Can the iPad Really be all That?
As much of an Apple addict I am, I have my doubts that Apple can really pull off what it says it can. Don’t get me wrong, if Steve Jobs were to create a new type of toilet paper I would buy it. I am on my second macbook, first iPhone and God knows how many iPods I own.
But the iPad doesn’t do anything that other Apple devices do. If you have an iPhone and a macbook then you don’t need an iPad. If the iPad came out before the iPhone I could see this going differently. People would have been more amazed with the device and when the iPhone came out people may have been more inclined to buy it because it does everything the iPad does and it makes calls, well for the most part.
However, it does have its faults. Like the fact that Flash, which is used on most web pages, is not supported. Apple was even foolish enough to go to nytimes.com during the press conference, and as Steve Jobs scrolled down video after video was unplayable.
But the real reason I am writing this is because of what Condé Nast is planning on doing with its magazines. In April the company plans on having digital versions of GQ magazine online followed by Vanity Fair and Wired and The New Yorker and Glamour in the summer.
Condé Nast has not settled on a price for these applications yet, but said it will experiment with different prices and settle on something in the fall.
I think this will work, but it’s not going to happen now. It’s going to take some time to work out all the bugs, just like all the problems with the iPhone when it came out.
This device can, and probably will, do a lot for journalism. It is a good “go between” for print and online. I can see magazines and newspapers being delivered to people on their iPads each morning, plus video and audio that is not online. There can be updates throughout the day on developing stories and breaking news alerts.
This could all be just wishful thinking. But if this video below of what Wired has in store is any indication of the way things will go, I have to say I am optimistic.
Editor's Notes 