Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The Tablet "Revolution"

Tablets had existed long before Apple began work on the iPad, but were resigned to a niche market of upper-class businessmen who already had a laptop/netbook and just wanted another toy of sorts. Jobs decided that, when combined with Apple's new multi-touch screen interface, the tablet could be "revolutionized" just like what was done with the iPhone. The reveal of Apple's iPad received a lot of speculation and backlash from the technological community at large, who argued that it just looks like "an extra large iPhone," but with less functionality, and that productivity could still be better achieved with a full-keyboard laptop (ironically, there is now a quite popular keyboard attachment for the iPad).

                                                      Congrats, you've invented the laptop?
                                                   
However, Apple's marketing team, under the severe watch of Jobs, pulled a miracle once again. Simple, elegant, and "different" commercials were aired that touted the usability and features of the new iPad. Simple and straightforward.Wozniak is quoted in Jobs's biography on the success of the device, saying that Jobs had an uncanny ability to "sell you a product that you don'e need, yet suddenly can't live without." Development of apps for the iPad became almost double that of the iPhone, now accounting for the larger screen space and utilizing the faster in-house processor bespoke to the machine. Thanks to these new developments and the ingenious marketing campaign, The first iPad became the most successful consumer electronic product according to units shipped.

3 comments:

  1. Jacob, with your more extensive tech knowledge than I have, do you predict that the iPad will soon be replaced by something better? I've been reading through people's blog posts and finding that most people are hailing the iPad as something beyond incredible. However, I imagine it wouldn't be long before something even better comes along. Any predictions?

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  2. Yes Peter, the something better will be Google Glass! Jacob, I'd like to see you bringing some more critical engagement to these posts. This kind of majors on the tech side of things without thinking more broadly about the cultural issues we spend time on.

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  3. Also: The Nexus 7 and 10, which are direct competitors to the iPad. IMO they're better because they're more customizable and hackable, but I know that's not a desirable trait for everyone :)

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