Happy iPad Day.. or not

To say I’m sceptical about this new device would be an understatement. I just don’t see where the market is, even at a medium to low price for something like this. Even if this thing is a hit, it’s still a niche product in my opinion and will never have anywhere near the appeal of an iPod type product.

Apple have to have some kind of special screen technology akin to e-ink to make this viable as an e-book reader because that’s really what attracts people to devices like the Kindle. People want to avoid the backlit LCD screens and the eye-strain that comes with it that most devices bring. The Kindle is also simple to use and doesn’t give you a lot of options, which is a good thing in this case, especially for people who aren’t as proficient with gadgets and just want an alternative way to read without carrying books around.

As far as its computing properties, it appears that it’s going to run an altered version of the iPhone OS which while powerful for a mobile device, for a device costing probably at least the price of a well equipped windows laptop just won’t cut it for a lot of people. You lose a lot of customisation, and are more restricted to apps released on the App Store, which you can be sure will be a part of this.

So, what is this device going to be? As a book reader it seems likely that it will either price itself out of the market for most consumers, or it will not have an e-ink screen and put people off that way.

As a laptop / netbook replacement it surely won’t offer what people are looking for in terms of a nice keyboard and a screen facing up rather than lying flat. It’s also in danger of pricing itself out of this market.

As a media player I can’t see the benefit whatsoever. It’s a flat screen so if you stand it up it’s going to be essentially the same as a laptop, and most people probably won’t take it around with them unless they go on a trip somewhere. And even in that case, you could take a laptop or netbook without too much trouble.

As a comic book reader, it has definite potential. The issue will be price and the number of people adopting it. You would think that not a huge number of comic readers are going to pick up this device specifically for reading comics, so will the market be there for something like this anyway?

I personally think that devices which have comics as a minor secondary function, like the PSP now with the new software update are the best ways to bring comics to the digital format. That may well be the case too with the iPad but I just wonder if the price of admission will be too high for anyone other than gadget geeks who also happen to be comic book fans to buy into it.

Overall, of course this is all complete speculation and I would love to be wowed tomorrow by some big surprises like a special new screen technology or a low price point, but in general I don’t see the tablet format as having a large potential market.

That is unless tablets totally converge with e-book readers when technology allows, because I do think that e-readers are going to be a quickly growing and potentially large market in the next few years and beyond. Myself included, for the most part enjoy digital content and it seems only natural that books follow music and to a lesser extent, video and games as being digital. Books, more than almost anything else are a huge consumer of space and while it is nice to own some books physically, if you’re a big reader and / or a frequent traveller or just someone who likes to avoid clutter at home, then these devices will continue to get bigger and bigger in popularity.

Apple may give the market a shot in the arm tomorrow, they may make a hash of it, who knows, but it will be exciting to find out.

7 months ago  /  0 notes  /