I just watched Steve Jobs' presentation of the IPad on cnet.com. I'm starting to wrap my mind around this new gadget. I can have my calendar, internet, pictures, videos, and email all with me, and carry this thing in my purse, without giving myself a hernia?! I could entertain one of the kids (or myself!) with a video while the other one is in the dentist's chair? Or check my email while I'm in line at the drive-thru? Reserve the hottest new DVD online with Redbox while I'm standing in line behind 4 people who want the same thing? I'm starting to see the potential for this new item!
It almost looks like one of those tablets the doctors used to carry around...our current doctor has to log in to a computer in each examination room as he enters. I wonder if it would be possible to access medical charts via this one tablet? Each doctor would have their own, and could take it with them wherever they go, even--dare I say it--golfing? I'm thinking I could call the nurse, describe my child's sinus infection, and have a prescription written without the doctor ever missing a stroke on the back 9!
While our current options with Internet connectivity and WiFi are obviously more decadent than they were even 3 years ago (think McDonald's adding WiFi), it is still very awkward to haul around the standard clamshell laptop. And don't forget the carry bag. And the charger. And the detached numberpad for us tried and true Accountants who can't live without it! The weightlessness of this new tablet is very attractive to me, the average consumer. The portability seems almost sinful...as Jobs' put it, "it's like having the Internet in the palm of your hand."
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I read your two comments about the ipad together since they seem to be a "group." It was interesting to see how your opinion changed simply by seeing the product.
ReplyDeleteBut, the question that you did not address is how this item would be better than an iphone or itouch -- given the applications you propose for it. Would the additional weight and size, not to mention the cost, be worth it for you? What is the market research ... for what segment are they aiming?