Hopefully time will answer the iPad question

Jan 28th 2010 at 13:33 by Ben Parfitt

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Not that I’m suggesting that Apple’s iPad reveal has in any way backfired. The story was the most read on the BBC website within minutes of it going live last night and there’s simply no avoiding it on the internet this morning.

But the almost incomprehensible hype that lead to Steve Jobs’ presentation last night has, as it always would, created a swell of digital apathy and rebuttals. Just as business leaders have been eager to hail the iPad as humanity’s saviour, tech heads have been just as keen to brand it an inevitable failure.

Like anything, the likely truth lies somewhere between these two polarised viewpoints.

Probably the biggest victory for Apple, and indeed for punters, to emerge from last night was the cost. Starting at $499, the iPad, whiles expensive, is not unattainable. Even the high-end $829 SKU, complete with 64GB or memory and 3G connectivity, is cheaper than most would have expected.

Factor in the upcoming mobile operator deals and there’s a very real prospect that come the iPad’s UK arrival this summer consumers may be able to get their hands on the device without an upfront fee.

But there are plenty of question marks hanging over the tablet too. It’s baffling that Jobs can insist that the iPad offers the best internet browsing experience available when the device doesn’t support Flash. On the iPhone this omission is irritating – on iPad it’s unforgivable.

And while the multi-tasking bandwagon that surrounds the iPhone is tiresome and overstated, the lack of multi-tasking on a device that will be competing with netbooks and laptops is hugely important. The iPad fundamentally cannot be used as a portable PC substitute. It just can’t.

So what is the iPad?

My personal view is that it’s the first of a new generation of e-readers. If I were in the market for an e-reader, I’d give the iPad some serious consideration. The electro-ink screen of the Kindle is a delight in many ways, but Amazon’s device suddenly looks very dated. Add in the iPad’s capacity for more interactive – and colourful – media and I should imagine every e-reader manufacturer is asking some very serious questions of themselves this morning.

This leads to the most startling omission from Apple’s presentation. While the hardware was always going to fall short of the motion-sensing, bed-making, mind-reading, conflict-ending, world-conquering pre-reveal hype, an innovative and world-leading digital publishing proposition could really have made some serious waves in the markets. Instead, we got nothing more than a vague promise that some good stuff will happen at some point. As with the iPhone, it seems that Apple is happy to wait for third parties to create software that both helps the machine realise its potential and define the evolutionary path it will take.

None of this, of course, even touches on gaming. We expected games to form a central part of Apple’s proposition. What we got was a larger screen and a clever bit of upscaling tech for existing apps.

The increased multi-touch functionality will undoubtedly open up avenues that don’t currently exist on the market. That only becomes relevant, though, if the iPad sells enough units to become a viable option for developers. With the iPad able to upscale games designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch, most studios will understandably remain focused on the popular handheld, perhaps chucking in a bonus option or two for iPad users.

But will the iPad ever capture enough of the market to justify developers making specific titles for it? There’s no way of knowing right now, but I’ll admit – I’m sceptical.

Before we get carried away with dismissing Apple’s new gadget, however, lest we forget about the iPhone’s arrival. When the iPhone first appeared it lacked 3G connectivity and the app store was still in development. Owners of the first generation iPhone faced serious and unavoidable day-to-day compromises. Two revisions later, however, and the iPhone is not only the best phone ever made – it’s also arguably the most important piece of consumer tech since the dawn of personal computers.

My initial impressions of the iPad are probably best summed up by what I told colleague Will Freeman earlier today: I couldn’t think of a better gift to receive for my birthday (which is in June, incidentally). But would I actually buy one with my own money? Don’t be stupid.