. All of them cost way more than an iPad and have very limited functionality and much smaller screen sizes. Even many of Ford’s incredible SYNC system could be replicated with a dash mounted iPad. I realize the safety implications such an install might cause with all those distractions on the iPad but I see this more as something for the passengers. Of course with a bluetooth headset and voice recognition much of the iPad could be controlled hands free just by talking to it. GPS navigation, weather, sports scores, emails, etc… all with a few spoken commands. Check out the first custom install of an iPad in a vehicle. I expect many third party manufacturers will begin marketing much less labor intensive and intrusive means of iPad to car integration in the future. Either way this is still really cool.

These are just two examples of the thousands of new things that will be possible with the iPad and similar devices. I can’t wait to see what the future brings. In summary I quickly want to share a few pros and cons I came up with while using the iPad.

CONS

• No multitasking (yet…available this fall)
• No built in camera for photos or videoconferencing.
• 1st generation hardware has several bugs to work out. (overheating, wifi trouble)
• Too expensive. (estimated profit margin 50%)

VERDICT

Think about how you use a computer today. Not your computer at work but the one at home. Do you spend the majority of your time creating content or consuming. If you are like most people you probably spend the majority of your time consuming media. Watching streaming video, reading your favorite websites, listening to music, checking and updating your Facebook/Twitter status, chatting online. If this is how you spend most of your computer time then the iPad is definitely a device for you. However if you spend most of your time creating media like editing video, working in Photoshop, recording audio, writing books or long papers, creating spreadsheets the iPad is definitely not the device for you.

Don’t get me wrong. The iPad is an extremely impressive device that has a lot of future potential. It is in a class of its own. Literally there is no other device like it. At this time I can’t recommend anyone but early adopters with money to burn to purchase an iPad today. If you can be patient until at least this fall or around the holidays the prices are sure to drop. By that time the bugs should be worked out. Also the iPhone 4.0 OS will be available offering multitasking and tons of other new tricks the iPad has yet to learn. There will be plenty of iPad specific apps available as time goes on. The longer the developers have to learn the capabilities of the iPad the better the apps will be that they offer.

What are your thoughts. Do you see the iPad as a revolutionary step in computing. Do you own one already or plan to get one in the future? Do you absolutely hate it and think its the biggest waste of money ever?