Steve Jobs unveiled the newest gadget from Apple, the iPad. But during his keynote, I noticed two things.
- Steve said that Apple looked to create a third class of device between the iPhone and the MacBook.
- Over and over again, their was talk to experiencing some aspect of the device.
Interestingly, Apple is creating a new market based on the idea that there is something lacking between the iPhone and MacBook markets. This unserved market segment apparently desires a new way of experiencing the technology.
As for the technology itself, there’s nothing really remarkable about it. The OS is just a repackaging of the iPhone OS. The device looks like a really big iPhone. In just about every way, the iPad is another iPhone. Aside from running some new iLife programs, I don’t see the benefit.
What Apple is counting on is that people want to experience everything media related (movies, music, web sites, books) via a touchscreen interface. As a result, Apple is counting on marketing an experience, not a device, to their target market segment. It’s an interesting idea, but success or failure is going to come down to an intangible rather than clear cut benefits. It’s a huge shift, and if Apple succeeds, it might create a template that other companies will soon follow; or it may become a cautionary tail.
