So yesterday Apple finally put the gadget loving masses out of their misery and unveiled its latest creation, the iPad, to the world. It’s a pretty impressive piece of kit, aesthetically pleasing and seemingly with the potential to be a bit of a game changer in the way we consume media, especially with its iBooks proposition (Amazon and its Kindle are surely looking over their shoulder). But, despite yet another well oiled launch by Steve and the team, I’m yet to be convinced on several things.
In Europe how will the cheaper, Wi-Fi only model fare? Put simply, not well. Without 3G, what’s the use?
And does an already saturated market need another category of device to choose from? I don’t feel that normal consumers think there is this gap between smartphones and netbooks that urgently needs filling, and the high cost (especially for the 3G version) will put most consumers off. Beyond the early adopters and Apple fanboys, I struggle to think where the demand for the iPad will come from. Netbooks have proved to be hugely popular amongst a wider consumer market in the past year, and for the iPad to come in and usurp that will be a big ask.
Still, it’s going to be interesting to see how people take to the iPad when it does arrive, and at least now the months of speculation and ridiculously over-hyped news stories are behind us. I can’t say I will miss stories such as ‘Apple delays new product that’s not even launched yet’!
