Age Of Lasers

First of all, I don’t think there was anyway the iPad could live up to all hype that was out there. But, I think it could have been more. It reminds me of the first version of the iPhone where there was a lot of potential that was eventually tapped into. I’m really curious to see what the next version is like or what kind of apps come out for it. I think it can be something really cool in the long run. In other words, I’m going to wait and see.

I can see where this could work in the business world, if they used Macs. I see people here in my building walking around with their laptops open going into meetings, etc. It would be much easier to carry the iPad around and run a presentation through that. But, again, your company would have to support Macs so you can use the iWork stuff.

It does look pretty cool, though. I guess that is something. And the name doesn’t bother me too much.

That’s because you’re not a woman.

…or ARE you?

No, I’m not. Though I vaguely remember my parents talking about a choice they had to make after I was born…

I think big parts of the media ecosystem you guys talked about are there, but they’re old so they didn’t really talk about them much. I mean, movies? Already there. TV? At least on a per episode or per season basis, already there. Books? The catalogue they’ll have for sale won’t be huge at first, but they are using the open ePub standard, so pretty much any e-book except those sold by Amazon for the Kindle will work. And of course, the Kindle app for the iPhone will work, giving you access to all of Amazon’s books (at Amazon’s prices, for as long as that lasts).

I was surprised on the magazine front — I’m guessing Apple may be working on something of their own. But I think they should have worked with Zinio to get their existing iPhone app customized for the iPad in time for the event. (I mean, they could have shown off the French version of Cat Fancier. It would have driven the crowd wild.)

I suspect what they really, really wanted to be able to offer was the cable-like subscription to some of your favorite channels. And I’m guessing the various networks and broadcast conglomerates wanted way more than Apple was willing to charge for what would essentially be ad-free TV.

What I want it for personally is magazines, books, games, and the ability to watch movies on the plane on a screen bigger than my iPhone. But I also really want it for work — there are 5 or 6 fat books of law, regulations, and administrative decisions that I have to consult every day at work. Whenever I’m away from my desk, I don’t have them, which can make it hard to get work done on a plane or train or in a hotel. If I could get those books, in a form that is both searchable and legible, in a package that I can carry anywhere? The iPad would never leave my side. (Some of those are available on the iPhone, but the small screen is not great for reading this kind of material.)

I can’t speak for Glark, Jon, but I think that’s exactly the point he was making — we’ve been hearing rumors of meetings with magazine/TV execs and there’s the Lala.com acquisition and it seemed like we were going to hear about new was of buying/subscribing to media, but it feels like it all just didn’t come together in time for the announcement.

The more loaded up with content iTunes and the App Store become the harder it is to actually find and purchase good stuff — I think we were looking for a new way for these media consumption models (per-episode, streaming iTunes music, renting, lending, microtransactions) to come together in an elegant way. That did not happen.

I don’t envy Apple’s task because the media companies they’re trying to bring on board must be resentful as Hell, but I think it was a failure on their part that they weren’t able to pull it together in time. That whole part of the presentation seemed very fuzzy.

Typo — I meant to say “… we were going to hear about new WAYS of buying/subscribing…”

Yeah, I’ve only heard guys defend the name too. iPad? Really? Even if it’s the 12 year-old inside me snickering, I don’t want to carry around an iPad along with my other feminine products. Get a few women in those focus groups. Apple tech is generally the sleekest looking stuff out there that women like to carry around more, they should consider the name a bit from the female point-of-view.

Also, just incase you haven’t already seen this (which I’m sure most everyone has by now):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0K8QPhs