devil in the details

Some quick, top-line thoughts on the iPad:

This doesn’t strike me as a mass-market product. Rather, it is a luxury; something that I think the Apple aficionados and a segment of the creative class will take to quickly. It is important to remember that not everyone is an early adopter, and this device does replicate a lot of the functionality that an iPhone or Touch has, albeit on a much larger screen.

In addition, many people saying this is a Kindle killer. Not so fast. One of the most under appreciated aspects of the Kindle is its simplicity. It does one thing: render text well. It also delivers content quickly without any additional costs (beyond the cost of said content) per month. This is contrasted with a much more expensive device, plus 3g fees of 30 dollars/month, plus the price of content. That adds up to quite a lot if you want to use the device outside of wi-fi areas. On ATT’s network.

Pros:

• Clocking in at 1.5 lbs, compared to 3 lbs for the Macbook air, I could see this working very well for travel, especially when not a lot of emailing is required.
• The battery life they are claiming (10 hour flight between SF to Tokyo) is fantastic if true. I’d love to load up several movies/multimedia for the flight to Asia.

Cons:

• This is 1st gen Apple. Enough said.
• At first glance, typing looks relatively awkward. I wouldn’t expect to be plowing through emails on this.
• Traditional media has a lot of catching up to do before they can maximize the potential of this format.

This is only the opening salvo. Knowing Apple, they have a few set-piece reviews waiting in the wings. We shall see how the public perception and demand develops.