A new rumor has the WiFi version of the iPad for sale in stores on Friday, March 26th 2010. This keeps it in-line with the reported March release date, obviously with the 3G version release several weeks later.
Well, the rumor was laid to rest last week when Apple announce a shipping date of April 3rd, 2010 for the WiFi version of the iPad. The 3G version has been slated for arrival four weeks later.
So who's buying one of these? I have to go back to something Steve Jobs said when he introduced Keynote, part of the iWork software package. He said that he had it (Keynote) made for "me." While that statement earned a good chuckle, it says a lot about how Apple, and its 55 year old CEO, thinks these days.
Yes, Steve Jobs turned 55 recently and despite his health issues is still at work changing the way people interact with computers and how they communicate with one another. However, he seems to be one of very few companies that are actually creating items that not only appeal to younger generations, but to the Baby Boomer generation as well.
When the iPad is released, there will be upwards of 150,000 applications that will work on it. Many of those applications already are of great appeal to younger users, games mostly. As well as playing the occasional game on my iPod Touch, I also use it for my email, surfing the web and generally gathering information.
I bought my iPod Touch for a business trip to Los Angeles last February so I could stay connected. It really did come in handy being able to stay connected via email. My iPod Touch has served me well.
So, who will buy one? I think one of the biggest markets will end up being the "Boomer" generation, that would be the generation that Steve Jobs is part of. I believe that a great many of these people are ready for something easier to use than their mobile phone, but don't need something as cumbersome as a laptop for daily use.
Most people don't need to scan documents nor do they produce content for the web, they merely consume data and that's it. My mother, for instance, still uses my PowerBook G4 400. It was my second Apple laptop and her first. She checks her email, surfs the web, and that' it. She has the computer at a desk in a small room because the battery is dead and most likely irreplaceable.
Now give my mom an iPad and she'll be all over the house with it all day long. She does her computing in the morning because she's not crazy about her setup. With an iPad, she'll be able to sit in her big comfy La-Z-Boy and surf and check her mail to her heart's content all while watching some variant of Law and Order.
I'll get the point now. The iPad is a direct response to the "ergonomics of aging" dilemma in our country. As an example, hand over a remote control for any video device to someone over the age of 60 and tell them to change the video input to watch a DVD. Don't forget your plastic tarp to cover up with as their head explodes.
Most technology out there is small and difficult to operate. This has been a problem for my parents since I was a boy. I've always had to figure out everything for them when electronics was the topic of discussion and still do to this day. Do we all remember the blinking 12:00 time on our VCRs that our parents couldn't fix? I do.
The iPad aims to end all the confusion that surrounds everyday computing for a great many people. Touch this icon and your application will launch, pretty simple. Someone still has to configure these devices for mail, but that's what sons and daughters are for.
When my mom's PowerBook kicks it, she'll be getting an iPad as her replacement computer. Soon afterwards, my dad will hijack it from her. Shortly after that, he'll be calling me asking how to set the correct time zone for it.
So who did Steve Jobs make the iPad for? The answer is he made it for us, all of us from ages K through really, really old.
Will I be buying one? You bet.
Erik