iPad POV
April 2nd, 2010 • Digital Content
Did I ever mention here that ever since I got my Kindle, I’ve been reading (at least!) three more books a month than I did before? I’ve been following the publishing price wars with great interest over the last few weeks and have thought a lot about whether it would impact or change my habits if it the book prices on Kindle were increased. That’s for another blog post.
This one is about the iPad. I definitely won’t be buying the device just yet (poo!) but I’m as passionate about the debate and excitement following it as everyone else.
I think as a Kindle-owner my biggest question is how will the iPad impact the ebook market. In his review for the NYT, Pogue mentions a few flaws that drive my skepticism regarding the iPad and ebooks.
- It weighs 1.5 pounds (compared to 10 ounces of the Kindle!)
- Books purchased from the Apple bookstore cannot be read on any other machine – not even a Mac or an iPhone. That’s a bummer. (Although the 9.7 inch color screen might actually compensate for the drawbacks!)
I think the biggest confusion is around the one true use of the device. As an audience, we’ve been sort of conditioned to perceive a single important use/ value for any device. Even with the iPhone, it’s first real purpose is to play the function of a telephone. The Kindle is for reading, the iPod is for music. I’m still having trouble assigning a single value for the iPad. And that might actually be a good thing – symbolizing a new age of devices that are more integrated and have multiple values as opposed to primary and secondary value.
To me, the value of the iPad is as a content consumption device. Even with the no-flash policy, (and some news sites have already converted their videos into an iPad friendly format) I see a lot of potential in form of applications and optimized websites for the iPad. Add to that the comfort and convenience factor (making it super easy to surf the web) and the iPad might strike the chord.
I’m also positively assured of the success the iPad will have with applications. About 150K iPhone apps work for the device but it will also launch a host of iPad specific applications. (I’m excited at the thought of hulu.com launching it’s own iPad app!)
Pogue sums this up succinctly when he says,
the iPad is not a laptop. It’s not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it’s infinitely more convenient for consuming it — books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience — and a deeply satisfying one.
Kleiner Perkins is obviously very confident of the iPad and its future. It just invested $200 million in its iFund to specifically create applications for the iPad. The company has some 20 applications already under development and will be launching 11 of those tomorrow to coincide with the iPad launch.
What are your thoughts? Will you be buying the iPad?