Matthew Knott

Describing the iPad as a large format iPhone is a huge understatement. This is a revolution for developers, consumers, and the industry as a whole.

As HP showed with their imaginatively titled Slate table computer, it's going to take a lot more than a keyboard-less laptop to make waves in tablet computing.

The table concept is nothing new, and has been around for well over a decade. All that time at market and it's penetration is negligible, when was the last time you saw someone with a tablet computer? exactly. Yet Apple now look set to have the market on tablet devices, even before they've sold a single unit, and here's why.

What It's Not

Windows tablets are, as I mentioned earlier, laptops without keyboards. The interface is often impractical for touch screen, with controls being small or difficult to reach. Yes, it may have a handful of features that can be run full screen or even possibly utilize multi-touch, but after that, everything is just your regular windows application.

Running Mac OS even, on a device like this, would be just as bad, as with any desktop OS.

The use of iPhone OS, while possibly surprising to some, is genius on the part of Apple. It's an operating system designed from scratch to be intuitive, fast and responsive. 

Pricing

Starting at $499 for the 16 gig WIFI model, Apple has set the bar high whilst setting the price low. By comparison, a 16Gig iPhone 3GS would retail at about $550 - $600, so the price is ludicrously appetising. With tablet computing previously being considered a premium priced product, this is now about the same price as a  decent netbook. 

Apple has likely achieved this by using a proprietary processor, which I'm sure we'll see in more and more products. The power consumption demo'd in these chips is industry leading for the grunt the processor can call on.

Compared with something like the $500+ Archos 9, which has a 60 gig hdd but with window's, it needs it. It also has half the battery, and isn't as quick (1.1 ghz atom is way outperformed by apples A4 processor in speed and power consumption).

Simplicity

The iPad has the same simple interface as the iPhone on the home. No start menu's, no drives and folder structure, and no driver problems. That trademark apple simplicity is evident through all of the built in applications, and every one of them looks amazing and has been completely adapted to the iPad.

This has the level of design consumers are looking for, and will love. Applications won't have that nailed-on feeling you get with those that sit on top of some windows based tablets, it's fresh and has an overwhelming sense of intelligent, integrated design.

Functionality

You could easily accuse the iPad of being very restrictive, you can't just load any software, it has to be from the app store. I say so what.

With the app store, you know that the software will run, and that you will be getting something designed either specifically for your device or for a similar mobile device, the important thing is that compatibility is assured, something precious few devices can guarantee.

The iWork demo shows what an amazing platform this can truly be, and that it's not just for giant iPhone apps. Imaging giving your presentation with this in your hand or on a lecturn, you don't have to look at the main screen to control or to know where you are, it's in front of you and it's READABLE!

I'm already envisaging this as the perfect device for using in bed, it has a fantastic web browser, and I can do just about everything on it. I can already develop webpages from my iPhone so having this is going to be a dream. It takes up less room than any laptop yet gives me the same functionality.

Complaints about multitasking are already out there, well for one, apple hasn't specifically talked about multi tasking, I'd say wait and see. That aside I rarely find it an issue in well developed applications, I close one with a click, start the other, close that and in the initial app I'm back where I was when I left. It's not alt and tab but it's also not as restrictive as some will try to convince you.

Application Development

This is going to be massive for application developers. Up until now, there's been some massive creativity shown in getting amazing functionality into a small screen, now they're really going to be able to show off. The fantastic potential for solutions really excites me, what's more, by definition these applications will have to be intuitive, simple and fast to succeed. 

The App store is amazing. It guarantees revenue for the developer (on the whole, not with jailbroken iPhones), and it also allows the cream to float to the top through popularity and reviews. It also promotes sensible pricing. Look at Grand Theft Auto, China Town Wars. £5.99 on the App Store, for the DS it's rro is £29.99, for a version with worse graphics. It's difficult to corner the market, and it's difficult to impose poor products on the masses just because you're a big name (Yes, I mean Microsoft).

I think more developers will be looking seriously at the iPad. The revenue generated by the App Store is already into the millions of dollars for some companies. The bigger format means that applications that don't really fit onto the iphone screen can be now be released with a much higher level of functionality and purpose than would have been possible on an iPhone or iPod touch.

eBooks

There's definitely a lot of fuss about eBook readers at the minute, but to be honest they don't interest me. Devices like the kindle are very limited in what they can do, and I really don't see them as worth it when you take into account the price.

But there's one other problem I have with them, I don't like eBooks. I find it very difficult, for some reason, to digest properly information I read on-screen. Be it from a webpage or a PDF, I cannot seem to absorb it. I tend to print the pages and go somewhere quiet.

I don't know what it is, and have wondered about it many a time. Now, looking at the kindle, that doesn't seem any better. The form factor is perfect but I want it for programming books, with diagrams and source code I can copy out, but the monochrome display is uninspiring and a definite turn-off. The weird thing is, looking at the example image from engadget, the books look really readable and enticing. I think this is because of the clarity of the screen and the font used, but I just have a feeling this may be the holy grail of eBook reading software.

I know I'm not the only one who suffers with this problem, so that could be another market dominated.

What it will do

People have tried beating Apple to market with a tablet device, but none of them have created a ripple, and here's why. Not one of them has a suitable operating system. 

This will be the iPads biggest contribution to table computing. I predict that the inappropriate nature of windows will result in many operators turning to a new linux OS designed for mobile devices, and certainly to Google's Android OS. 

Look at the plethora of devices that are now out copying the iPhone's operating system, and, in the app store, it's operating model. Look at the HTC HD2, an out and out iPhone competitor, that probably wouldn't exist if not for the iPhone. It's shaken up every aspect of the mobile and smart phone market, and the iPad will do the same for tablet computing.

In a year or two there are going to be some fantastic devices coming to the market that do more than the iPad, and improve on what the iPad already does. But in two years, the iPad will be significantly more than it is today.

Apple, like War, has a track record of accelerating the process of invention and innovation, and when all else fails, some good old copying (Expect a large format Zune device in a couple of years, and more reasons to laugh at Steve Ballmer).

Footnotes

Okay, so firstly, yes, I'm an Apple user and have been for many years. I've had apple computers for the last 8 years and am on my second iPhone.

I wouldn't describe myself as a "Fan Boy", maybe an evangelist, but my view of them isn't one-eyed or through apple tinted spectacles, as highlighted when I shot them down over pricing and hardware last year.

Now for some questions and answers...

Was I waiting eagerly for this day? Yes.

Was I going to buy it whatever it did? Possibly.

Am I disappointed it doesn't have a camera? No. I've had one on the iMac for 5 years and have only used it to make distorted images of myself and the family.

Is there anything I don't like about it? Yes. I think they could have done something more imaginative with the home screen. Wallpapers a nice touch though.

What's the one thing I wish it could do? I don't care about flash not being there, in fact I'm glad, damn annoying adverts. What I would LOVE is if you could use web-based rich text editors like Tiny MCE, something I rely on heavily, and would make my life so much easier.

Would I take a shot in the mouth from Steve Jobs? I'd take two.