You’ll Have an iPad in Your House

Steve Jobs’ latest innovation is pioneering a new space for human use of technology.  Last week’s unveiling of the iPad came after many months of speculation, hype, and hope; yet the initial response was far less impressive than either the hype or the thing itself merited.  The first remarks made about the new device pertained to its name “iPad”; many felt it a name more appropriate to a feminine hygiene product than an immaculate Apple offering.  Other remarks had to do with the product itself. People criticized the lack of a camera, the inability of users to multi-task on it, and its lack of a stylus.  Finally, people commented on the price of nearly $500, a seemingly absurd price in this down economy.

I don’t want to get too hung up on the criticisms because I find none of them persuasive.  First, people will get over the name.  Try this guys, crack a joke about the iPad’s name in front of your female friends and see how long you think you’ll feel comfortable keeping that line of humor open.

Second, none of the criticisms about the technology itself seem all that devastating.  The iPhone didn’t come with a camera initially, nor did the first generation phones have copy/paste functionality, copy/paste! Early iPods made a very audible humming sound when their hard-drives would spin.  Obsolescence has historically played an important role in the marketing strategy of Apple’s most successful products and we’re seeing it here again with the iPad.  Cameras and styluses will come, but their absence won’t stop early adopters from buying the iPad off the shelves in droves and cramming it into the nooks and crannies of their lives not yet inundated with technology.

Finally, if you’re complaining about the price then the iPad is not for you; at least not yet.  The price is set high purposefully to enable Apple to test the product on its most loyal fans, fans who’ll pay $500 to be a part of the first generation focus group; once they’ve worked out some of the kinks, the price will be lowered and an early wave of eager consumers will wash over Apple stores across the nation to purchase the more affordable, better running iPad 2.0.

Ok, so I’m not bothered by the criticisms, but why am I convinced that the iPad will be in your home someday?  Great question!  There are three strong reasons to think that the iPad will become a mainstream success.

First, its minimalist design creates maximum opportunity for use.  Unlike the Kindle and Nook, it isn’t a product that has limited itself to a niche market space.  Though not fully realized, I think the market space between the phone and the laptop is full of opportunity.  Current tablets have failed to realize this space because they were not fully immersed in the it; they tried to walk an ambiguous line between laptop and tablet and (typically) failed at each.  The space I’m talking about, the pad space, is one you’ve wanted for quite some time.  It’s the space that makes itself known when you don’t feel like lugging out a laptop to browse the web or using your fingers to constantly grow and shrink web pages.  It’s the space that fits comfortably between your hands when you want to pick up and read something without a laptop burning your fingers or a small screen straining your eyes.  Steve Jobs sees this space and has built the product to fill it.

Second, it is important to remember that the iPad has a huge marketplace already behind it thanks to iTunes.  It is a robust marketplace filled with engineers engineering, designers designing, businesses selling, and people buying.  There is plenty of room for people to “figure out” what to do with the iPad.  More importantly, there is a well-built infrastructure to support entrepreneurial efforts.  The marketplace is safe, clean, and user-friendly.  Already developers are developing technology and products for the iPad that will, no doubt, find a home in Apple’s digital super-center.

Finally, it’s an Apple.  If it were a gPad, I’d be suspicious – Google just doesn’t care enough about design or user interaction.  Apple cares, and they care deeply and that matters.  If people are uncomfortable with the product, they won’t buy it.  But people don’t typically have that aversion to Apple’s products and that is by design.  Apple’s technology is more than technology, it is a culture.  It is sharp, clean, well crafted, and user friendly.  They have a strong brand with products that are hot, fast, and worry free – at least as worry free as any product can be.

Plus, like its predecessors, the iPad will be cool and cool sells – even to you.