The iPad Aftermath

The iPad was finally introduced by Apple yesterday after months of speculations and rumors about what the device will be capable of. As is the case with most product launches, some in the media have gotten excited about how this device can change the world. Of course, there are others who are complaining why the iPad is not all they expected and more. But based on what Apple has put forward, there is no reason the iPad can’t be a success. The pricing strategy is aggressive to say the least, and the fact that lots of iPhone apps happen to work on the iPad as well is a big plus for those who already own an iPad.

The iPad was rumored to be a challenger to Kindle, and that turned to be somewhat true. It’s not an E-ink based gizmo, so your reading experience on it may not be as well as the one you get on a Nook or Kindle. Nevertheless, Apple has shown that it is dedicated to making in an impact in the e-book market. iBooks is not perfect, but it’s a good start. In the end, content partnerships are what will matter the most in the end. Considering that the iPad will have no trouble displaying digital comics, it’s going to have more flexibility in handling content with complex layouts than Kindle or Nook.

You know the iPad is going to be a big success when companies launch lawsuits against Apple before the device is even shipping. Fujitsu has decided to take the first shot at Apple by claiming ownership of the name “iPad.” The company claims that it trademarked the name in 2003:

It’s our understanding that the name is ours. Mobile is a keyword for Fujitsu’s iPad too

Fujitsu may be the first, but it won’t be the last. We are going to see a lot of more lawsuits considering that the device is expected to do well, and Apple has already faced a few lawsuits with the iPhone already.

The iPad is not perfect. Sure. The new SDK is going to be exciting, and the device is capable of handling so many different tasks. At the same time, Apple did give us less than what we hoped for in some areas. We could have certainly used an HDMI-out on this device. It also doesn’t have a camera, which is truly a shame as it’s a step backwards if you consider this device to be iPod Touch’s big brother. Let’s not forget that the apps you get to install on this device are the same ones that Apple can disapprove for any reason. So we may still not get those Google apps on iPad. Not that we are surprised.

At the end of the day, no device can be perfect. Apple is being aggressive with its pricing strategy. You can expect the next generation iPads to be much more powerful and address some of the issues discussed above. That will of course depends on how the iPad performs. Something tells me it won’t bomb.