The iPad has passed $1 billion in sales, according to simple multiplication of the company’s 2 million announced-sales of the product after a mere two months of availability.
Earlier this month, Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe predicted that the iPad would become the fastest consumer product in history to hit the $1 billion mark. While that’s a tough call to make definitively, it is undeniable that the iPad has surpassed mere hype and made at least a commercial splash. Some analysts believe it is changing the nature of personal computing, too. What do you think?
Here are some of the most interesting opinions I’ve come across lately.
“The iPad is a new kind of PC. It ushers in a new era of Curated Computing — a mode of computing in which choice is constrained to deliver more relevant, less complex experiences. Curated Computing is necessary to empower alternative form factors, such as touchscreen tablets, wearable and ambient devices, game consoles, and connected TVs. The iPad’s Curated Computing experience makes the tablet form factor viable for the first time since it was introduced commercially more than two decades ago.”
– Forrester’s Sarah Rotman Epps, Apple’s iPad is a New Kind of PC. (Brings to mind Chris Messina’s Death of the URL.)
“In my initial review, I focused on capabilities. And tablets are stuck between the power and utility of the notebook and the size and features of a smartphone. But they also create a middle place in terms of usability. And that is what I missed in my first day with the iPad. It feels less like a computer than any computing device I’ve owned. It’s easy on me in a way that the other devices are not. So I’m now convinced that tablets will have an important place in our homes and our lives.”
– Tech investor Fred Wilson, I’ve Changed My Mind About the iPad. Wilson has also said that he prefers reading content in mobile Safari over content-centric apps. Take that, curated web.
Wilson’s appreciation of the iPad’s usability contradicts with usability expert Jakob Nielsen’s assessment :
“iPad apps are inconsistent and have low feature discoverability, with frequent user errors due to accidental gestures. An overly strong print metaphor and weird interaction styles cause further usability problems.”
Personally, I love mine. I wish there were more apps, but I really enjoy using Facebook, YouTube, Twitterific and a number of other apps on it. It feels casual, efficient, enjoyable. It helps me get my laundry folded and my dishes done. I like it, a lot.
My wife says it doesn’t feel crazy, novel and magical anymore – now it feels indispensable and integrated into our lives. “It’s like finding a lover,” she says. “At first everything they do is exciting, but over time a good lover becomes more of a real person. Some of the initial fascination is gone, but it becomes a super important part of your life. And like a good lover, in time it becomes difficult to imagine going to bed without it each night.” I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that, but I appreciate her letting me quote her saying it in this post. So far at least, I do not feel jealous of the iPad.
What’s your take on the iPad?
