The iPad as a desktop
When the iPad first came out in April, I was really excited because to me it felt like the fabled tablet-computing revolution might finally start. It’s been a long time, after all Microsoft has been producing a tablet ready version of Windows for 10 years and companies like HP have been making tablets for just as long. When the iPad came out, the big question was wether or not it was “good enough” to replace the desktop.
So is the iPad the new desktop? Well, no. What’s important to understand here is that the current iPad is just the first version of a product that will get both better and cheaper over the next few years. It’s also the first product of a renewed attention to the tablet market.
The iPad is not perfect, but what I can say is that it as totally replaced my MacBook pro for browsing, Facebook, Twitter, RSS and many other reading activities. The upcoming iOS 4.2 for iPad will bring a lot of the stuff that’s missing on iPad like printing, folders, unified inbox and many other stuff. Combined with the support for Bluetooth keyboards that 3.2 brought us, it makes the iPad a very cool device for people mostly consuming data on their computer. As a developer, I obviously need my desktop, but my mom has been using her iPad 95% instead of going to her iMac. It’s pretty obvious that she could easily live without a desktop.
Is it more limited than a desktop? Of course it is. Some of these limitations will go away with new versions of the hardware and the software, but what many are forgetting is that these limitations are not always a bad thing. The iPad is a much, MUCH easier computer to use than a regular desktop for a normal user. The app store alone makes it much easier for people to install applications than normal mac os x.
Many of my friends are dubious of the usefulness of the iPad and while I can’t say that the iPad itself will win over the desktop in the next few years, I do believe that tablets in general will replace the desktop for many less technical users soon. When you can buy a touch screen tablet for 199$, many will opt for that option.
(written on my iPad)
