David Pogue writes as if he’s seen it before, and he’s absolutely right.
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I’m curious to see if this thing takes off. It doesn’t appeal to me at this point but Apple often seems to know what I could use before I know it. When one of the first ipod ads came out — a guy sitting at his computer dancing out of his chair with the slogan “rip, mix, burn” as I recall — I didn’t really understand what the thing was or who would use it. I guess that one worked out OK! Then again the macbook air was a flop. So they’re not all home-runs.
Ryan,
I’m convinced Apple will sell a boat load. In 5 years, they’ll be sitting on people’s coffee tables the way magazines and newspapers do today.
Dave,
I could definitely see that. But it does assume a certain modern aesthetic.
Magazines, coffee table books, art works, etc. are as much a part of peoples’ style as antique furniture (vs contemporary), hardwood floors vs carpet/rugs, paint vs wallpaper, etc.
I also wonder if Apple has thought as much about the archival issues as they have about design.
Will all of the purchases be archived somewhere? What if the device crashes, is damaged, etc.? How much will backing stuff up be the responsibility of the consumer? I’ve suffered many time wasting hard drive and memory card failures. If not for my own tedious back up procedures, I would have lost important (to me) artistic work, documents, etc. BTW, If you’ve heard of any cutting edge solutions, I’d love to know about them, whether or not they relate to the ipad.
Ryan,
You’re right, it does assume a certain aesthetic. I also feel that people will almost always opt for the path of least resistance. If they can have the Times, the Gap catalog and People Magazine pushed to the device (be it the iPad or something similar), then many will opt for it.
Backups is certainly an issue. Apple has a history of every purchase I’ve made from iTunes, you’d think there’d be a way for me to download something I’ve lost. But I’ve been awaiting that feature for a LONG time.