06 April 2010

The Obligatory iPad Post

Since everybody’s talking about it, I guess I must.  Yours Truly feels especially qualified for the task since I’ve yet to see or play with one. (I did fiddle with a Kindle, however.)

Dick Stroud has some interesting things to say about the iPad on his Mobile Apps For Baby Boomers site:

image The iPad isn't meant for software geeks it's meant for Mum and Dad
As somebody who has seen the light about apps it is plain to me that the iPad will mainly be used in relaxed mode … The iPad is the device for when I turn off the desk light, pour a beer and enter the world of semi-work. Not a total turn-off from working but those activities that are more fun to do away from the keyboard.

Used in relaxed mode…”  That reflects a lot of what I said way back in April ‘07 about the strength of magazines and why they’re not going away:

Positioning Magazines for Baby Boomers
image There are active and passive parts of our day. Without getting into too much psychobabble, as you get older the passive side needs more nourishment. It’s not really passive. It’s focused absorption. At some point you have to climb out of your frenetic digital nest and concentrate on one thing. It might be reading a book, watching a TV show or movie, listening to music, looking out the window.

Or immersing yourself in a magazine.

Maybe the iPad should position itself as more of a passive device that helps you relax, placing it far from the ‘digital nest’.  That’s how I would approach it when advertising to Baby Boomers.

Mr. Stroud might be correct. Pretty soon, the iPad could supersede paper mags and other forms of passive entertainment. You’ll be reading your Oprah on an iPad.

imageI won’t be getting one soon, however.  I’ll wait for the model that won’t shatter when you drop it and can be rolled up to swat flies.

Update 15 Jan 2013:
Now you can swat flies with your tablet:
Tablets Redux

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