Podcamp Halifax (#podcamphfx) KeyNote
I recently attended/presented at the 2nd annual PodCamp Halifax ... well, it was yesterday. Great chance to re-connect, meet new local people with shared interests, absorb some great knowledge/opinions, or just geek-out!
The Keynote by McLean Greaves @mcleangreaves (http://nsb.com/speakers/view/mclean-mashingaidze-greaves) in the Alderney Landing Theatre was certainly enjoyable and enthusiastic, however, it was a shame to see several 'podcampers' chose to leave early, just to secure a lunch seat. Regardless - McClean has extensive experience with digital, broadcast and print media and provided a well-rounded review of current shifts and made several predictions.
The prediction the created the most murmurs (although it has been circulating on-line for the past week) was the eagerly anticipated unveiling of the Apple tablet (possibly named the "iPad" or "iSlate") possibly on Wednesday this week.
As Mclean noted, people were previously very excited by the creation/release of the iPhone, as this integrated 2 necessary business tools, and allowed them to drop one piece of hardware (ie: Mobile Phone & PDA). Now, with the release of the "iPad" Apple appears to be filling a new market fueled by the success of the Amazon Kindle and other eReaders.
But wait a minute - isn't this new larger screen iPod just creating yet ANOTHER piece of hardware to lug around?
It's like a Mac Air meets iPod Touch ... I know it will be a very cool piece of hardware (it is Apple after-all) but is it really necessary? Even the iPhone provides several ebook reader options - all for free. (eg: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/08/using-the-iphon/ )
So for the advantage of a wider screen I would expect Apple is going to have to include some sort of "iPhone Killer" app - or is it obviously that much better than the current Apple products that am I missing something?
With the addition of WIFI could you use the "iPad" to make Skype calls (via a headset) and put your iPhone into retirement?
Please let me know what key piece of information I am missing.
posted by new_punishment @ 11:47 AM
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8 Comments:
I don't know about iPhone killer - maybe more a netbook killer? This is the sort of thing that's perfect for someone like me who hates the idea of being tied to a phone at all times, still wants to have contact with the internet and email, and doesn't mind carrying something a bit larger. What excited me about it in particular was it was no larger than the notebook (my pen and paper technology) I was carrying around with me all day, and far more functional.
PS - Glad I wasn't the only one who thought it odd people were leaving the keynote early. I was wondering if it was part of the "law of two feet" and that no presenters would be offended by people leaving. Has new media spawned a "new etiquette"?
You're completely missing the whole development logic behind Apple and of Steve Jobs.
Apple's Tablet (whatever it may be and if it's announced on Wednesday) will not just be a bigger iPod touch or iPhone. That would completely defeat the purpose of entering a new product category.
Consider the following.
1. The tablet PC market has existed for almost a decade. Touch screen laptops using (primarily) awful resistive touch screens running almost stock versions of Windows. They failed because they didn't do anything interesting or compelling. The interface was not designed for touch input. I could go on, but the point is tablet PCs are nothing new, they've just sucked.
2. Look at the launch of the iPhone (or even the original iPod in 2001 for that matter). Smartphones were not new. Windows Mobile had been around for a long time, Palm had their Treo series fairly mature for what was a platform growing long in the tooth, and BlackBerry was solidifying itself in the market (though I would argue BlackBerrys are feature phones, not smart phones). This is a market that existed LONG before Apple entered it. It was small, though. The majority of consumers would rather by an easy-to-use and familiar RAZR rather than have something complex, even though it could surf the web and do email, etc. So Apple saw a market ready to explode if the right product came along. So they reinvented the category. They created an experience, a narrative, behind their product. It was the same as everything before it. Seriously. The iPhone did nothing that phones that had been around for years couldn't do. But it did it in an incredibly simple, elegant, and user-friendly way.
So, let's put these two ideas together. We can assume that the Tablet exists and will probably be announced on Wednesday. There are basically three "safe bets" concerning how it will operate.
1. Full blown OS X but with touch input.
2. A big iPhone/iPod touch.
3. Something new that exists "in between" 1 and 2. A more robust computing environment than the iPhone, not as much productivity as OS X, with a in interface purposefully built for touch on a 7-10" screen.
1 is out. MS and their OEM partners have tried it and failed. Desktop OSes simply aren't built for touch. 2 is out because Apple isn't stupid enough to do that. 3 makes perfect sense following their track record. They are going to exploit a market that has never been penetrated. They let others pave the way and fail, and then take their time to develop a compelling piece of hardware paired with (and here's the important part) very usable software that makes sense based on the application.
You need to consider that Apple is both a reactive and proactive company. They see where massive faults exist in product lines and reinvent them, wiping out everything before. iPod did it, iPhone did it. The MacBook line has almost done it for the portable market. Just go wander around any university campus.
If you want to kill more time, I suggest reading John Gruber's take on the tablet.
http://daringfireball.net/2009/12/the_tablet
And a follow-up:
http://daringfireball.net/2010/01/tablet_musings
Thanks for your input Bobby,
With the touch screen and a fair amount of processing power I can certainly see the advantages this would allow for mobile computing. I can't wait to see it, although I'm pretty sure I could't justify buying ... yet. :)
Hi Ryan,
Wow - that's great information and certainly allows me to appcreciate Apples motives and the new tablet's applied usage. I am a huge Mac Fanboy so I was curious to have a better grasp on the advantages/application of the new format of computing. As you say a touch screen computing environment rather than a mobile communication device makes more sense. It's users individual requirements would no-doubt define it's final use.
I'm as much a fan of Apple and their recent beautiful products as the next guy. They are indeed a pretty amazing company. Hell, I already want to buy whatever the company announces tomorrow and I haven't seen it yet!
I do, however, hesitate to join the Church of Apple, a divine organization. While money is pouring out onto the street from 1 Infinite Loop right now, It's important to keep in mind that Apple is just another company that happens to be doing a number of things very, very well right now. It certainly has not always been that way for them. As we all know; today, tech companies fall from grace fast.
They make great products that are sexy, "just work", and priced to make margin masterfully, but they don't make the best of everything. In every category, their top competitors out spec them. Now, that doesn't matter to most of us, myself included, and it's sure not that they don't do this deliberately, of course.
There's a saying, "iPhones are for show. BlackBerrys are for dough". Yeah, you can tell pretty quick which camp THAT comes from! It does make a point though. iPhones aren't simply the best, and all other smart phones have failed at being iPhones. Different devices excel at different things and for different users.
Advancing computing power not withstanding, the Treo's of the early 2000's didn't make a splash with teenage girls because they sucked, it was because they were business devices. My BlackBerry causes me a lot of headaches when i'm in "consumer" mode, but when I need to make a lot of calls and send a lot of emails, having to open different apps would drive me nuts!
Every college student toting a $1800 MacBook Pro around campus is evidence of brand and image conscious consumers rather than Apple reinventing the notebook computer industry. Most certainly, these laptops are hassle free and a pleasure to use, but they are also the only computers you ever see supported by breathtaking marketing. You don't see many kids pining after a dull plastic Acer!
Just some thoughts from my little corner of the Internet. Now, Where's the line-up start at the Mac Store? I have a tablet to buy!!
Thanks Nick,
Another Apple Fan-boy! As I'm sure you can appreciate, the iPod was the "wow" product that increased Apples 'actual' computer sales (desktop or laptop) ... it certainly has been a war of ease-of-function and design over over actually requiring the product! I didn't really need a new smart phone, but I wanted the iPhone! I don't really want a Kindle ... so I can honestly say I wont want an Apple tablet. Yet ... that may well change!
As per Ryan's comment above, I'd say what has been released is 1: a bigger iPhone. It's the lamest product Apple has ever released. If it doesn't die the same death as the Newton, version 2 should be reasonably interesting.
I hear you Jeff - version 2 will be the model to watch - just not talk into! It's kinda crazy, as this isn't even an iPhone. It's almost just a mini multi-media center with no set main use. Looks nice though.
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