The iPad: Enter The Revolution...right?

The iPad is a mobile computing device that has a 9.7 inch screen, a 1 Gigahertz processor, weighs 1.5 pounds, and an oleophobic (really?) coating that resists fingerprints. Interesting stuff, right? Not really. What IS an iPad? To some, it is a fun toy that provides an escape from the everyday monotony. To others it presents a new way to consume the ever growing mass media market, from social networks to emails to news outlets- all battling for space in front of each consumers eyeballs. The idea of the iPad is not necessarily a new one (it is proposed that the iPad was in development before the famed iPhone). It is not the first tablet computer either, whose touchscreen panels have been around for years. Apple CEO Steve Jobs had the idea to move away from the standard input devices consumers have come to rely on- the keyboard and mouse- and to create a flat, interchangeable multi-touch surface. The mission: to bring the internet to the palm of your hand, to have the ability to take it anywhere you want to go, and to make a ton of money doing it. Is it revolutionary? The true answer lies in the eyes of the beholder. The iPad means different things to different people. It attempts to usher in a new era of convenience, to be able to combine productivity and entertainment in one easy to use device that’s small enough to take with you. If you have ever been in a group of people and someone pulled out an iPad to update their Facebook status which resulted in an assortment of stares, oos, and aahhs of the surrounding group, then you know that the iPad is something special, but for whom? Is it a status device? Does it divide the population between the have and have nots? Does the device boost your productivity so much that you become the superior being, maneuvering through a sea of lower life forms? There are no single answers to these questions. The answers depend on your status, your wants, and desires. This iPad is a direct derivative of what the culture is asking for, but now it is beginning to change the culture itself, as many new iPad competitors prepare to enter the market, fighting for our hard earned money and time. As slick and sexy as it may be, the iPad’s true power and worth lies not with the device itself, but the applications that it houses. Think about the internet for a second. The value of the internet is the ability to bring everything the world has and has ever had to offer at your fingertips. Anything you have ever wondered or thought about, somewhere at some time someone else has thought about the same thing and had the wherewithal to create an article or post about it on the net. Classes are held online, you can learn how to play an instrument or send your vacation pictures instantly to grandma’s house without ever changing out of your pajamas. What the internet lacked was a viable portable way to take it with you. Consider the options for mobile internet we had before the iPad’s introduction. We had laptops, cell phones, and the newest was the netbook. The way we have viewed these technologies have evolved over time. As stated on page 30 of our textbook, the convenience of yesteryear only creates a new hurdle to overcome. The laptop- the biggest mobile computing system of the time, is now thought of as too bulky. Our cell phones eliminate the bulk issue, but provide small screens to view. The netbook was thought of as the perfect solution to these problems. It was more portable, had a midsized screen, and placed itself right in the middle of the traditional laptop and the cell phone, but it was plagued with sluggish behavior and processor limits that could only run a few programs at a time, if at all. This created the perfect atmosphere for the release of the iPad. It set out to be its own thing. It is portable, has a nice screen size, and runs programs well, since it only runs programs that are specifically made for the platform, and they are all at your fingertips in a device that not only can you take it anywhere, you actually WANT to. One question, though: Did you need an iPad before the iPad existed?