Apple Tablet Computer – Too Late?
Ok, so this isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned an Apple tablet computer around here and, likely, won’t be the last. I’ve been keeping kind of low lately, just watching and silently remarking to myself about what has come out and what is on the horizon and just generally taking a “wait and see” approach because I’ve been working on other things. However, this is getting to be ridiculous now with a new article coming every day, so let’s just talk about it and then either a) puff out our chests when the Apple tablet computer shows up in a few months or; b) say we never really thought it was going to happen but it’s a fun exercise to make a dream machine. Which is it going to be?
Let’s get any pertinent links out of the way now: click this for more than you will ever want to read about any impending Apple tablet computer rumors and wish lists. Ok? Ok.
At this point, damn near every major gadget and computing site has talked about an Apple tablet computer or is about to talk about one, so I think we’re all in agreement (again) that this time around (again), there’s really going to be an Apple tablet computer. While I still have some bottled up excitement about the possibilities, I’m wondering if the timing is right.
Let’s look at a few reasons why the Apple tablet computer may be too late:
- Apple’s iPhone, and to a lesser extent, the iPod Touch (or iTouch — I hate that — as the general popular seem to call it) has become all but ubiquitous. Damn near everyone knows what they can do, and those who are interested in a small, tabletish platform either have one or want one. The phone aside, they’re also really affordable, generally speaking. They’re also small, and while underpowered compared to the next two points, imminently portable.
- Netbooks, which I obviously love and many of you do as well, have become so damn good and inexpensive that they can easily replace any need for a slightly-larger-than-iPhone-sized device. They’re also a damn sight more powerful than the iPhone and one can easily get work done on one without feeling like they’ve had to make too many sacrifices.
- Apple’s 13″ MacBook Pro (review soon!) is, quite simply, marvelous. For those who want something bigger than a netbook and more powerful (and also want OS X), this is, quite simply, a stunning machine. Yeah, I know, I’m a bit of a fanboy, but I also recognize good hardware when I see it, and this is good hardware. When a netbook isn’t enough or isn’t exactly what you need, this is the replacement.
- Tablets had their day years ago. Tablets have never been popular or widely used, even in the medical industry, despite Microsoft and manufacturers pushing hard them. Sure, I do see them in some medical offices — generally those with a little more money to spend than others — but it doesn’t seem like acceptance has been entirely wholesale. A google search reveals tons of software, computers, etc., but in my experience, they’re the exception, not the rule. However, I’ll grant that they may be in wider use in more affluent areas, so I admit this is a somewhat/exceptionally specious reason as it applies to the medical industry, but not the consumer industry as a whole.
Even discounting the medical aspect of number four, which I’m not convinced is necessary, there’s three good reasons that consumers wouldn’t buy an Apple tablet computer. Quite simply, a 10″ tablet doesn’t fit into standard pockets, is not as friendly as a netbook for a quick work computer, and not fully functional enough to replace a high-end notebook.
Now I totally understand there are different uses for a tablet than a traditional computer, but let’s go back to point four: tablets have had years — many years! — to take off and be successful, but they continue to be a niche product. Is it simply because no one has figured out what a tablet can really do and how to make one work?
Well, I’m going to go out on a limb (a familiar one) and say, yes. Prior to Apple bringing out the original iPod, the MP3 player market was awash with terrible devices with poor UIs and had no one dominant player. Enter Apple and their amazing design and UI teams and suddenly they own a sickening amount of the market. They figured out how to enter a market that no one had quite figured out what to do with and turned it into a product that made them a household name.
Can Apple take a device that has languished for years and make it successful? Well, if anyone can, they can. Even if you posit that the public is little more than sheep and they’ll follow Apple and buy whatever they make, Apple knows computers, they know design, and they know how to make something usable. If there’s a company better suited to make a tablet successful, I haven’t seen them.
If nothing else, consider how the iPhone has changed how we interact with a phone. Prior to the phone being available, how many people can say they conceived of using their phone to do so many damn things, and in such a simple, elegant, and enjoyable way? Sure, you could do things with your Blackberry or your Palm or whatever else, but the elegance, the simplicity, the beauty just wasn’t there.
I hardly ever texted with my hold phone, but my iPhone? It’s so quick and easy even my dad does it. Browse the web? Play games? Level my table? Learn a new language? Keep track of my fitness regimen? With a phone? I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of what Apple thinks they could do with a tablet, and that, my friends, is what makes all the difference: Apple has vision, plain and simple. And even if they don’t? Can you say “App Store”?
So, let’s summarize: 1) rumors suggest an Apple tablet computer is coming out soon (let’s say November); 2) tablets have never been any good and the timing is all wrong for Apple to make a tablet computer; 3) #2 doesn’t matter because the Apple tablet computer is going to be huge.
You can laugh at me and flame me when I’m wrong, but just remember, I may be right.
thank you for sharing this, I like your blog, good continuation