Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Apple iPad: Technological Innovation or Creative Marketing?

Apple’s latest technological innovation, the iPad, sparked countless conversations among friends, all of which left me with differing viewpoints. I myself, an avid Apple supporter wanted to believe in the latest development from Steve Jobs, however unlike past creations from the technology giant, the iPad came with hesitation from a consumer standpoint. The result of debating with friends over the pros and cons of iPad left me to question if Apple as a company was changing their direction, by focusing more of their energy on novel advertising strategies rather than creating innovative gadgets.

Upon first glance at the iPad, one cannot help but notice the strikingly similar qualities iPad has to its older sibling, the iPod touch. One of the most interesting points surfaces in a New York Times article, in which author David Pogue asks us to divide our critique of iPad into two categories: “techies” vs. “everyone else.” The first sentence for both categories goes as follows: “The Apple iPad is basically a gigantic iPod touch.” Appearances aside, the iPad does come with a few new added features, the e-book reader app, faster processing speed, and a larger surface area to type upon. However, many of the modern features are of no use. With limited book availability (for the time being), iPad fails in comparison to its competition, the Kindle. Additionally, there is no flash capability, no USB, no DVD drive, and no web cam. My verdict? The iPad would be great if it had the ability to replace the modern day laptop. If Apple truly pushed the envelope, rather than created in essence a large format iPod touch, they would have taken the technology world by storm, rather than giving us more of the same.

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