“It’s hard to believe that a year ago, the tech media was fixated on the future direction of the tablet, with many pooh-poohing the design of the Apple iPad as too simple and likely to fail for not having all the ports and connections that typified PC design. Every wannabe tablet maker that wasn’t Apple showed off designs replete wih USB ports, HDMI ports, memory expansion card slots, and more,” Galen Gruman reports for InfoWorld.
Now, a year or so later, iPad’s “design approach is the one that most of its competitors are using,” Gruman reports. “Users don’t want tablets to be flat PCs. Consumers have accepted Apple’s notion — or maybe Apple simply discovered this latent belief and tapped into it — that a tablet is a PC supplement, not a replacement. It’s the ‘third device’ — a notion that ignited much debate within the punditocracy (as a valid question) when the iPad was first announced.”
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Gruman writes, “The mobile industry — especially the tablet makers — are playing in a game whose rules Apple has set by virtue of the iPad’s victory as the definition of what a tablet is.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “qka” for the heads up.]
The revolution is in full force – iPad.
Excellent points.
Well, the essence of Apple’s victory is simplicity !
As they say, ” Simplicity is the ultimate elegance!!!
Very efficient design and yet very simple ….. And they have stood the test of time …. The Eskimo Igloos and Native American Indian TeePee …..
Look for the iPad to stand the test of time as well …….
Yo! I got your ‘third device’ right here! 😛
So, your own ‘third device’ isn’t enough to satisfy you? That’s just sick.
Thank the stars for Steve Jobs.
We all learned this as kids, right? KISS(Keep It Simple Sailor)
Uhm, yes, Apple has been setting the agenda for a while. First it was the iPod which defined MP3 players, then the iPhone which set a whole industry of copycats. And now the iPad. Even the MBA is probably the way much of the notebook industry will go.
” If they wanted a tablet, though, they wanted a tablet. Until recently, that meant only the iPad.”. At first I thought, what do you mean until recently. Then I remembered that other product that was released a few months back: the iPad 2. He’s right: iPad is no longer the only show in town. 😉
And the Apple faithful are not the LEAST bit surprised.
Yup, I clearly remember Steve Jobs having an iPhone and MacBook on the projector at the launch of the iPad, then they slid apart and the iPad popped in the middle. He even called it a third device…
What I love even more is the tech analysts and CEOs of other companies who openly mock Steve Jobs. Mr. Jobs never retaliates – he just lets his insanely great products do the talking.
Here a big fat middle finger to Steve Ballmer, Eric Schmidt etc. who all thought they could out-maneouvre the one man who puts design ahead of everything else – including profit (profit is a result, not a target).
Profit isn’t a target of a corporation? Since when?
He is right, its not a target, its the end result of producing great products.
If you focus wholly on producing a great product then generally your profits will follow.
Too many bean counter CEOs could do better learning that lesson.
dammit! You got there before the mysterious moderator lag.
@Rastamouse made a good, pithy point there. Apple (and some others) see good product as the target and profit will result. See what they did there?
The iPad is a PC replacement if you do not do development, heavy video editing, etc. Otherwise, it is a PC replacement. Especially with iOS5 and the over-the-air updates.
Exactly. It’s the perfect computer for people who never wanted a computer in the first place but still needs access to the web (the majority of computer users). But, it will never replace the computer for those of us with a career or passionate hobby that revolves around computers (the minority).
Microsoft says it’s going to show Apple how to really build a proper tablet running a full desktop version of Windows 8 and having a half dozen ports to get some real work done. They’re pretty certain that’s what consumers really want from a tablet. I know most of you out there are just itching to run Microsoft Office 2012 and Adobe CS6 on your thin, lightweight tablets. Windows 8 tablets are ready to take you on.
…half dozen ports…
SCSI, VGA, Serial, Centronics, USB, MD slot, Ethernet, HDMI, Blu-ray, PCI, Power, RJ-15, SC Fiber Optic, Fiber Channel, English Channel, NTSC, SECAM (sorry, no PAL), 155 Howitzer, Urethra… this goes on forever MS-style.
iPad works because the hardware and software work seamlessly. And there’s no FLASH! Perhaps the math is too simple for the “think complicated” PC types???
Give an iPad to a two year old and within seconds, his natural instincts make him a bona fide user…
…and within a minute, his natural instincts will make you an AppleCare user…
Yea, I found that out the hard way when my 4 year old dropped my iPad 2. The screen cracked in several places and one of the corners is slightly dented. But damn, the thing still works!
> The mobile industry — especially the tablet makers — are playing in a game whose rules Apple has set by virtue of the iPad’s victory as the definition of what a tablet is.
Yes, Apple has won the “game” and set the “rules.” A tablet computer is now defined by iPad. However, Apple has also “rigged” the tablet game so that most of the industry can’t even play it (or can only play with a severe handicap).
That’s because Apple controls hardware and software, instead of relying on a third party such as Google and Microsoft (later) to provide something as critical (and potentially distinguishing) as the tablet’s built-in software. The only major competitors who play Apple’s game are HP (barely getting started) and RIM (failing).
The other key piece is the software distribution channel for tablets. Only Apple has access to THE App Store. That basically takes everyone else out of the game. It’s like Apple is at Wimbledon with a big graphite composite racket and everyone else shows up with wood rackets from the 1960’s. Game-Set-Match, Apple.
Yes, but that’s because Apple took the time to carefully design the better tool.
I’m saying Apple not only created a “better tool,” but they created a strategy behind the tool that makes them the ONLY truly successful tablet “player” in the long run.
Everyone else will be playing for Apple’s scraps. Once they give up trying to copy Apple, they will mostly go after niches that Apple intentionally avoids, such as tablets that are halfway between iPhone and iPad in size. And “tablets” that are too large and heavy to hold and use comfortably. And touch-based devices that also have a slide-out keyboard. And laptops with swivel touch screens. Etc…
My Thai business partner’s four year old uses the iPad in pre-school. She spends hours with it every day.
Amazing how many companies are so willing to step up and “show apple how it’s done.” I seem to recall that happened with the iPod, too..
Oh come on! Really we are all getting way ahead of ourselves here…
Amateur Hour is Over….
or so the commercial says!
they found the enigma machine on a sunk submarine, but unlike the pipe-smoking boffins at Bletchley Park, they couldn’t decode it.
I claim indirect Godwin’s law and therefore this discussion is closed.
Well I for one think its still retarded that there is not a USB port, and that the USB port on the camera kit doesn’t support USB flash drives !! I want to plug in a USB key and be able to play videos, look at pics or copy files off it to take home for example. But this fundamental simple functionality isn’t there and it baffles me. I can get a WiFi HD app but not a freaking USB HD app ? Ridiculous !
I love my iPad but it really does have so many lame lame shortcomings like this.