My family is making a gradual--and expensive shift--to Apple. My son gave me his Sony MP3 when he got his iPod. My daughter opted for a Macbook to drive her Bamboo pad. And I am typing this post on my wife's abandoned and battered laptop that she replaced with a Macbook Pro.
Last night, I caught all three scanning our ATT account, counting the days until they can upgrade to the new iPhones. None of them even have the old iPhones.
Hopefully, Santa will spring for or show up with Macbook Airs for Christmas, so I can claim my daughter's discarded Macbook and join the Apple movement.
Zimm's Two Cents
This does not appear to be happening in one household; in fact, this appears to be a steady trend across the country.
For personal reasons, I bought Jamie a Macbook Air. He now complains about his PC desktop at home. As he sits and waits on updates, virus scans, and the system to finish processing everything else under the sun, he ponders the idea of a nice user-friendly iMac. (He has already picked out the one he wants.) Yet, his PC is not even a year or two old.
For business reasons, I bought him the iPad; however, I have been the one playing with it all weekend. I knew that this was a popular tool, but after reviewing at work the last few weeks and then playing with it this weekend, I started to realize that this is the future - this or renditions thereof.
Take a look at the Kno. Text books were already on the way out the door, but with the Kno they are truly dinosaurs - as is the Kindle. Amazon (and other sites) are already marking them down.
I'm sorry to say it, but once you have an iPad and played with it for a while, you will realize that this is the future. You will no longer need your PC or your laptop. You definitely don't need a Kindle or a netbook.
Netbook sales are on a nosedive, and I was one of the ones who bought one for my father-in-law this past Christmas. However, Jamie and I are already discussing an iPad for them this year. Anyone interested in an outdated netbook?
While this may be my first year of Apple purchases, I realize that this is only the beginning. I now understand the craze that surrounds their products. While PC focused on mass distribution, Apple focused on stability, reliability, and ease-of-use. Apple understands their customers.
And while Bayard's kids count the days to the iPhone, I count the days until the iPhone is offered via Verizon and/or T-Mobile.
Zimm's Two CentsThis does not appear to be happening in one household; in fact, this appears to be a steady trend across the country.
For personal reasons, I bought Jamie a Macbook Air. He now complains about his PC desktop at home. As he sits and waits on updates, virus scans, and the system to finish processing everything else under the sun, he ponders the idea of a nice user-friendly iMac. (He has already picked out the one he wants.) Yet, his PC is not even a year or two old.
For business reasons, I bought him the iPad; however, I have been the one playing with it all weekend. I knew that this was a popular tool, but after reviewing at work the last few weeks and then playing with it this weekend, I started to realize that this is the future - this or renditions thereof.
Take a look at the Kno. Text books were already on the way out the door, but with the Kno they are truly dinosaurs - as is the Kindle. Amazon (and other sites) are already marking them down.
I'm sorry to say it, but once you have an iPad and played with it for a while, you will realize that this is the future. You will no longer need your PC or your laptop. You definitely don't need a Kindle or a netbook.
Netbook sales are on a nosedive, and I was one of the ones who bought one for my father-in-law this past Christmas. However, Jamie and I are already discussing an iPad for them this year. Anyone interested in an outdated netbook?
While this may be my first year of Apple purchases, I realize that this is only the beginning. I now understand the craze that surrounds their products. While PC focused on mass distribution, Apple focused on stability, reliability, and ease-of-use. Apple understands their customers.
And while Bayard's kids count the days to the iPhone, I count the days until the iPhone is offered via Verizon and/or T-Mobile.
6 comments:
Zimm, I believe you're overstating the position of the iPad. I don't think it's a lap top/pc killer. It's an internet appliance much like the iPod Touch or iPhone or other smart phone. It's not a replacement for your portable computing devices. It's a complementary product. If anything it promotes the sales of devices like the MIFI from Verizon or Sprint. I don't think the iPad is a suitable replacement for your in-laws' netbook yet.
Part of the reason for the decline in sales of netbooks is due to market saturation. The first and second wave of netbooks on the market aren't due to be replaced for at least another year. I think there is a place for netbooks in the market, but there will not be as many players in the future.
For the iPad to truly be a notebook/netbook killer it needs a better input device. The soft keyboards of the iPad/iPod/iPhone/insert smart device name here are OK for the limited interactivity you have when using them. Can you imagine typing your thesis on an iPad? Or a business proposal? Once they work out a proper keyboard replacement then it will have the potential of being a true computing device.
I hope Jamie is running AV on his Mac. There are more and more viruses being written for the Mac now that a lot of the virus writers have abandoned their Macs for Linux based systems.
Which brings me to another issue with the iPad/iPod/iPhone, the closed system for installing software. In order to run a program on your device (legally) it has to be an Apple approved program and be installed through their store. So it not only stifles creativity it also makes Apple a further monopoly and I don't think we want that.
As we move more and more of our computing and data to the "cloud" appliances like the iPad will become more important. I'm not sure we have the infrastructure in the US if one of these were to end up in the hands of every American.
One of the nice things about the iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone is the intuitive nature of the interface. Users just get it. I could hand one of these to my 3 year old and within minutes he'd be watching something inappropriate on YouTube or something.
More thoughts later.
The Marvel and DC apps make the iPad a really interesting option. I don't really like to read comics this way myself. I'd rather have a larger screen and simulate a more comic book like reading experience. Have you tested either?
Personally I'd prefer a reader with a bigger screen, like say a Kindle DX, preferable eInk and in color. The downside is you don't get the full double page spread experience, but you'd be able to read a comment at your own pace without the auto forward action.
The ebook readers is another interesting thing. I think they're in an interesting downward spiral to see who can get to a free ebook reader first. In a lot of ways it would make sense for Amazon or Barnes and Noble to give away their readers in exchange for a two year subscription to buy books at say two books a month. The other thing that I could see Amazon do is have a combo Audible / Kindle purchase. If you buy the Audible book, you get a discounted / free Kindle book. And if somehow they combined the two in such a way that I could listen to the audio book while I'm driving and have it sync automatically with where I am in the Kindle book and switch to the Kindle book when I reach my destination and pick up reading where the audio book left off. I think one of the big things Kindle is missing is an iTunes type app. You options to get material onto the Kindle is either through Windows Explorer (or the equivalent) or by downloading from Amazon wirelessly. The battery life of the Kindle is amazing. I get somewhere around 13-15 hours off of one charge. Try that with your iPad.
I'd like to see the Kindle have a Wi Fi mode. As I recall it only has a 3g connection and no wi fi. Since they now run on the AT&T network, there are times I'd rather use the local wireless to download books.
I'd really like a new Kindle DX, since I have the 1st gen Kindle.
The Kno looks interesting, but I can't imagine reading my textbooks on an ebook reader. Plus highlighting and note taking in the books wouldn't work exactly the same. I'd have to figure it out. I do like the idea of having two "pages".
I'm looking forward to the day when a screen is unnecessary. I just can't quite figure out what form this would take. We've all seen the sci fi future where everyone wears glasses or goggles for their screen. While I can see something like that getting implemented, I can't quite see it catching on fashionwise. I halfway like the goggle idea, especially if you go the Steampunk route.
I understand your points, and that is part of the reason that I pointed out the Kno.
The future is with tablets, and if you need to write a paper, blog, or article, you can always get a clip on keyboard or even one of those really cool light keyboards.
However, the primary reason that I see both Apple and the iPad moving to the forefront is the amount of dollars that companies are putting behind the both of them. If the industry (business) supports them, then that is what they truly need to survive.
Finally, a comment on the netbook. I bought one for both Jim and myself. After owning one for a little over a year, I find it to be the most un-user-friendly type of computer out there. Screen is to small; keys are to small; and its not easy on the eyes either.
Even if you are not considering the iPad, do not consider a netbook.
Tablets are a very good short term solution to the problem of how do we keep everyone connected to the cloud all of the time.
I've been talking about the inevitability of tablets being necessary for about 3 1/2 years. Actually before I fully understood eInk, I thought the Kindle would actually be a tablet. I think ideally a tablet would be color eInk based with an optional backlit setting.
After looking at and reading about the iPad and different smart phone OSs, I almost think that a WebOS (formerly Palm now HP) would be the ideal OS for a business tablet. I could be wrong. There's also Symbian (I don't think that will happen), Maemo, Android (which they haven't fixed the smart phone issues, so they're not really tablet ready), and many more.
Netbooks are small pieces of crap, but if you're an on the go blogger or student, they're OK and more useful than a tablet.
I would tend to agree with your assessment that a netbook is not the way to go. I probably wouldn't recommend using it to browse the web, but for emails and typing up blog posts or reports or whatever, they're not so bad. With that said, a device that can run for 6-10 hours on a single charge and access the internet and has a hardware keyboard for less than $400 isn't a completely bad choice. Now being a big guy, I have to say I've only ever tested one (it was one of the HP models) that had a keyboard I could use efficiently.
I have yet to see a portable keyboard that I would use for very long. I've played with different ones over the years going back to my Palm Treo 650 days with both a bluetooth one and a plug in one and most recently a small one that I was using with one of my Windows Mobile phones a year or so ago.
A huge part of the advantage that the iPad has is the inexpensive touch screen technology they've utilized. When these get much less expensive, you'll really see this technology take off. Which fully contradicts my concept of an eInk tablet.
Cloud computing is very likely the future and tablets are going to be the window to that future. I'm personally looking forward to whatever the next step is beyond tablets.
How many shares of Apple does Microsoft own these days?
One more thought: I will probably end up with an iPad one day. I don't think it will replace my Kindle. I really enjoy reading on the Kindle.
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