You know, I’m kinda glad I’ve yet to buy an iPad. The reason being is the emergence of the iPhone 4.
I can just here you think “Roberto has well and truly lost it this time”. But think about it. In terms of net technology, the iPad adds only a very little. sure it has multi touch and all these, lest we forget, amazing applications. However, much of what i can now do on my laptop and iPhone I could do on an iPad. Hence if one had to do a cost benefit analysis, one would find that the large outlay for the iPad is disproportionate to the net benefit it would bring.
However, I’m not saying I’m not getting an iPad (next time Jeff Jarvis throws his away, he’s welcome to send it to me for “recycling”).
Now, Apple also has what can be rightly termed a mini-iPad, the iPhone 4. It should be said that the iPhone is now a stable plaftorm. We have a core set of features which we will always expect from an iPhone. This means that the majority of the features I already have in my trusty iPhone 3G are in the new model.
The difference is that the iPhone offers one large feature currently completely missing from my life: video. I on’t have a Flip or other camcorder. My old Nokia N74 did have one, but its no where near as good as the one in the iPhone 4. the iMovie app is yet more value added to the package that’s irresistible. So, the cost benefit analysis would find that the outlay for one is proportionate to the net benefit – the addition of video ( and iMovie).
I’m basing this on one hardware feature. There is a laundry list of new stuff to be found in the iPhone 4, not to mention the A4 CPU that’s to be found, or the bump in battery life.
One word of caution here. When I got my iPhone it got more and more valuable as i discovered apps and workflows that worked for me. And I still do discover things, that sense of child-like wonder is still there. The same will most certainly apply to the iPad.
A second post script to add to this: As a budding amateur photographer, I see tremendous value in both of these devices. The iPad is perfect for showing off a portfolio or album. In the media-rich world we now live in, the ability to record video, even just in 720p from the iPhone 4 adds another dimension to my photography. It is a pity that Apple does not let these two devices work together.
Third postscript: Gizmodo ruined the iPhone 4 announcement. Glad they were banned from WWDC. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Random Musings 