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First iPad Reviews Are In

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40hz:
40hz, perhaps you're not really suggesting that there are "only" these 2 camps, but even suggesting they're the majority seems dubious to me.

The sad thing is I think it *will* appeal to average people
-JavaJones (April 08, 2010, 07:37 PM)
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- Oshyan
-JavaJones (April 08, 2010, 07:37 PM)
--- End quote ---

Actually, for the purposes of this discussion, I am suggesting just that.  :)

But I don't mean to imply either side has an automatic advantage when it comes to technical sophistication or depth of knowledge. Sorry if I might have come across that way.

To me it comes down to whether or not you're comfortable living within a completely closed information and software ecosystem.

If you don't have a problem with that, Apple's product philosophy will work for you.

If you do have a problem with some entity arbitrarily deciding what you can have and what you can do with it, then it won't. And that's a problem that will remain for this group even if they never actually do exercise their freedom of choice. Having available options is what's crucial to them.

Group A-types believe in the notion of a single "best" way to do things.

Group B-types believe in the notion of a selection of "better" ways  to accomplish things.

So yeah, I guess I really do believe it breaks down into two groups.

The funny thing (to me) is how I keep hearing about the so-called "average person" or "average computer user." From my experience, I'm firmly convinced there's no such a thing - unless you want to apply that label to all the people who don't much care what they use and who therefor take whatever they're given.

Again, this is just my two cents on the topic - but I see a very significant crossroad coming up for the personal computing community. And I see the iPad as one of the first manifestations of the direction it could go in if this product (or some philosophical equivalent) gains widespread market acceptance.

Apple always maintained they were more about vision, ideas, and attitudes than they were about physical products. I think the iPhone and iPad represent an alternate vision of where Apple thinks the world is going (or should be going) when it comes to ubiquitous data access and communications.

It's hard not to sound melodramatic, but the simple truth is there's an awful lot at stake here. You have two irreconcilable visions of how the future web and infospace should work.

And the market will ultimately decide which path the world will go down based on what sells best.

So I guess we'll have to just wait and see if George Orwell - or should I say Steve Jobs(?) - is right.

 8)


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Note: did a minor edit to correct the grammar in one rambling sentence.

JavaJones:
OK, so I get the split between those who care - whether in principle or otherwise - about "lock-in" and those who don't. Makes perfect senes, and I agree. This does not surprise or bother me at all; it makes perfect sense. And in fact it mirrors much of the way the rest of the world works, for example the difference between politically active people and those who just don't care about politics (even if they still vote).

What *does* surprise me is how Apple is screwing its target demographic of "those who don't care about lock-in" with all these bizarre limits, issues, etc. I guess it just surprises me that they get away with it.

- Oshyan

40hz:
it mirrors much of the way the rest of the world works, for example the difference between politically active people and those who just don't care about politics (even if they still vote). -JavaJones (April 09, 2010, 12:14 AM)
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I agree with you 100%  :Thmbsup:

What *does* surprise me is how Apple is screwing its target demographic of "those who don't care about lock-in" with all these bizarre limits, issues, etc. I guess it just surprises me that they get away with it.

--- End quote ---

I guess it surprises me too - even though it shouldn't any more.

But isn't that just another example of your excellent point that it's much of the way the rest of the world works?  :)

People often treat others in a shabby manner courtesy of the meme which says: those who allow themselves to be pushed around "don't deserve" to be treated any better.

 :o

wraith808:
The big thing about this 'closed ecosystem' mentality is that for most people for most devices, this has always been the case.  Cell phone?  Unless you get a smartphone, it's pretty much closed in any case.  And people want their phones to work first and foremost as a phone.  That's why I defected from WinMo... as much as I wanted to be on a platform I could actually program for using my existing skillset, the fact that my phone crashed so often was a disconcerting thing.  And it didn't get better at a speed that made me comfortable.  My last WinMo phone was only a little over a year ago.  And my wife had to use it after me for a bit until I could get her iPhone.. she's not a techie by any means, though she does have a bit of technical know how.  She longed for her LG Shine over the WinMo phone that I gave her, and was ready to throw it out of the window.  Closed ecosystem or not, the iPhone just works, and she's not in any way frustrated with it.  Before the phone it was the MP3 player for Apple.  Again, how many people *really* did anything out of the ecosystem of MP3 players?  What difference does it being closed matter to most people?  Not much, I hazard to say.  And the iPod, again, just works.  I loved my Rio Karma, but in the end, the experience between the Karma and the iPod were night and day.

So now they find themselves getting into a different market.  I think that's the reason that books are so important on the iPad.  The eBook readers are, again, a closed system.  Sure you can do some thing with them outside of the manufacturer's thinking- but for most people, they are just book readers.  But where I think Apple is going to have to adjust is at the same place they had to adjust on the iPhone... price.  No matter what they say, the price point puts it at the same place as devices with a lot more functionality.  And no matter the additional functionality, perception puts it not much above an eReader or iPhone.  Maybe they can get past this without lowering the price... but I tend to doubt it.

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