I am constantly amazed at the great PR Apple gets: this week the iPad was on the cover of Newsweek, Steve Jobs was on the cover of Time and Stephen Colbert gave the iPad the best plug I have ever seen.
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Self Serving! The iPad is touted as a great new tool to consume media. And.. we see media promoting the iPad. A nice symbiotic relationship in my eyes.. now to create revenue sources for content creators. We’ll see!
I like to think that it is a triumph of exquisite design. Of course it is more complex than that. I think Beth observes a key piece of the puzzle. But other devices have also promised new tools to promote consumption and have not met similar fanfare
I think the fire here is stoked by past commercial success. But that success – repeated several times – is built on design and commitment to usability that seems to be lacking in many other technology products.
I was struck by David Pogue’s review in the times noting that geeks have all sorts of issues with the iPad and that it will be wonderful for everyone else. I alwyas want to say to the geeks, “so why have you not made the product you think it would be so easy for Apple to produce?
I think that the iPad is in the same econiche as the Kindle but much more elegant. They are both passive, just like a book, for that matter. And that is the geeks complaint and, I think Beth is right, that is why the media, which is seeing its old distribution system going away, loves it. Or, at least, that is why the media wants to love it. They do love it because it is gorgeous.
And, I think, the time is right. All the apps for the iPhone changed the game. Now the world is ready for the iPad. In a strange way, even though the iPad is passive for the end user, getting there is open and creative.
Richard
I remember Samantha saying, about twenty years ago now when she was pitching design, that when things don’t work well; people will buy what works the best. But, when everything works about the same, people will buy the best design.
Elegant design has always been a hallmark of Apple. It’s their silver bullet… what really sets them apart along with a delightful user experience when buying a product. For most companies, user manuals and legal disclosures fall out of boxes and envelopes and are annoying. Apple packages them neatly and simply — available when needed but out of the way when not. Let’s not forget that Apple is a great marketing firm. They make you covet what they offer. A few weeks ago, I was talking to the President of a technology firm who disavows marketing as a useless endeavor — only needed when products are sub-par. you can imagine how much that pleased me. Apple goes where few technology companies go… tremendous investment in design and overall user experience. Get’s my vote — with my $$$.
Of course, the power that comes with so much adulation has a price.
http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/04/mark-fiore-can-win-a-pulitzer-prize-but-he-cant-get-his-iphone-cartoon-app-past-apples-satire-police/
Why can’t my heroes be perfect?
My heroes can redeem themselves!
http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/04/apple-approves-pulitzer-winners-iphone-app-cartoonist-now-free-to-mock-the-powerful-on-cell-phones/
Michele and I were talking about Apple tonight. How they are the innovators of every computer advancement. Home computer, windows environment, mouse, smart phone – I know, Blackberry really invented the smart phone; but not really – and now the iPad, the first real home computer.