Goldman’s take on iPad:
1. Consumption – iPad focused squarely on information consumption versus information production
2. Content – iPad relies on tight integration with content sources
3. Connected – Multiple options ensure the iPad is connected to the internet
4. Constant operation – iPad is an “instant on” device with all-day battery life
5. Commerce – Apple’s ecosystem ensures that users are always “ready to buy”
Goldman “reckons that tablet thingies like it will eventually cannibalise the market for (and makers of) netbooks and laptops,” Cotterill reports.
Full article here.
I agree I love my iPad and now only use my pc for world of Warcraft.
It definitely is war in the mobile market. My money is on Apple!
I got my iPad more than a year ago, and it came with an integrated keyboard. It’s a MacBook.
No interest in the iPad so far. Played with them at the Apple Store, they’re a really big iPod Touch.
The first generation of an Apple product always leaves something out. Will take another look when they upgrade.
I have 2 iPads now. This isn’t a war with netbooks. That war ended several weeks ago when people got their hands on the iPads. Yes, laptops have their place and so do anchored desk computers. But, the iPad is the mobile device of choice now! 80 to 90 percent of the netbook sales will be lost in every location that the iPad sells in.
@max
You don’t see the beauty of the iPad until you are sitting on your couch with is. They are more than an iPod touch.
I love mine, but you are right about waiting for the upgrade if you don’t have to have it now.
@max:
Not the same experience at all. I take the iPad to restaurants & coffee shops & the park to read books. I also lay in bed & lay on the couch while holding my iPad. I’m not going to do any of that with my MacBook. I love my iPad, and I’m extremely glad that I didn’t wait for the next generation before buying one.
‘Cannibalize’ implies the iPad is a netbook which it isn’t.
@Asterix
True, it’s not – but up until the advent of the iPad, many people would have considered netbooks for the tasks that iPad excels at. iPad changes the game, and thus “cannabalizes” sales of netbooks which have now been shown to be, for many, a non-optimal solution to their needs.
@max
Every generation of a product leaves something out. There’s always “something better on the horizon.” I can tell you that my iPad is what I use 95% of the time at home. I don’t bring my laptop home from the office anymore. Yes, it is a big iPod Touch, but at the same time, it is much more than that.
Whenever you get one, now or later, you will love it.
My thoughts about the iPad cannibalizing laptops are very similar to my thoughts about laptops killing the desktop computer 5 years ago. Laptops had become so powerful, I wondered why anyone would sacrifice the portability, and use a desktop. Yet desktops are still being sold in large, granted, declining numbers. But they aren’t dead yet.
Laptops aren’t going anywhere just yet. But as the iPad matures, more casual users will gravitate towards it as an all-purpose machine.
I think Mr. Jobs’ analogy of the Desktop as a truck and the iPad as a car is right on target. He gets it. That is why Apple hits it out of the park with almost every swing.
“1. Consumption – iPad focused squarely on information consumption versus information production”
This is by far the best comment to describe the difference between an iPad an a laptop. I’ve been asked to describe to friends and clients why the iPad is worth getting and this one sentence does it so much better then I ever have.
I hope they don’t mind me borrowing the comment, “information consumption versus information production”. Perfect!
@Max:
Actually, the iPod touch is a small iPad. You realize that once you have one.
I haven’t brought my MacBook out to the living room since I got my iPad!
@Vatdoro
Right on.
There is always something better coming out tomorrow. The question is if the price you pay is worth the short term benefits between now and the next thing.
The iPad has been a life changer for me. Most days, when I don’t need to do any heavy computing like Photoshop or Xcode, I just head out with my iPad. It’s a huge convenience and the Maps feature alone has already saved my butt when I was lost in Taiwan a couple of times.
… “introductory”. Right now, the iPad is pretty much limited to surfing, reading, light games and light typing. Pretty much what the iPhone was limited to a few months ago. Now you can get a version of iMovie for the iPhone. Not even a full version of that “intro” product, but better than anything like it for a smart phone. Similar products will be showing up soon from other sources, but will not GarageBand be appearing soon? And, perhaps iWeb? “Lite” versions, no argument, but versions! And will these not migrate to the iPad? That’s content CREATION, guys.
But … I don’t believe the iPad will seriously chew into the market for a portable computer … not anytime soon. That “lite” is too limiting … the same reason the laptops are expanding without doing serious harm to the desktop market.
Hey, if he was able to make something as catchy as 5 “c’s” then it must be true!
If marking up documents for work (annotating PDF articles to provide feedback to authors) counts as consumption then I use my iPad mostly for consumption.
If making killer sales presentations counts as consumption then marketers use iPad mostly for consumption.
The problem with the “consumption” line is it suggests iPad is mostly for leisure activities. Sure, you can’t type on it as fast as a laptop but there are a whole lot of “productive” activities that don’t require much typing.
The other main problem with “production” on iPad is inability to easily save and manage files that are created and edited on it. But the rapidly evolving iDisk apps, mobile me and a certain server farm are going to solve that problem imminently.
I was never in the market for a netbook. But I bought iPad right away and it changed my lifestyle immediately. I will always buy the next top of the line iPad and gift or sell the one I was using until then. I don’t understand the idea of waiting for the next version when I could be dead by then without the benefit of the life changing experience with the current model now. There is a learning curve one must go through with an iPad. Why one would wait to get that experience and enjoy today’s benefits of ownership now for what will always be a future better version is an inexplicable mentality to me.
> Why one would wait to get that experience and enjoy today’s benefits of ownership now for what will always be a future better version is an inexplicable mentality to me
Deferred gratification.
I didn’t think I needed one. I’ have a MacPro 8 core, two MacBook Pros, and an iPod Touch. My wife got me one for my birthday and I’ve grown into it. It started with a couple of “eye candy” apps (The Elements, The Observatory Clock, Sun Clock), then on to more pragmatic programs like, Beat the Traffic, LightTrac (I’m a photographer so this comes in handy) and news consolidation apps.
I’m not sure when it became an unconscious part of my life….. I’m reading classic books (free) that are on my bookshelf but I never had time to read. I’m finishing Don Quixote because my iPad is always with me and I can ready a chapter when I have a few minutes to spare. I purchased my first game EVER, RealRacing HD and love it. I had only about thirty Apps on my iPod Touch. I have almost 200 on my iPad
I took my iPad on a photo shoot and downloaded about 20GB of images as a backup. Soon I may not have to carry around my MacBooks for all of my photo shoots.
My wife used mine for a week and got one too. Now her entire office has one.
For me the iPad won’t kill the need Ihave for my Macbook.
I was looking to get a kindle (as a book reader) when I heard about the ipad, so for me it’s a great ebook reader that does so much more. My Macbook I use primarily for writing and work (excel, Photoshop, DW) those things I doubt will be too good on the iPad just like reading an ebook isn’t so great on a PC or macbook.
I guess if someone just is checking email and web surfing and looking at photos then the iPad would probably be a viable substitute for a macbook.
I love technology and right now Apple has an edge (in my opinion)
The key point is that the iPad focuses on consumption rather than production. PCs / Macs may be much better at production, but 99% of what many people do is just to CONSUME data, be it news, web, emails, photos etc etc. The iPad actually makes that much more enjoyable so consumers do not mind if it is not so good at creating content.
If you really want to see the true genius if the iPad watch what the competition comes up with. I have two. My wife chided me for getting her one and 2 months later she can’t stop telling me how great it is. The genius is in simplicity. Always was!