“Well bless my soul and whiskers. This is the first time I’ve joined the congregation at the Church of Apple for a new product launch,” Stephen Fry writes for The New Adventures of Stephen Fry. “I finally made it. I came to San Francisco for the launch of the iPad. Oh, happy man.”
“I know there will be many who have already taken one look and pronounced it to be nothing but a large iPhone and something of a disappointment,” Fry writes. “I have heard these voices before. In June 2007 when the iPhone was launched I collected a long list of ‘not impressed,’ ‘meh,’ ‘big deal,’ ‘style over substance,’ ‘it’s all hype,’ ‘my HTC TyTN can do more,’ ‘what a disappointment,’ ‘majorly underwhelmed’ and similar reactions.”
Fry writes, “Neither they, nor I, nor anyone, predicted the ‘game-changing’ effect the phone would so rapidly have as it evolved into a 3G, third-party app rich, compass and GPS enabled market leader.”
MacDailyNews Take: Ahem, someone predicted it, along with the iPad itself: Apple’s “iPhone” isn’t really a phone at all. It’s really a small touchscreen Mac OS X computer, a Mac nano tablet, it you will. Here’s how misnamed the iPhone is: some people are complaining that Jobs didn’t spend enough time on the Mac in his keynote! Folks, iPhone is not only a Mac, it’s the most radical new Mac in years! What’s to stop Apple from making a 12-inch (and larger, and smaller) one of these (use the headset for the phone, please) and calling it a Mac tablet?
It has an iPod built in, yes, so it can be used solely as a “true video widescreen iPod,” if that’s what you want. And even using it just like that, the price is about right. It also has a smartphone built in, too; except this smartphone’s UI actually makes sense and is usable. Even if you just use it as a smartphone, the price is right, too.
But, the main thing about the “iPhone” is that it’s really a pocket Mac. It has email, SMS, full-featured Web browsing, and much more. But, beyond that, it is a platform that’s just sitting there waiting for Apple to sell software for it. Just imagine games with the large multi-touch display and the built-in accelerometer!
Imagine all of the other software possibilities, too… With Wi-Fi onboard these things could beam data between each other like crazy. The possibilities are endless.
No matter how you look at it, for all that it can do even now, the device is very well priced and should fly off the shelves regardless of its name…. So, yeah, it can be a phone, even the very best smartphone, but it’s so much more and holds so much promise that the name “iPhone” hardly does it justice. – SteveJack, MacDailyNews, January 09, 2007, the day Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone
MacDailyNews Note: If you think that was prescient, read this: Is Apple building ‘The Device?’ – SteveJack, MacDailyNews, December 10, 2002
Fry continues, “Even if it had proved a commercial and business disaster instead of an astounding success, iPhone would remain the most significant release of its generation because of its effect on the smartphone habitat. Does anybody seriously believe that Android, Nokia, Samsung, Palm, BlackBerry and a dozen others would since have produced the product line they have without the 100,000 volt taser shot up the jacksie that the iPhone delivered to the entire market?”
“Nonetheless, even if they couldn’t see that THREE BILLION apps would be downloaded in 2 years (that’s half a million app downloads a day, give or take ) could they not see that this device was gorgeous, beautifully made, very powerful and capable of development into something extraordinary?” Fry asks. “I see those qualities in the iPad. Like the first iPhone, iPad 1.0 is a John the Baptist preparing the way of what is to come, but also like iPhone 1.0 (and Jokanaan himself too come to that) iPad 1.0 is still fantastic enough in its own right to be classed as a stunningly exciting object, one that you will want NOW and one that will not be matched this year by any company.”
Fry writes, “There are many issues you could have with the iPad. No multitasking, still no Flash. No camera, no GPS. They all fall away the minute you use it. I cannot emphasise enough this point: “Hold your judgment until you’ve spent five minutes with it”. No YouTube film, no promotional video, no keynote address, no list of features can even hint at the extraordinary feeling you get from actually using and interacting with one of these magical objects.”
“The moment you experience it in your hands you know this is class,” Fry explains. “This is a different order of experience. The speed, the responsiveness, the smooth glide of it, the richness and detail of the display, the heft in your hand, the rightness of the actions and gestures that you employ, untutored and instinctively, it’s not just a scaled up iPhone or a scaled-down multitouch enhanced laptop – it is a whole new kind of device. And it will change so much. Newspapers, magazines, literature, academic text books, brochures, fliers and pamphlets are going to be transformed (poor Kindle). Specific dedicated apps and enhancements will amaze us.”
Oh, there’s much, much more in the excellent full article — very highly recommended — here.
See also the following video via The Beeb: Stephen Fry’s verdict of Apple’s iPad touchscreen tablet
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Daniel L.” for the heads up.]
Thank you, P. Puk!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; this is the Star Trek data pad (hence the name ipad) with all the intention and usability of that device in the Star Trek universe. No camera I believe is intentional so the device can be used in security areas (like Apple!) without risk. An external camera I’m sure is in the works by somebody.
The real revolution this device represents has only just begun. Even though they showed entertainment on it, it’s a data device for the 23rd century… today.
@ doc e
I’ve been saying the same thing to my friends.
Also regarding the name, The Los Angeles Times web site did a fair amount of coverage on the iPad but lead with the headline “Women mock the iPad, calling it iTampon” and then linked to a 6-month-old video as the excuse for the main headline.
It’s sad the Los Angeles Times felt the need to resort to bathroom humor for their lead story. (and yes, for part of Wednesday, that was their lead story!)
I am amazed that I have not seen a comment about the half a million downloaded apps per day. Basic math skills are really not taught anymore. Two years or 370 days times half a million is 365 million downloads. Only off by a factor of about 8. It’s over 4 MILLION APP DOWNLOADS PER DAY not half a million.
The reason that no one commented, I believe, is that half a million per day sounds so high that at a glance it would seem right and reasonable. The App Store is not reasonable — it is crazy active. Break it down — 4 million a day is only about one per iPhone/iPod touch every three weeks. (About 80 (quick memory only guess) million iPhones/touches divided by 4 million is 20 or about one every three weeks.)
Just realized a very practical use for the iPad at work. Once a mind-mapping tool or Omni Group-type applications are released, it will be killer to use in lieu of a napkin during a brainstorming session. Much easier to share than a laptop.
I’m with bitchomper… no way am I going to rush out and buy an iPad – March will be soon enough.
Matt, you got it right for me in your first post – that’s exactly what I have been saying since I saw the demo on QT. We will probably do away with our MacBooks, and get two iPads, and Mac Mini, or maybe even a Mac tower…. love these choices.
Cubert – From CNET:
There are a few things to know right off the bat. First, all versions of the iPad include an integrated digital compass, which the maps app can use along with Wi-Fi triangulation to approximate your location and orientation.
Also note that you’ll need to invest in a 3G-capable model if you really plan on utilizing the iPad as a proper “Where the heck am I?” kind of map. Not only will the 3G-enabled iPad ping nearby cell towers as an additional means to determine your location (along with Wi-Fi signal triangulation), but the hardware on the 3G models includes extra assisted-GPS hardware, providing a true GPS experience that you can’t get on the Wi-Fi only iPads.
The Assisted-GPS requires 3G, without it you only get approximated locations.
Wow! Stephen Fry writes as well as he acts! Fresh, colorful, great verbs and adjectives (“ovating faithful”, “100,000 volt taser shot up the jacksie”, “soul-scorchingly beautiful”). Fun stuff. And a funny bit on Google Voice.
You’re welcome, Cubert!