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FIguring out the iPad
by Andrew McCaskey
I think that I have finally figured out where the iPad fits in.
If you are looking for an indication of where e-readers are headed, take a look at two of the stories just mentioned. The WSJ iPad app, and the Freescale procesor that can drive e-readers below $99. As far as the WSJ (and NY Times and Wired and Fast Company and others) the iPad is the great white hope that their business model might survive. And that is going to keep them in place as the biggest fanboys of all time.
The $99 reader is going to suck the life out of monochrome readers like the Kindle and become, with Wifi distribution, the equivalent of the newsprint shopper and paperback. Actually at that price point it’s not too many paperbacks at all.That is going to firmly cement the category – but how can a device five times that price point survive ?
The answer is in use models for the iPad for two critical groups: Baby boomers and business travelers.
Home use – going to be a big hit but only in certain demographics. Big hit in more affluent households over 50 – ease of use, existing base of apps a “safe way” to share photos, participate in Facebook, etc. That’s why I expect some sort of webcam in the 2.0 version. And the comfort value of the iTunes and App Store ecosystem are there, in all the upscale packaging.
Business use – not so much. As entertaining and handy as iPhone apps are, they are useful because of their portability and always at hand availability. The iPad is certainly a new category, but it’s trapped between two that the business traveler will not give up – the iPhone’s portability and the laptop’s power, flexibility and keyboard. People will carry two, but not three, unless it is for the entertainment value.
Now – weight and bulk aside, we might be getting somewhere: The driver for the business segment will be the entertainment value – previously in the form of books and magazines, along with reference documents in instant-on form.
The iPad is going to have some slippage in dates when really available but it’s a solid double if not a home run.
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