Editor's Note: this article originally appeared on Rob Simons Says back in April, 2010
by Rob Simons
After my first week with the iPad, I’m still
pondering the most basic question, “What is the primary purpose and
vision of the iPad?” I’m on my first trip with the iPad and I can’t
quite figure out how it fits into my array of gadgets. The obvious
answers include: an eReader, an Internet device, a mini-laptop
(netbook), a multimedia player (photos, videos, audio) or a gaming
device. I’m sure the practical answer is some combination of all of the
above. But what was Steve Job’s vision for this device? And how does
that vision work out in reality?
For this four day business trip to New York and Chicago,
I have an impressive arsenal of computing power, including: my trusty
iPhone 3GS, 17″ MacBook Pro, iPad, iPod Shuffle, Magic Mouse, Canon
Digital Elph SD990 IS and Sprint Overdrive 4g Wifi device. I decided at
the last minute to leave my Amazon Kindle at home (probably a
foreshadowing of my conclusion, below). With these devices my briefcase
makes me a chiropractor’s dream client.
A lot of online conversations have described the
iPad as a device for consuming content. It’s hard to argue
that with
that conclusion. During my first week I’ve been reading several books
(both in iBook and Amazon’s Kindle App); reading news with
USA Today,
New York Times and AP apps; reading emails from multiple
accounts; watching movies and TV shows (kudos to ABC’s wonderful app);
viewing photos on the iPad in digital photo frame mode (a bonus feature I
never considered); reading numerous web pages on a regular basis; and
catching up with friends on Facebook. Heck, I even used the iPad to
watch part of the Masters golf tournament in the back
of a New York taxi. Yes. The iPad is a great device for consuming
content. (It also has potential for creating content. The majority of
this post was written on my iPad during a Continental flight at 35,000
feet.)
But during my first week of extensive iPad usage,
I’ve discovered an interesting clue about the vision of the iPad based
on the placement of the Home button and the docking connector. I have a
hunch that the iPad was intended, first and foremost, to be an eReading
device. This conclusion is based on one 90 degree decision — the choice
to make the iPad’s natural orientation Portrait mode (vertically
oriented) instead of Landscape mode (horizontally oriented).
While the iPad can be easily rotated, the iPad’s
home button and accessories make the device predominantly a Portrait
mode. That makes the device really an eReading device. Consider these
common uses of the iPad:
- Internet surfing: Most web sites are designed for
computer screens that are almost exclusively Landscape mode.
- Watching videos: Televisions shows, Internet videos
and movies are all in Landscape mode. Any video you watch on the iPad
will likely be in the Landscape mode.
- Viewing photos: The majority of photos are taken in
Landscape mode. I’ve decided I need to make a custom Portrait mode
collection of my favorite photos to enjoy the slideshow view when my
iPad is docked.
- Office applications: Keynote on the iPad is
exclusively a Landscape mode app. Numbers and Pages can be used in
Portrait mode, but the most practical way to type is in Landscape mode.
- Email: I really dislike the interface on the iPad
when using the email application in Portrait mode. I think it works
better in Landscape mode, when you can see your inbox and the current
email message simultaneously.
- Games: While many work in Portrait mode, more games
seem better suited for Landscape mode.
So this begs the question as to why Apple made the
Portrait mode default on the iPad when almost all of the applications
described above are better in Landscape mode. In fact, a quick look at
the preview videos of the upcoming notebooks like
HP’s Slate shows a device almost always in
Landscape.
So either Apple wanted to simply stay consistent
with the design of the incredibly successful iPhone, or they really
intended the iPad to be an eReader. I think it’s the latter. Most print
books are in Portrait mode naturally, and the only way to comfortably
hold the iPad with one hand is in Portrait mode. Most readers prefer to
hold a book (or Kindle) with one hand. The only problem is that at 1.5
pounds, the iPad is a bit heavy for an eReader and the iBookstore and
iBook app are currently poor competitors to Amazon and the Kindle
franchise. (I’ll save that discussion for another post.)
With the amount of resources and effort Apple has
placed into building the iBook and iBookstore market, it seems highly
probable the iPad is a decision to go after Amazon and Kindle’s eBook
market share which combined is around 95%. Put another way, if Apple had
decided to make a full-on assault on the cable and movie industries,
the iPad would have been designed to be naturally in Landscape mode. If
it’s the eBook market that Apple wants, they need to work on iBook and
the iBookstore.
PS: Before you send me your emails about the ability
to simply rotate the screen 90 degrees, I’d point you to the
accessories and the dock connector — even with the optional keyboard,
this device makes much more sense to me to be able to place it in the
dock in Landscape mode. Maybe a third-party firm will answer my needs
with a clever aftermarket device.
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