The iPad Will Outperform

With the launch of the iPad, many people were disappointed.  They wanted something more.  They wanted a front-facing camera with video chat, or USB ports, or the ability to make phone calls, or ... the list goes on and on.  Here's the thing, the iPad is revolutionary because of its package.  Sure it's a big iPod Touch, that's the whole point.  The revolution is in its size.

When the iPhone and iPod Touch debuted, they revolutionized what a portable device could do.  They were literally take-anywhere computers that you could customize, through apps.  Now I had a device in my pocket that not only took phone calls, read email, and took pictures, but one that allowed me to turn it into a police scanner, a radio station, a gameboy;  whatever I wanted.  Apps were built for all kinds of use cases.

The problem with portability though is size.  On one extreme, you want something that fits in your pocket, that you can take anywhere, unnoticed.  A device that's great for getting by while on-the-run.  Sure you could read a book on it, but would you?  No, the screen is too small.  At the other end of the spectrum is the laptop.  It allows you to do extended-session computing where you might need to read a long document or type a lot.  Sure laptops are portable, but how portable is relative.

With the launch of the iPad, Apple is giving people a device that is small enough to be portable in your personal environment.  Everyone knows how relatively bulky laptops are when you jump from your chair to a couch, to a meeting.  The iPad is going to make those transitions that much more enjoyable.  It can be with you wherever you go in your personal environment.

There are a whole slew of professions that would benefit greatly from this type of portability.  Librarians, waitresses, police, almost anyone in the service industry who are on their feet and need to access or input information.  The iPhone is too small for many scenarios, the laptop too bulky.  The iPad is perfect for these situations and will outperform many people's expectations.