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Something to ask yourself about the iPad and it's feature set.......
- Thread starter BruiserBear
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I said that changing the OS (even 'minor tweaks' like multitasking) has all kinds of consequences. Are you going to check every existing app to make sure it plays nice with multitasking? Or maybe only allow certain apps to participate in multitasking? Do both running apps have to be approved or just the background one? And then you have to develop a multitasking interface - not just some Photoshop design wank, but actually make a robust multitasking interface that is up to Apple's standards. All without ballooning the retail price and while showing some net benefit in sales. You think it's easy, but I'll defer to 'a massive company with huge resources of talent within' and see what happens upon release.Since Apple doesn't solicit your requests you can hardly say they 'refused' to respond to any of them. Apple can do what it wants, you can like it or lump it, but to act like they failed in some obligation to you is to misguided.
Yeah, because Apple lost out on so many sales and the iPhone would have been so much more successful if they implemented copy and paste earlier, good job.
I agree it's a potential problem, and threads like this are proof that it is. And I think Steve et al are incredibly brave for going this route.
Well you can't dismiss it that easily. The iPhone was and is definitely successful. But I know plenty of people - including myself- that waited a few generations for the 3GS and OS 3.0 before making the switch.
So by itself - successful. But you can't say it wouldn't have been MORE successful or been adopted faster by others with those enhancements.
Although I sense your sarcasm, your statement IS true. The iPhone was and is a huge success but if you don't think they left ALOT of sells on the table because of the omission of C&P and MMS you're fooling yourself.
Put it this way, I personally know at least 20 people who held off on the iPhone until it got MMS & C&P and I'm sure many others did. Had the iPhone had these basic features at launch we might not even be talking about Andriod or WEBos and the iPhone would be even more dominate in the market place then it is now.
Just saying.
And some people will wait until further generations of the iPad before buying one. That doesn't mean that Apple could release an 'improved' version of the iPad as easily as the OP thinks.
Yeah, but saying 'Apple could just tweak the OS and add X, Y, and Z' is not far from saying 'Why didn't Apple release the current iPod in 2001 instead of that crippled first-generation version. The current model is a way better device and more people would have bought it
'Try "its" not "it's".
"it's" is a contraction for "it is".
"its" is possessive.
With that out of the way... I think a previous poster called it right - you're concerned about the hardware, when it's the software that matters. Of course, very few people have used the software at this point, so the hardware is all people have to focus on.
Personally, I think if you put too many bells & whistles on the iPad, it'd detract from the user experience. This is the same reason that there's a single button. Sure, Apple could add multiple buttons to the iPad and iPhone and their mice... They could add various ports to the iPad. But this would increase the complexity of the device, when simplicity is the primary selling point.
I know it can be frustrating as a "power user" - surely you know how to manage multiple features. The problem is that there are a lot of other people who will "think" they know how to manage such features, only to find themselves frustrated. Their experience will be that they "don't know how to use the thing". The simplicity of the device puts everyone on the same playing field. This is very empowering for the average user... they can do everything that a power user can do... and this makes the experience more rewarding.
"it's" is a contraction for "it is".
"its" is possessive.
With that out of the way... I think a previous poster called it right - you're concerned about the hardware, when it's the software that matters. Of course, very few people have used the software at this point, so the hardware is all people have to focus on.
Personally, I think if you put too many bells & whistles on the iPad, it'd detract from the user experience. This is the same reason that there's a single button. Sure, Apple could add multiple buttons to the iPad and iPhone and their mice... They could add various ports to the iPad. But this would increase the complexity of the device, when simplicity is the primary selling point.
I know it can be frustrating as a "power user" - surely you know how to manage multiple features. The problem is that there are a lot of other people who will "think" they know how to manage such features, only to find themselves frustrated. Their experience will be that they "don't know how to use the thing". The simplicity of the device puts everyone on the same playing field. This is very empowering for the average user... they can do everything that a power user can do... and this makes the experience more rewarding.
So basically you and 20 people you know eventually bought an iPhone. Wow, Apple must really be doing something wrong by not getting you to buy one sooner.
Yeah, but saying 'Apple could just tweak the OS and add X, Y, and Z' is not far from saying 'Why didn't Apple release the current iPod in 2001 instead of that crippled first-generation version. The current model is a way better device and more people would have bought it
Exactly. I don't think Apple had MMS and copy&paste ready to go for the original iPhone and just didn't include it. Sure, they could have implemented them if they'd made it a priority, but resources are limited, even for a company as big as Apple, and they decided to prioritize other aspects. Maybe in an alternate reality the iPhone launched with MMS and copy&paste, but mobile Safari was really wonky, causing it to flop? It's impossible to second guess Apple without being privy to all the details behind their decision making.
Why such sarcasm. Is it to avoid saying admitting that the poster has a point. Are you that "proud" that you can't simply say - Yes - I bet you're right - a lot of people might have adopted the iPhone sooner. But ultimately they got the business. So maybe it's a question of WHEN not IF...
Before the iPad was announced I did a little thought experiment. I asked myself, "What's the easiest way Apple could develop something that could be considered a tablet?" The thing I thought of had a 7" display at 480x720, was half an inch thick, and had a base model with 16GB at $499.
The display I plainly got wrong. I arrived at it under the observation that both the imagined iPad's 480x720 display and the iPhone's 320x480 display would share a side with 480 pixels. The imagined iPad's width would be the same as the iPhone's height. Imagine taking Mobile Safari in landscape mode and then just stretching it vertically to fit 720 pixels instead of 320. Imagine the portrait keyboard on the imagined iPad being the same size as the landscape keyboard on the iPhone. Under this display, the imagined iPad software could literally be nothing more than scaled up iPhone software: the exact same toolbars, tab bars, and navigation bars, just with larger content areas. Toss in an eBook reader, and I felt that you would have a legitimate product, albeit one that would have serious differentation issues against the iPod touch.
That was the product I arrived at, and I would call that the bare minimum. I seem to be the only person who had their guess exceeded by the actual iPad. With a 1024x768 display, they couldn't just have the thing literally run iPhone software with scaled up content areas, they had to go beyond that. They introduced new UI concepts in the form of split views and popovers. Some iPad software—like Notes—is only a little different from its iPhone counterpart (Notes basically took the iPhone app and added a split view in landscape mode), while some software—like Calendar—has been completely rebuilt. They added the requisite eBook reader, but then went beyond that and ported iWork.
So, my assertion is that the iPad isn't quite the bare minimum it could've been. It could have been a smaller device, without iWork, and that literally ran all the same built-in iPhone software, just stretched to fill more space. It's still pretty close to the minimum, though, so I can respect that people are underwhelmed by it.
Just a fun point, I had shared my little imagined product with my coworkers before the iPad announcement. As time went on during the announcement and we found the thing exceeding my prediction, we started thinking my price estimate was too low. "There's no way this thing is gonna be $499," I said, "it's gotta be more like $700." A coworker guessed $799-$899. Then Apple announced $499 and we all stood there silent for a moment, "... wow."
The display I plainly got wrong. I arrived at it under the observation that both the imagined iPad's 480x720 display and the iPhone's 320x480 display would share a side with 480 pixels. The imagined iPad's width would be the same as the iPhone's height. Imagine taking Mobile Safari in landscape mode and then just stretching it vertically to fit 720 pixels instead of 320. Imagine the portrait keyboard on the imagined iPad being the same size as the landscape keyboard on the iPhone. Under this display, the imagined iPad software could literally be nothing more than scaled up iPhone software: the exact same toolbars, tab bars, and navigation bars, just with larger content areas. Toss in an eBook reader, and I felt that you would have a legitimate product, albeit one that would have serious differentation issues against the iPod touch.
That was the product I arrived at, and I would call that the bare minimum. I seem to be the only person who had their guess exceeded by the actual iPad. With a 1024x768 display, they couldn't just have the thing literally run iPhone software with scaled up content areas, they had to go beyond that. They introduced new UI concepts in the form of split views and popovers. Some iPad software—like Notes—is only a little different from its iPhone counterpart (Notes basically took the iPhone app and added a split view in landscape mode), while some software—like Calendar—has been completely rebuilt. They added the requisite eBook reader, but then went beyond that and ported iWork.
So, my assertion is that the iPad isn't quite the bare minimum it could've been. It could have been a smaller device, without iWork, and that literally ran all the same built-in iPhone software, just stretched to fill more space. It's still pretty close to the minimum, though, so I can respect that people are underwhelmed by it.
Just a fun point, I had shared my little imagined product with my coworkers before the iPad announcement. As time went on during the announcement and we found the thing exceeding my prediction, we started thinking my price estimate was too low. "There's no way this thing is gonna be $499," I said, "it's gotta be more like $700." A coworker guessed $799-$899. Then Apple announced $499 and we all stood there silent for a moment, "... wow."
Good point. They don't have to grab the entire market at once, just enough to keep them profitable and able to do R&D for the next version. You can plan the "perfect" product in your head all you want, but some things you just don't know unless you release the prodcut into the "wild." People who are satisfied with the current feature set will buy it and provide valuable feedback to improve the next gen model. People who think some necessary features are missing will sit out and buy them when the desired features become available. In the end, everyone gets to enjoy the mature model. Sounds like a solid plan to me.
LOL, again with the sarcasm, that's so cute. My point as it relates to this trend is that by holding out those very basic features at launch Apple did indeed do something wrong. They left 42 iPhone sells on the table, as I and each of my 20 friends would have indeed bought the 2g & 3g iPhones prior to the 3GS which brought forth the basic features that the almighty Steve suggested were not needed in the phone.
Now I can tell by your sarcastic tone you'll never admit that you know people who held off on the iPhone till it had those features, but I do and I'm sure many others do. The point is I don't think Android or any other smart phone comes close to the iPhone in todays market if it had those features at launch. They'd all be a very distant second by now.
If people feel the same way about this Apple tablet, that it just doesn't do enough, the difference here is the other tablet maker whomever they may be wont give Apple a two year head start before they pull their head out their a$$ and try to do something better.
The ipad is going to take off because it is better then a smartphone and more capable then a laptop. The avg person does not care about hardware to keep it real they don't even understand it. The ipad does everything the avg person does. Facebook twitter youtube forums IM. Apple did not make the ipad for geeks they made it for the avg person.
It's only a problem until someone you know buys one and you can see it and appreciate it for what it is rather thank just a checklist of features ("you" meaning anyone, not you in particular).
This is a true statement, but when some of these same people find out that they cant IM and do something else at the same time without repeatedly relaunching apps or play Farmville or any of those other annoying games on Facebook (my opinion lol) they're going to be a little disappointed.
Tablet makers have already exceeded the iPad hardware specs, that is not hard to do. But from what I have seen, Apple already has a two year head start on the other tablet makers in the software arena (iPhone OS).
- Android and Windows Phone 7 are just starting to roll out phones with multi-touch that can compete with the iPhone OS (2 year head start).
- 140K+ multi-touch apps to a few thousand on the Android and WinMo 7 (2 year head start).
- iPad will debut with a very capable and feature rich productivity suite (iWork). What other tablet has a multi-touch productivity suite? (2 year head start)
I agree with you that other manufacturers will be quick to develop tablets to compete with the iPad, but the real gap to close is in the software. I don't knock those who will sit on the sideline because they don't see the iPad as a good fit and don't believe it does enough. With Apple continuing to improve and innovate on their multi-touch offerings (moving target), I don't see anyone on the horizon that can quickly close the software gap and become a threat anytime soon.
You and your 20 friends who would have bought every iteration of the iPhone if it had C&P and MMS is a six-hundred-thousandth of one percent of all iPhones sold. Even if you say 'there's more people like us' there would have to be tens of thousands of people like you (with 20 friends each) who would have bought every iteration of the iPhone but didn't buy any of them because of cut and paste and MMS. Even if this is true Apple still managed to turn a ridiculous profit and you are all running around with iPhones!
Ah! You got me, I'll never confess but you see the real truth.
Get real. Of course people will buy a future product with improvements; the point is that the omission of those things probably won't hurt Apple in the slightest.They already are a distant second, the iPhone defines and dominates the category.
Any competitor is not just competing with a tablet but with the app store and iTunes. Good luck to them.
P.S. it's 'sales' not 'sells'
The feature set - as is - is enough to sell many millions in Year 1, and, when/as more features are invariably added, many many more in outlying years. Pretty sure Apple thought about all this. If you don't agree with their choices, don't buy one. Simple as that.
It's hardly a productivity suit with no way to print documents, another few hundred $$ for keyboard and VGA/projector output, a limit of 64gb, and no built-in stand. Don't forget Apple wants another $9.99 for each one of those iWork apps.
I forget the exact prices and am too lazy to look it up right now, but I believe the keyboard dock is around $80-90, VGA/projector output, $30-40, and there's a case that acts a stand for another $40 or so. Total if you buy all these peripherals is less than $200 extra.
And while printing wasn't demoed at the keynote, reports from those who have the SDK seems to indicate printing function is in fact available.
And while I would have loved to have the iWork apps built-in (who doesn't like free?), $10 each feels like a reasonable price.
I guarantee they will have a way to print documents, and your "few hundred $$" is a serious overestimate.
Gosh $10 for a word processor. THE HORROR.
Re: printing. We can print from the iPhone (and therefore the iPad) already. Will it have native printing built in via either bonjour networking or BT? Most likely.
And I have no idea where you buy your keyboards but I'd be happy to sell one to you for a "few hundred $$." I'll happily throw in the VGA connector and stand.