Apple iPad Hands On | Popular Science
PopSci’s hands-on impressions with the Ipad. There’s already been more than enough coverage of one of the most-hyped gadgets of all time (after the Iphone?), and it was never going to be able to live up to that hype.
Other commenters have already noted its notable flaws (no Flash?! that means no Hulu, none of the rich multimedia web experience – for now at least) and joked about its name. It’s also clearly a first-generation product, it’s expensive, doesn’t have a webcam, etc. I don’t think it’s replacing netbooks, which keep getting lighter and more powerful, or laptops themselves.
And the big hope from the media was that the Apple tablet/Itunes combo would somehow monetize their content – and I think it still can, but only if they create media experiences (from newspapers, magazines, books) worth paying for. People are already used to buying books on e-readers, so those are an obvious seller (despite the backlit screen and only 10-hour battery life) and I can see textbooks being really useful, maybe with searchable text, animations, and the ability to bookmark things and take notes. Magazines too could in theory be much more fully featured, though I’m not yet convinced that the Sports Illustrated or Popular Science mockups are enough yet to do the job (They’re a good start, but need to be better).
Newspapers are the ones who’ll really have to step up, to replace their website equivalents. They can – even the best website doesn’t approach what it’s like to read an actual newspaper, but they are much more convenient. Give me an app that’s equally convenient, updates automatically with the latest news, and feels like reading an actual physical newspaper, and I’ll pay for it.
The Ipad itself needs some work too. But so did the first Ipod and the first, ridiculously priced, Iphone. I think it does have the potential to open up a new product category, but not at the moment. Eventually, I see it as a fully-featured media player – one that I can connect to my TV when I’m at home, and pick up and carry with me when I’m on the road. That browses the web, takes and stores photos, plays music, video (including access to subscription and on-demand TV and movies), and plays video games. And that I can in a pinch use for work with a wireless keyboard. That, I can see actually carrying around with me – not as a replacement netbook, since a netbook I would carry around to actually work on, but as a replacement entertainment center; it would sure beat carrying my laptop on planes just to watch DVDs on it, except of course, that the Ipad doesn’t play DVDs, so it needs to make it just as convenient and cheap to download a movie before I travel.
I think if there’s one thing people will pay money for (as shown by music downloads on Itunes or most media on the web), it’s hassle-free convenience…Time is literally money for media.