Quick: 5 Genius Things About The iPad
Posted on Wed, Jan 27, 2010
By Brian Whalley
Here's my big 5 list on the genius things about the iPad:
1) Proven content. Nobody can ask "Who will code for this?" or "Will it have an audience?" Proven library of 140,000+ applications from the widely recognized and trusted App Store. Major publishers (newspapers, books, etc.) have already endorsed this and are providing content.
2) "Late-March" ship date is pure Marketing genius. Everyone in the USA will be getting their tax refund in late March/early April. A new $500-800 toy with major sex appeal will be hitting stores as much of America finds their wallets a little thicker than usual. I am certain this is a deliberate effort by Apple. Maybe they're ready to ship in 2-3 weeks, but they're delaying intentionally to have a very splashy first week where people go out in droves.
3) Familiar UI/OS. Everyone who has seen or used an iPod Touch or iPhone already knows how to use this. Everyone who has seen a TV commercial is familiar with the basic moves. Pinch, swipe, tap. The OS is safe and proven.
4) Physical keyboard available. This is what will help it crush netbooks. Basic word processing/formatting/spreadsheet apps, on a cheap computer that is VERY portable, with a full physical keyboard is a killer combination for a lot of people. People who carry netbooks around their office/life will be able to switch to the platform. Light, fast, powerful.
5) 720p video playback is very nice. There's some serious hardware inside of this thing, including the never-before-seen Apple A4 processor. No grainy/pixellated AVIs here. You can watch real HD video from the iTunes Store or from your home computer. I dream of an h.264 version of Hulu here for streaming TV shows to the device over wifi.
These are my thoughts. What are yours?
