The Apple Effect - by Peter Smith

By the time the iPad finally reached these shores it already felt like a very familiar piece of technology. After all the pre announcement excitement, and when the rumours and educated guesses turned out to be largely correct there was a collective sense of deflation; as though by merely fulfilling our expectations Apple had somehow let us down.

Following the launch, commentators were quick to document the shortcomings of the iPad, which are by now familiar with anyone with even a passing interest in gadgetry (well, at least some commentators were - Stephen Fry, predictably, loved it). No flash support, no multitasking, no USB ports and Apple's control-freakish attitude towards apps developers all significantly reduce the usefulness of the device. There is also the question of exactly what technical niche the device is intended to fill; whereas the iPhone had the huge mobile phone market in its sights, the iPad is too limited to compete with proper laptops or PCs and less portable than a smartphone. The most obvious targets are netbooks which represent only a tiny segment of the technology market.

All of this bearded chin stroking is rendered largely irrelevant however by the huge success of the iPad in America, with more than 3 million units sold in the US in the first 80 days. This means one of two things; either Apple have produced something so desirable that it transcends utility or that Apple have created a new niche. 

That the iPad is an object of great tactile and visual beauty is beyond doubt. Apple have always produced hardware that is better built and better designed than their competitors that (almost) justifies the inflated price tags. Perhaps of greater importance than its outward good looks however is the touch screen interface. This works even better on the larger screen of the iPad and is a great way to browse web pages (as long as you don't want to input too much text). In a recent survey carried out by Jakob Nielsen a test group rated reading an e-book on the device as being a more satisfying (but slower) experience that reading a printed book.

Given its immediate popularity it seems certain that the iPad will have a huge influence on the way in which we interact with computers. As with its older sibling, the iPhone, the iPad will spawn hundreds of similar devices, most of which will boast USB and other ports and flash support. For anyone involved in the creation of mobile apps, websites and e-learning these are exciting times as we will need to learn to develop for an audience who are interacting with our content in an entirely new way.