Archive for January, 2010

Back in 2007 I wrote a piece about the iPhone when it first came out, but what made that article interesting was how it predicted the future of mobile phones, and how the iPhone changed the whole industry… If you don’t believe me, pick any old-school mobile company and look at their inventory lineup for an iPhone wannabe, you will find many.

Fast forward to 2010, where every cellphone manufacturer is still trying to bring the iPhone down off its throne. A position it captured and secured in less than three years of its life. Now, Apple and with just one single sweeping move crushed many companies’ dreams yet again by using only four characters… iPad.

In 2001 Apple created the Halo effect by introducing the first iPod. In 2007 Apple released a Tsunami wave by releasing the iPhone. Now in 2010 Apple is unleashing a massive Shockwave with their new iPad. Another device that will create a new dent in the technological universe.

I read and heard many people’s opinions about the iPad, and how it is nothing more than a large iPhone (yet it should be compared with the iPod touch, since it has no telephony functions), so in this case I think the best thing to do is explain why the iPad is a game shifter.

The Ultimate Communication Device

With the new iPad, Apple managed to show us the future of mobile computing, after spending over 200 years of using mechanical keyboards to interface with language and text. Now we can do that virtually with the most natural human way. Our fingers.

This means that we will start to see other companies trying to mimic what Apple created, as the case with the iPhone and iPod touch. Monkey See, Monkey Do.

The Ultimate Mobile Gaming Machine

If you ask any gamer about what they want in their gaming machine, I bet you will get two common answers; bigger screen, blazing processing power. And that is two ways to describe iPad. Now add the fun-factor to that mix, and you will understand how a company like Nintendo managed to stay alive in front of stomping giants like Sony and Microsoft for so long.

With Apple’s custom made A4 chip, the company is sending a clear message that we will see more power to support their ultra-mobile lineup in the future, and this is another aspect of why the iPad is an important device.

Print Media

This is a big one. For years we have been hearing about the dying print media, but no one had the guts to step up and introduce anything doable, all we see are foldable E Ink and e-paper, yet no company has ever managed to come out with the real way to put print media to rest, till we saw the dawn of the iPad.

With this slick slate of modern technology we can now download all our magazines, enjoy them with full color pictures, supported by audio and video, while communicating back with comments, and share knowledge and information with our community all at once. As humans we have never experienced such a way to consuming information yet.

From another angle, as a race we have depended on books to communicate and transfer knowledge, and with the iPad, this task will become much easier and faster, speeding up the time it takes us to get books and read them.

Education and Learning

I remember school days and boring static text books, with faded images, as I also remember how the iPhone and iPod touch gave us a glimpse of how learning can be fun and interactive with iTunes U, well now we will see the whole picture of this new era where we will learn faster and in a more sufficient way, instead of yawning during boring lectures.

Plus the whole world will have full access to knowledge that was preserved for people who can afford traveling to the United States and enrol in a university. Knowledge can be shared and learned at our own leisure.

Visual Arts

Many photographers carry loads of equipments with them as they go on shooting sessions, and in some cases they need to show clients their work on the spot, and that is why they have to carry hard disks and laptops to store and transfer their images, but with a simple connector, they can now show their work on a digital picture frame, with stunning presentations, while still maintaining ultra-mobility.

Artists and painters have now a new medium, that cramps the canvas and tools on one device, where they can create fine pieces of art, while listening to their inspiring music all at once.

Another aspect is watching movies and TV shows, since now you can truly move all your HD favorites with you and watch them anywhere, anytime. Thanks to the iPads large HD crisp display screen.

Ease of Use

Most of us got our training on iPhones or iPod touches already, yet it has been known that two and three year olds can use the simple software to play games or even learn the alphabets. So what about the older generation that missed the train heading to tech-ville. With the iPad they can now be part of our future, to communicate with us on FaceBook and Twitter.

Creating Vs Consuming

With the new iWorks UI, writers, accountants, bloggers, and marketing gurus have a new way to seize the moment and create something as soon as the muse visits. And this is just the beginning, we are yet to see what developers can do with such a large screen.

But the iPad doesn’t even have Multitasking

Okay, I will try my best to be gentle here. Neither can you!

If you’re human and reading this, I am willing to make a bet here, I want you to write something (type) while reading this article, and sipping a cup of coffee at the same time.

Some of you might whine about having multiple windows open at any given time, but your attention span can focus on one thing at a time.

On the iPad you can read a PDF, copy some text, hit home button, fire up Safari, paste it on the search field, check it out then go back to the page you were reading. That is the same steps you will use on any multitasking computer.

What’s Next?

I can’t claim to know anything about what the future holds for us, but I can make some logical guesses. In a couple of years eBook manufacturers will follow up with touch screen readers, while mobile gaming manufacturers will see the true worth of this market and will try to jump in. While PC makers will snap all their keyboards out and try to introduce Windows alternatives to support true touch interaction.

Will any of this work? Well I guess it will be more like blowing spitballs at iPad. By 2013 we will see the next big thing from Apple, and this time it will be wearable technology. (Hint).

To sum up, the iPad is:

• The ultimate communication device.
• An entertainment unit.
• All your magazines and books.
• You curriculum, and text books.
• Your creative canvas, and picture frame.
• The writer’s best companion.
• Your best presentation tool.
• The whole world wide web in your hands.

When a company wants to introduce a new product to the market, they think of a single task that this product can do (Kindle to read books, PSP to play games, cellphones to make calls), but when Apple thinks of creating a product they create something that serves many purposes at once. That’s because they Think Differently.

So if you still think the iPad is nothing more than an over-sized iPod touch (or iPhone if that gets you to sleep at night) than be it, but you will not see the big picture till you see how this device will change everything around us forever. Since the introduction of the iPad is like jumping from Black & White televisions not to color, but to HD LED with touch interface. Welcome to 2010.

Copyright © 2010 Mazen Al-Angary, All Rights Reserved.