“April 3 is the big day, when everything changes,” Mike Elgan writes for Computerworld. “Are you ready?”
“I think the iPad is the most important launch in Apple’s history — bigger than the Mac, iPod or iPhone. More than that, I think it’s the most important cultural phenomenon of this generation,” Elgan writes. “It’s bigger than technology.”
“I’m no fanboy. I’ve tried to envision some conceivable series of events that might leave the iPad as only moderately successful, but I can’t come up with any. All circumstances, facts and events in technology, media and elsewhere seem to point to the same inexorable outcome: The iPad will be huge,” Elgan writes. “Pundits, bloggers and gadget enthusiasts are talking about the iPad like it’s just another device, on a par with other devices. My view is that the iPad is utterly unique… I believe the iPad will become such a cultural phenomenon that it will become a symbol or an icon of the coming decade. Future generations might refer to this decade as the iPad Era.”
Elgan writes, “I and the others part company because they’re looking at the device, for the most part, and I’m looking at the markets. That’s markets with an ‘s.’ There are many of them.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The iPad has a larger target audience than some people might think. – SteveJack, MacDailyNews: “Why I’ll be buying an Apple iPad – along with millions of others” – January 27, 2010
iPad will be shoved down the throat of future generations by goofball radio DJs every hour on the hour?
So the Beatles will be on iTunes?
Btw, Mike Elgan is a troll.
Yeah for APPLE! (Apple, Inc. and Apple Records)
Does that mean, as per John Lennon, that the iPad will be bigger than God? (ducks right wing flames.)
Apparently this loser Elgan has never heard of The Bay City Rollers.
Discussion over!
The problem with “Beatles-sized” success for Apple will be all those PC knockoffs coming, some perhaps serious ones in Joost and HP’s Slate.
Jobs/Apple is just not aggressive enough competing in the business/school sectors, so any success will be maybe Monkees-sized…
Wait a darn minute here…I really have a hard time imagining anyone could top the Dave Clark Five….
There is just no way the iPad will ever be in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.
What it will do is replace print media, which is a good thing. Magazines and newspapers suck and r a huge waste of natural resources! I’m an environmentally conscious conservative! More power to the iPad and capitalism at work despite Apple’s pathetic inclination toward liberal, business killing politics!
Zune Tablet will be the biggest cultural influence since the Monkees.
The iPad will Cream the market.
@TowerTone
…or the Back door—errrr….Street Boys.
@ TowerTone,
Would that be the Tampa area Rollers
The Wisconsin Rollers
The rollers of Pirate Bay
or
The ones near Oakland?
Watch the iPad video semi-tutorials that Apple put on the web yesterday and tell me iPad isn’t a truly astounding device.
I have an iPad reserved for purchase at my local Apple Store and can’t wait to use/play with it.
get real! Slim Whitman was bigger than The Beatles and Elvis COMBINED! …top that, Steve-o! lol
No, Zune Tablet will be the biggest cultural influence since Milli Vanilli.
@TowerTone,
S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y iPad!!!
I can’t comment on Elgan’s reputation, but I have to say he does have a point.
Tablets computers have been out for years, some used for medical, military and point-of-sale purposes. And that’s the problem. All are very mundane applications to the average public.
Apple comes in with the precedence of providing one of the best user experiences in the industry, in terms of computing, music and video. Entertainment in other words.
The iPad is a catalyst for entertainment, but now includes print… and print, as we know it, will be forever changed by tablet devices, with Apple leading the way.
Print will become “multimedia” in the old vernacular. So, to all those print reporters, better go see an image consultant. You’ll have to be on camera, complete with “sparkly” personality, whether you like it or not.
I agree with Arnold Ziffel – after watching the videos, especially the iWorks related apps, I am blown away. The thought process that has gone into the interface is astounding. Truly a thing of magic. However, Ballmer will not be able to use – his fingers are too fat – he will need to stick with that table thingie.
Tipping point. (with a capital T!) .:.
Wow — I thought I was was excited about the iPad.
Future conversations with Grandchildren:
“I remember back in ’69, my parents let me stay up late to witness the first moon landing. It was an historical event.”
“But that wasn’t nothing compared to April 3, 2010! Apple released the iPad and changed the world forever!”
(Wait—this isn’t a hoax right?)
/s
Elgan is a hit-whore, but he’s right about the iPad. There are alot of interested players in media that want this to succeed and are helping to make it possible, from video, audio and written content, to app developers. Really it’s a perfect storm. None of the other iPad competitors have had this many interested parties working to make something a success. None of the previous attempts at making a knowledge navigator have ever had this many things fall into place, least of all, having the necessary hardware at the right place in time.
I like Apple’s strategy. I like it a lot.
And we’re all getting a siphon tapped into our wallets. The device cost is peanuts compared to the cost of content. Every time you turn around there’ll be 2 bucks here 4 bucks there. ChaChing. And I’m still gonna love this thing. Mine left Shenzhen this a.m. at 3:54.
@bildad – You got it. My wife recently got a Kindle (against my best persuasion). 60% of the transactions on our credit card now read “Kindle-Amazon”. I’m going to make a separate category in Quicken.