I keep hearing this about other tablets and the iPad not even being the best. Would anyone care pointing me to a reasonably good tablet that already exists? I'm not saying others haven't tried but I can't think of any other tablet that has lasted enough to be relevant. We'll see what happens with the iPad but, so far, this has been the only device of this type with such exposure and presentation. Even if it doesn't sell as much as expected, Apple may have single-handedly kickstarted (for real) the tablet market and this quite a respectful achievement.
Also, I think the technocrats out there are grossly missing the point. They're complaining about things such as lack of multitasking, no USB port, a closed app environment… I can assure you that the average Joe couldn't care less about those things. We're not the actual market of this thing - none of the tech journalists out there and probably none of the people browsing this forum right now… It's the average people that are currently wondering why they need such a clumsy computer with this annoying thing called "an operative system" when they just need to browse the web and answer e-mails. Just think about it. To say the iPad has no artistic merits is moot. To say professionals won't be able to do their work either because there's no multitask, or pen, is also irrelevant.
Apple knows this and they knew how to approach this device. As a matter of fact, they may have been
too cautious. It may have been the first time ever in the history of Apple keynotes when they weren't aggressive enough. Obviously, Apple can't say "you need the iPad instead of notebooks" because they would be slashing their own products. However, it's no coincidence that very recently they moved their low-end 13'' Macbook to the Pro line. I'm certain this has been a calculated move and it will work: the perception of notebooks will be that of devices for professionals and the iPad for general consumers. Again, it's difficult for us techies to note the difference.
Finally, if you have the time give this article at Daring Fireball a read:
The iPad Big Picture. It's extremely insightful and mentions something that everybody is failing to point out: the hardware capabilities of the iPad and Apple's potential strategy for the market.