Apple iPad: Initial Reactions

Well, the liveblog was a bit of a technical disaster, but I hope the few of you who read along enjoyed it. I'd like to do it again with the next keynote, if possible—maybe using some other service. Anyway, I thought I'd transcribe my opinions from the liveblog into an actual post, with additional questions and updates to add relevant information I received after the fact.

• The pre-launch buzz around the iPad was interesting in that it reached a pretty insane, almost iPhone-level pitch, but since it’s based off of Apple’s touch OS, it turned out to be a very iterative product. Now, that’s not to say that the iPad won’t be a huge success… but (and I haven’t really looked around at the general reactions yet) the post-event media coverage will obviously be downright negative if this thing isn’t deemed sufficiently revolutionary.
• The iPad streams YouTube in HD but only 720p. In fact, 1080p video is not supported, and the display’s resolution is only 1024x768, so it won’t be playing any HD video at its normal size. This isn’t a really fair comparison since the iPad is much larger than other cutting-edge mobile devices, but the display’s pixel density is 132ppi, about half that of the Motorola Droid’s. For that reason alone, I would probably head to a Kindle or Nook if I wanted to read e-books.
• Apple’s priorities for this device, design-wise, were clearly to make the most of the expanded screen real estate. They’ve used luxuriously large drop-down menus and expanded windows to replicate the functionality of desktop-class applications, like the much improved Mail app and Places/Faces in the Photos program (like in iPhoto). Apple's acquisition of PA Semi has allowed the company to create a custom 1GHz chip for this thing, which I assume runs terrifyingly fast.
• So apps written for the iPad are going to be front-and-center on the iPad’s App Store, whereas apps written for the iPhone are going to be front-and-center on the iPhone’s. Depending on the respective popularity of each device and the level of difficulty in reformatting apps for the iPad’s screen, this might be cause for complaints or praise from developers.
• Again, I really like the drop-down menus that Apple decided to spread throughout the UI. I think we were all expecting that Apple was involved in this Sports Illustrated mockup, where they deploy this bizarre radial menu.
• And speaking of that mockup, clearly, Apple wasn’t involved in its creation. If the interactive magazine format detailed in that mockup ever appears on the iPad, it’ll be in the form of a third-party iPhone app either one for the individual magazine or as part of a Skiff iPhone application. Skiff, as you may recall, is the advertising-supported digital publication platform developed by Hearst, who is trying to get it working on a multitude of devices—everything from its own manufactured e-reader to WebOS, Android, the iPhone and the desktop.
• I guess I need some clarification on the Kindle’s book pricing and whether Apple’s store differs in that respect. I was under the impression that all Kindle bestsellers were set at a maximum price of $9.99, whereas some of these new/bestselling books in the iBookstore appear to range from $8-$15.
• Also, sidenote: the names “iBookstore” and “iBooks” are pretty repulsive. Apple can’t come up with better branding?!
• So the e-book format war is finally defined: given Apple’s history, it seemed like a real possibility that they might use a custom proprietary format for e-books. Maybe the company would have to require all books to be coded as iPhone apps or something. But the iPad uses the ePub format, which some of its competitors (like the Nook and the Sony Reader) utilize as well. So the e-book format war is now very defined: ePub vs. Kindle, with maybe some weak competition from Adobe/Plastic Logic’s truVue format.
• The biggest pain point on a tablet is going to be text entry, and that virtual keyboard looks halfway-inadequate or hand-crampingly awful, depending on the size of your appendages. That’s a huge problem considering that the ease of typing on this thing determines whether half of these apps have any practical value. But the keyboard dock will probably fix all of those problems. Even though it looks antiquated and hilarious.
• You know, $10 for each iWork app is not bad at all, and I’d seriously love a touch interface for something like Keynote. An application of that nature, where precision is downplayed in favor of the ability to drag large text and image elements around to form your slides, with a snap-to-align feature, that would be amazing.
• Apple’s relationship with AT&T is reaching a really worrisome status. I want to shake Apple and ask it why it's subjecting itself to this abuse! Or rather, negligence on the part of its partner. But a $30/month prepaid plan for unlimited data is actually awesome, and gets rid of the complaints one would have with a contract. But Apple continuing deals with AT&T doesn’t foreshadow anything good for the iPhone’s future, to say the least…
• That pricing is insane and amazing: using the price points of the iPhone and iPod touch as reference points, $699 for a 64GB Wi-Fi version is really great. Since the iPad starts at $499… well, folks at Apple are obviously planning to be moving a lot of product.
• The 3G plan is data-only… but does AT&T allow VoIP? (Does Apple allow it on Wi-Fi?) Maybe Skype could create a videoconferencing app with that giant screen, the keyboard dock for text chatting, and your combination mic/headphones for sound? (UPDATE: There’s no camera on this thing, but maybe that leaves an opening for a third-party accessory manufacturer. Logitech’s partnered with Skype in the past on its webcams.)

All in all, I think once you get past the initial expectations leading up to this event, this is an incredibly shrewd marketing move from Apple. I mean, it has pretty much blown the netbook category wide open with this thing. At $499, this is a great alternative to that category of devices. This feels like a no-brainer replacement for the Windows 7 netbooks out there.

For a netbook-specific operating system like Moblin or Chrome OS… I mean, I love interacting with a touchscreen, and the display is gorgeous, so that’s an instant competitive advantage… and then there are the iPad’s native apps. With Chrome OS, you’ve got to use Google Docs or Microsoft’s cloud-based Office alternative. I think iWork paired with the keyboard dock would beat that option easily. So, in conclusion: despite the potential disappointment of fanboys and analysts, this thing is obviously on track to become a gigantic success.