And you’re like, the HELL is he talking about. More iPad love? great. Easy though, this ain’t that. I don’t have one, nor will likely get one for some time, if at all. I just have thoughts on it is all, people. I JUST DO! First though, I saw a few different pieces about the iPad that seem worth mentioning.
One (via Ben Kunz’s thoughts on content), breaks down the breakdown between form and function that the iPad might represent. It also covers the issue of digital vs. the tactile nature of paper that a lot of us have discussed before.
Then, American Copywriter is doing an interesting experiment where they will use it for everything digital for 30 days. I like this. Most creatives demand features on their Macs that Jobs seems to leave out in favor of appealing to the general consumer market. Because of that, I can see some possible frustration when they try to do certain things over 30 days.
That’s par for Apple though. Whenever they introduce a new toy, it often leaves out the goodies that pros want because they know they’re introducing a new experience, one that is more important in the bigger picture than simply including every bell or whistle that early adopters want.
Follow that up with how one iPad development group is introducing a new app that helps you... develop apps. They said one thing though which echoes the misguided approach I’ve seen a few brands take when trying on new tech for size:
“On the iPad, you’ve kind of got the user cornered from an advertiser perspective. You mix that with the rich media experience, you can now encourage the user to interact with your ad, because they don’t have too many other options.”
There’s this idea that because the iPad can offer you this complete all-in-one content experience, that you won’t look away from it and escape any type of advertising because you’re suddenly captive.
Not quite. People will still find a way to multitask and live *beyond* the parameters of the iPad experience.
Whenever a brand tries to dictate to customers the way in which to use its product, the customers surprise them. Can you see someone pausing a Netflix film, throwing the iPad down on the couch to take a call? Isn’t *that* interruption at its most basic?
To think iPad will suddenly do what no other media channel has done before seems unlikely. What it can do is cure cancer. I wish.
It does seem to redefine what mobile was going to be however. There’s this idea that mobile always equals smaller, and that it was only ever going to be a cell phone that the category. A device that can be carried around easier than a laptop is definitely mobile. Why does it have to be a 2” screen?
I always thought one barrier to people migrating their TV viewing habits would take them getting used to watching on a Dick Tracy size screen. But maybe the iPad with Netflix app is that bridge between old viewing habits and adoption.
To that end, many music lovers hated the transition from old school album cover art to CD then to tiny iTunes pics. The iPad reverses that dynamic. I can easily see one app that does nothing but download classic album cover art for those who miss the impact of classics like Boston.
If you click the image, I scaled it up so the large image would be the max width on the iPad, while the smaller one fits the iPhone. (The larger one is about half the size of an actual 12” record cover.) Look at the detail of the exploding planet now! Can Hubble give you that?
It seems that if the iPad can redefine what mobile is, than it can also stop the slide of visuals into becoming one giant Land of the Thumbnail that I thought was inevitable. Beyond music, magazines could regain their visual impact.
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