I promise that this will be the last of the iPad’s one year anniversary posts… But this may be the most interesting. With the current statistics stating that demand for the iPad 2 is 40% higher than for the original iPad (at the same point in its lifetime) the state of apps could be reasonably stated as being much less revolutionary than the Apple hardware.
The same is actually true for most smartphones (just less apparent)…how many joke apps do you use? As with some of my thoughts about iPads in general …we, as users, still haven’t come to a place where we understand what this new tool can do. This puts us in a bit of a circular argument regarding our roles, and that of apps.
I am still waiting or an app to use all of the unique differences the iPad has. So far, most of the users I have met have found ways to ‘deal’ with the fact that the screen rotates more than they might like…but there are a number of apps out here which don’t even allow for this fundamental aspect of iPad use…
In any case, I suspect that this will become more notable and more problematic as the iPad becomes a commonplace tool for everyone…
IPad May Be Magical. Apps Aren’t. Here’s why.
http://gigaom.com/2011/03/05/ipad-may-be-magical-apps-arent-heres-why
However, if iPad, the device, is more magical, the applications (apps) for the device are anything but. For nearly a year, I’ve been waiting (and waiting) for experiences befitting the device and its hardware capabilities. Sure, there’s Flipboard, but as the saying goes, one swallow don’t make a summer. And same goes for the iPhone and other smart platforms.
Let me explain. On an iPad, you have four elements — big screen, touch, connectivity and location — that make it unique. The iPad 2 has added two cameras and a gyroscope to the mix, making the device even more potent. And yet, we’ve seen application after application come to market as just an incremental improvement of the web or desktop versions of the same (or similar) application.
Some of the magazine apps developed for the iPad are just simply horrible, turning out to be no more than bloated multi-media versions of the print publications. Even The Daily, the made-for-iPad publication from the house of Rupert Murdoch, is nowhere close to being able to leverage the iPad platform, despite all the help from Apple itself.
Why? Because apps, content and consumption experiences on iPads and other tablets need to be rethought and re-imagined by combining the hardware capabilities with software. As Steve Jobs said in his keynote yesterday:
Our competitors are looking at this like it’s the next PC market. That is not the right approach to this. These are post-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC, more intuitive. The hardware and software need to intertwine more than they do on a PC.
More Apps, More Problems: How the iPad will Change the App Store
http://gizmodo.com/#!5459834/more-apps-more-problems-how-the-ipad-will-change-the-app-store
