My New Thoughts on the Apple iPad

I have spent most of my free time since the announcement keeping up to date with news, views and opinions regarding the iPad.

I have watched Steve Job’s prowl around the stage with the device in his hand several times. I think that the main thing people need to do is rely less on this video. Jobs does not really do the device a service with his overview. A good portion of the tech blogosphere has focussed heavily on Job’s presentation. As a result we are seeing an emphasis on the eBook functionality, internet browsing experience and media capabilities of the device. While these aspects are, of course, integral to the appeal of the iPad, I think we should look beyond what we can see right now, and focus on the possibilities that lie ahead for the device.

I mentioned in a previous post that the iPad could become useful for mobile blogging (by which I meant all non-typing intensive activities). As I have thought and read about it more and more I have begun to realise that the possibilities for word processing probably won’t end there. Apple’s new iPad-friendly version of iWork Suite will probably provide users with an adequate writing experience. While there is still the problem of being able to transport an iWorks document to Microsoft Word for all the non-Mac users out there (I am one of them), I assume/hope that Apple will allow this to occur. There is always the possibility that a 3^rd party developer might produce a program that allows for iWorks and MS Word compatibility and that Apple will approve it. If this were the case, the iPad’s popularity with many demographics, especially students, would sky-rocket.

Now that I have covered the potential for the iPad to allow for easy-to-use and possibly even MS Word-compatible software, I want to talk about the actual act of typing on the iPad. I have seen many many comments firing hate-bombs towards Apple in regards to the iPad’s touchscreen keyboard. I actually wonder how many of those haters have actually used an almost fully-sized touchscreen keyboard. Personally, the closest I have come is using a giant touchscreen keyboard at my local internet café. While that touch-keyboard is at least 50cms wide and 30 cms tall, I honestly can say that it is a breeze to use and feels very natural. While I know that the letters on the iPad’s keyboard will be smaller and closer together, I am of the belief that if the iPad’s keyboard is anything like the one I described, it will be more than useable. I would like to know how many people who espouse their negative views regarding large touchscreen keyboards have actually had the opportunity to use one.

As it stands now, even if it was compatible with MS Word, the iPad remains more like an iPod Touch than a netbook in one crucial way: multitasking. I do believe that the much of the disappointment over the iPad stems from the fact that for as long as the iPad runs on an iPhone OS system, it can never be more than a big iPhone. However, if multitasking capabilities were installed in OS 4.0, the gulf between the netbook and the iDevice would diminish greatly. From what I have read, there is every possibility that multitasking will be a main feature of OS 4.0. The ability to multitask would, once more, greatly increase the appeal of the iPad to many. Students, like myself, would surely flock to a relatively cheap and extremely stylish device that allows users to perform most of the tasks traditionally restricted to net/notebooks.

With the implementation of two simple additions (un-restricted word processing apps and the ability to multitask), Apple will have brought the iPad so much closer to its intended purpose: the netbook killer. This is what I mean when I say that we should not judge the iPad on the software previewed by Steve Jobs on Wednesday. We have no way of knowing what sort of apps will appear on the iPad in the coming months and years. Clearly, I have changed my tune regarding the device. I know I am truly excited about the potential of the iPad. With a few changes to the OS and with goodwill between Apple and the developers, the iPad could drastically change the way we view portable touch devices.