iPad Vs Geeks

I am a geek but sometimes even I get mad at the geek mentality.

You can’t have missed the bru-ha-ha over the Apple iPad.

Apparently it’s all wrong …

Now, some of that stuff I think will be present in version 2 (the camera seems pretty much guaranteed) but it amazes me how so many geeks think this product is aimed squarely at them.

Not for Geeks

OK, so the mighty Steve made a big play about it being better than a netbook, but in my view this has always been a Kindle killer.

It’s a colour Kindle that runs applications.

A computer Grandma will love

Regardless if you think this is an ebook reader (I do, but you do not have to agree with me), ask yourself what your parents and older relatives do with computers, or want to do. Think about your friends and relatives who are not IT savvy but would like to be more online for whatever reason.

Which of those things really need a fully equipped computer, operating system, or even multi-tasking? None is the answer.

Flash could help some of that, but it is by no means essential to the experience.

Geeks need not apply.

I think geeks need to remember that IT is not their sole territory any longer. When the iPod came out the geeks revolted saying it was all wrong, but those white earbuds soon became a badge of cool (something we geeks do not understand) and the geeks were silenced by sales data.

I’m not saying the iPad will be as big as the iPod. I am saying that the geeks need to butt out and let the actual target market decide.

Personally, I never buy version 1 of anything unless I absolutely have to. I’m waiting for the iPad 3gs like I did the iPhone ;)

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Chris Garrett 
Filed Under IT

Comments

3 Responses to “iPad Vs Geeks”

  1. Andrew on February 4th, 2010 9:29 pm

    Well said. I was criticised a lot when I made the same point recently.

  2. Joe on February 4th, 2010 9:52 pm

    I am of the same opinion as Chris Garrett. All the geeks who are grousing that iPad doesn’t have the same feature set as a laptop have missed the point — again.

    The iPad is POST-GEEK. iPad heralds the next era of tech. The reason Apple uses the term “magical” is because of this transparency of use.

    Think about this. A geek (me for example) wants to send pictures and email to Mom in Florida. It hasn’t happened yet and likely wouldn’t happen without the iPad. Computers are still too obtuse for a good half of the world’s population.

    Suddenly a huge barrier to entry has dropped. People who are or have been tech adverse — you know, the folks who could never set the time on their VCRs — can be handed a device that doesn’t need a mouse or a stylus — or much of anything in the way of instruction — and be using it comfortably in minutes.

    This is a device to take into bed for reading. This is the device that people will “curl up” on the sofa with. This is a “sit back and relax” device not a “sit forward and multitask” device. And that market has been seriously under-served by computing devices as we know them.

    The iPad may truly be the mobile device “For The Rest Of Us”. Now THAT’S “magical.” That’s brilliant! And that’s why geek opinion doesn’t matter. The iPad will open up an entirely new market, because Apple has listened to addressed the NEEDS of people rather than the WANTS of techies.

  3. Susan S. on February 4th, 2010 10:26 pm

    I want to embrace this i-phenomenon and for some reason I’m too geeky to do so. I have been so imprinted with Microsoft logic that I have trouble understanding the simple interface that Apple represents. Each time someone has made the evangelical pitch that I must try the latest i-Something, I still don’t feel compelled to convert.
    That being said- the appeal for my clients is unmistakable as so aptly described by Joe so I’ll likely add it on to my list of planned purchases for the year.

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