First the good news. The iPad has finally arrived and consumers can finally see what Apple's tablet can do. Its price tag is extremely reasonable, starting at under $500 and it meets the basic expectations for e-book reading, music listening, and video watching. The bad news is that it looks like an oversized iPod and still requires connection through the AT&T platform. So how will consumers react?
I understand it lacks a camera; not sure that is a big deal. It has carved out another e-book niche that could allow them to sell books through their itune platform. And that may give Kindle a reason to worry. "Mr. Jobs said Apple so far had relationships with five major publishers — Hachette, Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan — and was eager to make deals with others. Publishers will be able to charge $12.99 to $14.99 for most general fiction and nonfiction books." That according to today's New York Times.
For me, I am not an early adopter. I always expect that the first generation has too many limitations and future editions come too quickly. Apple is a perfect example of this with their iPod, iPhone, and other devices. I expect by end of year, iPad 2.0 will be at least 2x better. Second, the name lacks appeal; I guess all the other i(name) were taken. Damn you IHOP! Still, couldn't they find a jazzier name: iTab, iLet, or iHmm, to name a few. And lastly, what happened to the Verizon deal? I'm guessing that Apple still had to wait for it's AT&T exclusive to expire. For me, I think I will wait, too.
