What Apple’s iPad Means to Business, The Publishing Industry and You
by Bill French on 28/01/10 at 5:00 am
Bill French is an information architect specializing in Internet applications. He is also the co-founder of MyST Technology Partners and Senior Editor for iPhoneCTO.
We tend to think about Apple as a personal computer and gadget manufacturer, but since the first iPod was released, Apple set in motion a business strategy that is far bigger than the devices it sells. iPod was a means to an end – the end of Napster and the dawn of a sane online music distribution model.
It’s the distribution model that earns Apple significant revenues and device dominance in a market that was previously in perilous disarray. Apple saw the disintegration of the music industries business model as an opportunity to bring order to a chaotic death-spiral.
The emergence of iPhone and its app-based smartness instilled order in a similar world of smart-phone chaos. It provided a monetization methodology and an approach for mobile app developers to create consistent and reliable user experiences; a missing aspect of mobile computing that created unnecessary friction for adoption by businesses. Third-party monetization for services, content, and data is now possible through iPhone apps – indeed, Jobs has redefined the relationship between information, applications, and content distribution. The success and opportunities for information and entertainment solutions with iPhone are growing in depth and breadth each day and iPhone OS 4.0 is sure to unleash some amazing opportunities when it is announced.
Like iPod and iPhone, Apple’s iPad Tablet is once again, not so much a device as it is a conduit for re-engineering information consumption in an industry in chaos; i.e. the publishing industry. By combining the broadly accepted and fully tested aspects of iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and most importantly, consumer preferences, Jobs has again tackled a daunting and seemingly unsolvable problem; a soup-to-nuts distribution, monetization, and information consumption solution for the ailing media industry.
The Past is Prologue
With the Apple iPad shipping on the near horizon (60 days for WIFI, 90 days for 3G) and a clearer picture of Steve’s vision for this device, it’s humbling to think that iPod and iPhone were simply precursors to a much grander vision. Apple had to perfect the development of scalable, frictionless, low-cost transactions in iTunes with flawless device integration and monetization for digital media before it could tackle the biggest media challenge of all.
iPod, iPhone, and iTunes were carefully planned stepping stones, each designed in a fashion with extreme insight into a future that lay years ahead. This approach is genius and reminds me of Bert Rutan’s Spaceship Two. His design and methodical planning is a series steps intended to test all future components as integral, but fully functioning production systems along the pathway to successful deployment.
How Does Apple iPad Intersect With Business?
It should come as no surprise that iPad will run iPhone apps under the current iPhone OS and when OS 4.0 ships, it will be pervasively used across iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad. Applications created for iPhone OS 3.x and earlier will work on iPad and magically, the entire app store is relevant to the iPad. It’s not a stretch to imagine that Apple designers have carefully planned an SDK-based upgrade path to accommodate the new tablet form factor for apps initially designed for iPhone and iPodTouch. iPhone apps can run in 1:1 pixel resolution on the iPad’s desktop or as full screen apps, although at a lower resolution.
The big question for business and technical leaders involves the tablet itself; is this a device that really matters to business and enterprise workers?
When iPhone first debuted, few pundits, and even fewer CTO’s, expressed excitement about iPhone as a business device. They missed a key element of the platform – agility – the ability of the device to shape-shift to meet specific business requirements with highly productive application point solutions.
According to Quinton Alsbury, President of MeLLmo, the company that created Roambi for iPhone, a business intelligence app:
“Apple’s new iPad is poised to change how mobile workers conduct business – it’s more mobile than a laptop, more powerful than a smartphone, and primed to tap into mobile business apps like Roambi that are designed for on-the-go professionals.”
Indeed, for business professionals that need to “make a point” – whether it’s in a sales role, as a designer, a programmer, or a thought leader – iPad will be highly valuable as communication device as much as a content consumption device. We cannot dismiss (at a business level) the need for a unified experience for mobile content consumption and communication. Mr. Alsbury continues:
“When we designed Roambi for the iPhone, our motto was “don’t shrink, rethink” – that is, rethink how to interact with information on a small screen. Similarly, as we optimize Roambi for the iPad, we’ll be rethinking how to leverage more screen real estate while still offering a better way to view, analyze and interact with critical business information on the go.”
And in concert with the comments from MeLLmo’s president, all indications are that Apple didn’t just up-size the iPod Touch to create the iPad. There are dozens of user interface improvements that add to the usability and productivity for business people trying to get stuff done as quickly as possible. Early reports indicate the screen resolution is superior to the Kindle DX – a real pleaser to the eye. And the performance is much faster than what you’d experience on an iPhone 3Gs.
Wrap Up
At a starting price of $499 (for a 16GB, Wifi-enabled version), this is an affordable device for all business travelers and especially affordable for small businesses and business people considering a netbook @$329 or a 4GB Nexus One at a total cost of $2449 over a two year contract. These are somewhat odd comparisons in pricing, but they are typical of what we think about when trying to make technology decisions.
For those that need pervasive connectivity, there’s an unlimited 3G data plan available from AT&T for $29.99/month and no contract. Some business people will find 3G connectivity attractive; others will be quite happy with wifi knowing their own tendencies to be in wifi range.Apple’s iPad Tablet is once again, not so much a device as it is a conduit for re-engineering information consumption in an industry in chaos; i.e. the publishing industry.
F. Andy Seidl
Jan 28th, 2010
I agree that the real prize here is reengineering the publishing industry. Ben Kunz has created a great little video that tells that story: http://bit.ly/7NBW7t
alissaqw
May 24th, 2010
iPad will only serve to accelerate the decline of print media.
data recovery
May 24th, 2010
iPad will only serve to accelerate the decline of print media.