Campbell: iPad’s place in computer world questionable

The new buzz in the computer industry is Apple’s unveiling of the iPad . The iPad, described… The new buzz in the computer industry is Apple’s unveiling of the iPad . The iPad, described by some as an “iPod Touch on steroids,” and by others as an Amazon Kindle look-alike, seems to cause confusion in many people.

Rightfully so. The iPad might ultimately prove, if not marketed correctly, to find itself without an audience in that constant computer war between “niftiness” and price point.

Many readers may be wondering, “What the hell is an iPad?” Put simply, the iPad is a small tablet computer device similar in shape to those Amazon Kindle devices you sometimes see people using on airplanes.

It features an operating system that appears to be a scaled-up version of the iPhone operating system.

The device allows you to surf the web, view e-mail, play music and get around using Google Maps.

Apple’s website boasts that the iPad comes loaded with Safari for web browsing, iTunes for music, an application called iBook for reading electronic books, Apple’s iPad Mail application, a photo-viewing tool, a notebook utility for meetings and Apple’s address book application for keeping track of contacts.

The designers made sure to incorporate the best of Apple’s human interaction technology, giving users the ability to use Apple’s “gestures” on its 9.7-inch screen to manipulate photos, surf the Internet, and edit notes in the notebook. It weighs 1.5 pounds and, according to Apple, can get up to 10 hours of battery life per charge.

For those who want to pay for wireless service, the iPad will be available with 3G communications for surfing and email when a WiFi hotspot is nowhere to be found.

The iPad utilizes a touch-screen keyboard, similar to the one used on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. A real-world keyboard can be added with the additional purchase of a keyboard dock.

Sounds interesting. The iPad appears to be a nifty little device with a lot of inventive engineering — definitely something you’d want to play around with in an Apple store.

The only problem I can identify with it is … who’s it for?

After playing with it at the Apple store, are there really that many people who will want to take it home?

The bargain-basement version, without wireless 3G support, will cost $499. Users who just want an e-book reader will undoubtedly wish to save the few hundred dollars and buy an Amazon Kindle for $259. Sure it doesn’t have a color screen, but how many novels have color pictures?

People who want extreme portability and want to consolidate their electronic devices will buy the email-internet-telephone-iPod device Apple already has on the market — the iPhone.

People who want the flexibility and power of a full-fledged tablet PC might be disappointed by the fact that the iPad only has a touch-screen keyboard (without additional purchase, that is) and doesn’t run a full-blown version of OS X.

So, what is it? The closest Apple will probably ever get to a netbook? You could draw some parallels.

The iPad runs on Apple’s new A4 processor, a small, comparatively slow processor with an onboard graphics unit capable of running all the pretty graphics of Apple’s universe and then some. Netbooks are commonly designed with smaller processors to control costs and extend battery life.

The iPad’s screen is within netbook range at 9.7 inches. However, the iPad runs the iPhone operating system, whereas netbooks, as a rule, run minimally modified desktop operating systems.

The iPad will also cost no less than $499 — a rather steep price for the average netbook. Those who want a keyboard that flirts with standard size will have to make an additional investment.

Despite the difference in price and the fact that the iPad boasts a greater feature set, some bloggers insist the iPad will butt heads with the Kindle.

The New York Times ran concurrent articles describing the future of the Kindle once iPad is fully released. The two articles together made six assessments: three indicating the iPad would trounce the Kindle, and three indicating the iPad would fall significantly short.

Several articles expressed an interesting point: the iPad will be a multi-purpose device and is therefore, in the writers’ opinion, worthy of its larger price tag.

Yet its primary audience, book lovers, has already embraced the Kindle. Those same book lovers would find the additional features of the iPad unnecessary and thus unworthy of its larger price tag.

Ultimately, Apple could face an interesting dilemma, though they will not have problems convincing people the iPad is advanced. Its combination of small design and integrated communication technologies clearly places it in that category.

The big question Apple will have to face is whether it can woo those book lovers from Amazon, as well as some full-fledged computer users from their laptops.