Quick Thoughts on the iPad

So many comments have been posted about the iPad… I don’t expect mine to shed any new light on the views already shared. And, I haven’t seen or touched one, so that diminishes the value of my opinion even further. Nonetheless, and for the sake of reflecting upon my initial thoughts later on, I will post.

First, I think its an interesting idea… but I don’t think its wicked cool yet. It doesn’t seem to do a lot more than an iPhone or iPod touch, except have a bigger screen. In that sense, it feels like an iPod touch for those with diminishing eyesight who also like to buy large format scriptures and complain about small fonts.

Because it is not a phone, I still need an iPhone. And even though I have two iPod touches, I rarely use them because I have my iPhone. I don’t even like iPod touches for working out or running, because they are too big. Nano is great for those occasions.

Because it is not a real computer, I still need a laptop (I have a Macbook Pro). My MacBook is awesome, and with Parallels and Windows XP installed I essentially have two computers in one. And even though the iPad is not as big as my laptop, it doesn’t fit in my pocket so I still need a bag… in which case I might as well bring my laptop.

I’ve heard the iPad doesn’t support Flash (like the iPhone). Both lame… too many cool websites I like use Flash.

I wonder about battery life with the iPad. With all the apps on my iPhone the battery doesn’t last one day, even without making many phone calls. With a bigger screen and bigger videos and games, will the battery make it through the day with much use?

Because it can’t replace my phone and can’t replace my laptop, when/how will I use it? Maybe at home for fun? Maybe take it with me on trips if I have room in my already overpacked bag? And is that worth the pretty hefty price tag they’ve got on them now?

In addition to that, with AT&T as the exclusive data plan provider, I have serious concerns. I use AT&T and haven’t been overly impressed with their coverage or their customer support. And with the problems they have had in NYC and SF regarding bandwidth, and AT&T execs going on record that they may penalize high-bandwidth users or find ways to ‘encourage’ users to throttle back their bandwidth use, I think the iPad will have significant challenges on an already-stretched AT&T network.

I didn’t see a stylus, which would have been cool… and quite possibly a 3rd party peripherals company like Logitech will develop one, but using your finger (if they are as thick as mine are) is just not a good way to write yourself a note or make a drawing. And, if someone created a stylus that would work with the iPhone I’d probably just use that instead (unless I was an architect or artist).

I may be part of a dying breed on this point, but I like print. I like being offline sometimes. I love magazines and books and even though I’ve used the Kindle I still prefer the non-digital experience that some of my magazines provide. Granted, I do love video and I like the interactivity of digital for certain uses, but I can use my laptop very easily for those cases. Will someone buy an iPad that doesn’t have a laptop? Probably… although again it is pretty expensive to use it just for web surfing, games, or email.

Lastly… I will be interested to see/hear about the iPad’s speed. My iPhone 3G (not S) is pretty slow. When I type emails or Tweets, the typing lags behind a bit. Frustrating sometimes, but I put up with it because it is also my phone. If the web browsing experience, gaming experience, or video watching experience is very slow for users, it might prohibit widespread adoption. I certainly wouldn’t want to pay that much money for slow performance.

I am anxious to see one and look forward to hearing from friends who buy them. I’d love to be wrong about my concerns. We’ll see if Apple can create new marketshare with the iPad, or if it will take a bite out of both iPod touch and MacBook Air sales…

Hello world!

Just joined WordPress. Time to do some real blogging… not just pictures of my wife and kid and links to favorite movies and websites. I chose WordPress because of their impressive use of grey hues and strategic mix of Georgia and Arial. Once upon a time I designed fonts… it was a great gig. I made about $200/hr at the ripe old age of 12, and had the coolest BMX bike in the neighborhood. Until it was stolen. But it was returned… by my future brother-in-law, no less. We still talk about that bike (blue Mongoose with yellow mag wheels… which, if you weren’t a teenager in the 80s, is the BMX equivalent of a Ferrari with 24″ chrome spinners). Yet I digress. I really wanted to start this blog to post great stuff about marketing, strategy, customer loyalty, product development, and social (and non) media.

I grew up with newspapers as an integral part of my life. My dad started several, and wrote some software to publish them that has made him very successful. He brought home newspapers and I would lay on the ground (several months old) and roll around in them, crumple them up, and eat them. I literally have newspapers in my blood. I was a paperboy, then a press boy and one of my favorite passtimes was dumpster diving from the paper roll towers into huge garbage bins full of shredded paper. I loved the smell of ink, newsprint, and the sound of the rolling presses.

Things have changed… newspapers have been slow (and sometimes reluctant) to adopt new technology (I know because I spent years trying to sell it to them). They are now paying the price… but I don’t think the game is over. Breaking news isn’t/won’t be their gig so much, with independent journalists abandoning their cubicles in droves and posting great and immediate content on Twitter and other social media channels. However, much of that focus is on national and international events, rather than local events. And while it is amazing that you can get the 140-character synopsis on what’s happening at nearly the moment it happens, it is still valuable to be able to get the whole story at some point. News still happens, and in-depth analysis is still valuable. There is room for news organizations to not be news “papers” so much any more, but to empower, organize, and distribute news content in various forms that complement and reinforce each other.

That’s what this blog will mostly be about. I am working on (O-CODES), a startup idea that could change the landscape a bit, bridging the widening gap between print and digital, social and non-social, offline and online media. I will post about the company, ask for feedback and ideas from customers and investors and critics alike, and will collect articles and images and information that I find informative, humorous, or intriguing.

I may also use this blog as an emotional outlet… other than working out, writing is cathartic for me. You may not enjoy what I write. In fact, you most likely won’t. But this is cheaper than hiring a therapist, and I’m in bootstrap mode right now.