On the Eve of iPad 2…

Posted January 29, 2010

So here we are on the eve of the iPad 2 release. The anticipation of the release of the iPad 2 prompted me to go back and look at some early posts we did on the iPad over a year ago. I hate to say it, but I think we largely nailed it early on. (OK, actually I don’t hate to say it… We pretty much nailed it early on! Yes, we knew this was going to be an amazing device from the moment El Jobso introduced it.)

At the time of the initial announcement, we had a pretty good idea this was going to be an amazing device. I had no concept, however, of just how integrated with my daily routine the iPad would be within weeks of first getting it. A year later it has found its way into some aspect of pretty much everything I do.

Initial reactions to the iPad were somewhat luke-warm. Many called it “Just a big iPod touch”. Others wondered why we needed such a thing when we already had iPhones. But we thought otherwise. In fact, Judie, Michael and I all ordered iPads as soon as Apple.com went live. We knew it would be huge, and were willing to put our money where our mouths were.

On January 28th Michael wrote a post entitled Why Gamers Don’t Care About the iPad … but maybe they should!

When so many were making jokes about the iPad, Michael knew it would be big. Still, WHO could have predicted just how huge a gaming platform the iPad would be just months later.

The next day I drew some ire in a post entitled iPad Detractors Need To iChillout and Take a Longer View. One reader was insulted, but I intended the tongue in cheek title to simple make a point —  that the short view of the iPad was exciting, and the long view was AMAZING!

Just a few quotes from that post from over a 13 months ago.

There’s no question that there’s a lot to be critical of with the iPad. Currently it doesn’t run flash, it doesn’t multitask, and more. At the same time, the hardware is gorgeous. It’s all but impossible to deny that fact unless you’re in the camp of bashing the larger black bezel — but that does was there for a reason. If it weren’t there when you pick up the device you would be triggering the touchscreen. There’s no question to my mind that it was a trade-off decision which allows the device to be more functional even while it is a little bit less attractive. In addition, the device’s screen just looks great. According to all reports the screen is more like looking at a TV and a computer monitor — and that is a positive.

Yes, there are things to criticize about the device but I have a message to all of the iPad detractors — iChillOut and get a little bit of iPatience.

Seriously, one of the biggest issues with our economy, with our country and with the tech world in general is that we tend to look at things short-term. The stock market responds to today’s news far too often. And we as a nation tend to react to the news of the day and then move on to the next news of the day. Steve Jobs doesn’t have this problem. He clearly is a long-term thinker. Why else would he rejected numerous prototypes for this device and wait until he felt it was “just right” before releasing it. We can’t just look at the device as it stands at this moment. (Or, more accurately, as we think it stands at this moment since numerous questions remain open). Rather, we need to look a little bit more long term. We’ve been here before, and we need to be here again.

Then —

The point is this — the iPhone was released with some significant limitations, but within a few short years the device has been transformed into something far more powerful and useful than many of us ever imagined. I have no doubt the same will happen with the iPad. We need to think about the device as it currently stands, AND as it will likely be in six months to a year.

And finally, I ended that post with

I don’t think it’s going to be a flop, but I also don’t think it will be adopted at the same rate as the iPhone. I think a device that actually ships will be significantly different than the device we’re using a year from now. And I think the second version of the hardware will be more powerful and less expensive than this one. Sadly I suspect there will also be a little bit less durable. We’ve seen that one before.

A drop in price would have been nice but still… it is over a year later, and the next generation iPad arrives tomorrow. Yeah, we saw this coming!