January 26, 2010

Tablet, TABlet, TABLET!!!!


Okay, I know every tech geek and nerd around the world has already blogged and fantasized about the "new creation" about to be unveiled tomorrow but, even though this as many others, has been blown out of proportion, one must do a history check and see that Apple has a knack for producing products that are just plain desirable. This veil of secrecy that Apple/Jobs employs is much like the christmas presents under the tree when you were a kid. You know that some of them are probably what you wanted by their shape, size & weight, but at the end of the day, you just really don't know. Only on Christmas morning will your imagined gifts be confirmed or not. This anticipation is truly an endorphin generator. I can only imagine how many good ideas we have given to Steve Jobs and his Apple team by our speculation before a new product or version of a product emerges.

That said, I still think that even though much of the industry is poised to produce their own version of a tablet device, the Apple design and forethought of what this device can do for you will prevail. Their UI's are second to none. They anticipate what you might want to do with this device and provide for it. Bigger than an iPhone and smaller and more compact than a laptop, I believe it will serve a niche that so far is not fulfilled. How big this niche is is anyones guess but, as with the iPhone, once the device is out in the world, people will use the context of their life to shape what and how the device will work for them. When the iPhone first came out people were saying, "oh it is just another smart phone that is more expensive." It was deemed a hardware snobs phone, not one for the masses.

Well the masses have spoken and last quarter they spoke rather loudly with Apple compiling its best quarter in the history of the company. Even though the new tablet will not be a "computer" it will find this unserviced niche that so far has remained out of reach. Perhaps it is a small niche or perhaps no one has bothered to figure it out. For those heavy computing individuals this hardware will not be for them but for email, internet surfing, media playback and periodical / book reading this is exactly what will give people the ease and mobility for these daily, life contextual tasks. I think that this tablet will find its place in our world and soon people will look at their laptops the same way they looked at their desktops a decade ago.