iPad Gut Reactions

For weeks now (really, years) the tech world has been ablaze with rumors of a pending Apple tablet device. Each possible aspect, every leak and every “leak,” every business move by Apple that could be connected to the fabled device, every hint of a whiff of an scent of a specification has been analyzed a thousand times over by every tech geek, Mac fanboy, financial analyst, and casual observer the world around. Hell, even I chipped in a few thoughts on the device a few months back (mostly “shut up and bring me new Macbook Pros!”).

So now that the specs have been revealed and the device is available for all to see, what’s my gut reaction?

Meh.

I will say, certain aspects of the device look awesome. Running all my iPhone apps natively? Sweet. 10 hours battery life and a month standby on one charge? Oh hell yeah. The form-factor is very nice, and the design (aside from the 1” bezel on all sides) is gorgeous.

And, unlike investors (who are typically underwhelmed by Apple announcements due to over-hyped expectations set by the rabble- ahem, TUAW, BGR, MacRumors, Giz, Engadget, and others) I’m generally impressed with the specifications of the device. It’s a souped-up iPhone – it’s got all the bells and whistles you’d expect, and it’ll likely be an extremely polished device.

But with that said, I’d like to pose the question here that I’ve been asking the folks around me for several days now: where does this device fit into my lifestyle?

What gap in my technological lifestyle does the iPad fill in?

In his keynote, Steve Jobs mentioned that there are something like 250 million users who already know the interface for the iPad, with 125 million credit cards in the system. Apple SVP Scott Forstall said that Apple thinks “it’s going to be a whole other gold rush for developers as they build apps for the iPad.” They’re not a pitching that for consumers; that’s a pitch to investors and developers. Apple wants them to believe that the iPad is going to sell like hotcakes – but more than that, that it will have the same kind of lasting mass-market appeal that the iPod Touch and iPhone have had. They’re pitching this as a cultural milestone.

But I would ask them, sincerely, why that’s the case.

The iPad fails to replicate one major feat that helped catapult the iPhone to market-dominating levels of success: it doesn’t replace anything essential.

The Macbook is a superior laptop to the one you’re reading this on. The iPhone is a superior phone to what’s in your pocket. The iPod is a superior MP3 player to what you’ve brought to the gym.

But the iPad is an add-on device that can’t replace anything you already own. Apple isn’t just trying to innovate here (something which they do extremely well) – they’re trying to create a market to create demand for a product they want to sell. As Steve Jobs said in his presentation, everyone has a laptop these days, and everyone (so it seems) has a smartphone. But I disagree with his conclusion that the iPad needs to do things better than both of them – I think the iPad needed to be a viable replacement for one (or both) of them.

Now, Steve Jobs has started more Fortune 100 companies than I have, so I’m guessing he has a bit more insight into this than I do. That said, I just don’t see where the fit is. I agree with Gene Munster over at Piper Jaffray on one point, at least: I think this is going to eat into sales of iPod touch devices. But I seriously wonder if it will do much more than that.

Speaking for myself, I can’t justify getting one, not yet. I have my iPhone, I have my laptop;  what do I need a third device for? I’ll have to bring my phone and laptop everywhere I go – adding a third device just seems superfluous.