Thinking different

Is this your passport to the future of communication and entertainment?

When I originally covered the launch of the Apple’s iPad, it was a pretty positive review (correction: it was a rave).  I saw it as a great computer appliance for the home.  But then that key concept that stuck in my mind; Computer appliance.  This was much more than a “kindle killer”, it was a new way of home computing and using the internet.

I’m thrilled that it is not a full fledged PC.  Most of the worlds population does not want a basic personal computer in another shape.  That was the exact problem with the tablet PC.  The tablet PC was an easy to carry around ‘PC in a screen’ whose only benefit was size and form factor.  That’s why it didn’t catch on.

The iPad leaves behind all the troubles of a plain old PC, because of its functionality.  Some pundits decry the iPad because of its lack of disk drives, usb ports, and fully powered operating system.  But that’s because they don’t get the potential of a computer/internet appliance.

The benefit of an appliance is it’s specificity.  No time, space or power is wasted on being flexible; it does what it’s designed to do, and really well.  While a modern PC needs to fill every possible role for a computer and is often trashed for not having enough space for expansion or modification, computer appliances are task specific.

The beauty of the iPad is that it’s task is providing the best possible personal entertainment and mobile internet experience.  It’s very light and comfortable to hold, it has a great big display, it’s really fast (that includes a sub-second boot up time) and it comes with Apple’s unstoppable killer feature; an entire eco system of applications, media and support.

It always amazes me that when something really new comes along, people are so slow to grasp the potential.  Will it kill the Kindle?  I don’t think so.  It’s much more likely to bury the home computer, and probably the school one as well.  It has enough storage to hold every textbook we ever studied, and it has lightning fast access to all of the knowledge stored on the internet.

If you can do all your communication and correspondence, all of your calendaring, hold all your addresses (as well as millions more than any phone book), all your writing and calculation as well as hold your entire library of books, music and other audio, as well as every movie or TV show you might ever want to see, on the iPad, while comfortably perched in your favorite chair or in your bed, why would you want an old style PC?

You see, someone actually thought about what their “perfect computer/Internet appliance” might be able to do.  Then, they built it.  Instead of starting with megahertz, megabytes and buss speed and stuffing it all into a pleasing case, Apple started with the question “what would I want this thing for” and went from there.

It’s same reason no one figured out what made the iPod, iPhone, iPod touch, as well as Macs and their incredible operating system, so successful.  The approach is different.  Too different for the rest of the industry to conceptualize.  Apple fills a need from the first thought to the last screw, they don’t bolt on a bunch of propellors and ice cakes on some old tractor and say “See, now it’s an air conditioner!”

It’s a great design methodology.  But other’s don’t have to do it that way, they can simply wait for Apple to deliver something and then they can copy it.  Hence the Google phone, Verizon’s Droid and every other “mee too!” device delivered to ride on Apple’s coat tails.  Sony announced an iPad of their own Wednesday and Google released a “design concept” for a computing pad device.  That’s industry code for “if we draw a really nice picture, maybe you’d like to buy one someday?”

There were also quite a few new tablet PC’s shown off at the Consumer’s Electronics Show just before Apple’s announcement, which is kind of sad.  The buzz at the show was all Apple.  Now, most of us can’t even name one of these “revolutionary” products.

I think the weirdest part is that Apple has been trying to shout out their secret design concept since the very beginning of the company, “Think Different!”, but somehow, we just can’t hear it.

“Roll those tractors back into the shed, boys, and get the wrenches and bolts, let’s see the iPad do Internet food processing!”

Author’s note:

This is kind of like my regular column for Gannet, but I like to think I geared it for a deeper thinking audience; you guys.

Copyright Prentiss Gray 2009

Prentiss Gray is a writer and columnist and currently writes the Domesti-Tech Blog for Gannett.  He can be reached through his website at www.prentissgray.com