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Journalism of Courage
On Wednesday,Apple unveiled its tablet computer,the iPad. Thus concludes Phase 1 of the standard Apple new-category roll-out: Months of feverish speculation and hype online,without any official indication by Apple that the product even exists.
Now Phase 2 can begin: The bashing by bloggers whove never even tried it. No physical keyboard! No removable battery! Way too expensive! Doesnt multi-task! No memory-card slot!
That will last until the iPad actually goes on sale in April. Then,if history is any guide,Phase 3 will begin: Positive reviews,people lining up to buy the thing,and the mysterious disappearance of the basher-bloggers.
The iPad is,as predicted,essentially a giant iPod Touch. Aluminum-backed,half-inch thin,with a 10-inch screen surrounded by a shiny black border. At the bottom,theres the standard iPod/iPhone connector and a single Home button. It will be available in models ranging from $499 (16 gigs of memory,Wi-Fi) to $830 (64 gigs of memory,Wi-Fi and 3G cellular).
Theres no reason you couldnt use it to make calls using Skype,of course Apple says that virtually all of the existing 140,000 iPhone apps run fine on the iPad. Then again,you might look bizarre walking through the airport holding this giant clipboard up to your ear.
Until I saw the demo,I wondered why youd want an iPad instead of a laptop. After all,the price is about the same. And once you add a carrying case to the iPadwouldnt you worry about that glass screen bouncing around in your briefcase or backpack nakedits about the same bulk and weight as a laptop.
Now,though,it looks like Apple really has created something new. Criticisms of like a laptop and a big iPod Touch dont really do justice to the possibilities.
The iPad as an e-book reader is a no-brainer. Its just better-looking and more responsive than the Kindle,not to mention it has colour and doesnt require external illumination. Book fans should note,however,that the iPad e-bookstore wont offer bestsellers at $10 each,like Amazon and Barnes & Noble do. Though Apple says the iPad has a 10-hour battery life,it hasnt yet said doing what.
Overall,the iPad seems like a dream screen for reading and watching. True,theres an on-screen keyboard,big enough to type on with both hands in the usual way. And Apple will offer a specialised multi-touch word processor,spreadsheet and presentation app for $10 each. But Im guessing that,with no mouse and no physical keys,writing and editing will be more effort than on a laptop. Apple will also sell an external keyboard that holds the iPad upright as you type. But if you need to carry all that around,a laptop would make more sense. NYT blogs
