iPad
Apple’s introduction of the iPad in March, to put it simply, has forever reshaped the mobile computing landscape. The iPad is part mobile (it runs the iPhone operating system, now called iOS instead of iPhone OS), and part “real” computer (you can do actual work on it using Apple’s office suite). In other words, the iPad is a device that straddles two worlds. Some, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckberberg, have said “iPad isn’t mobile” and we mostly agree – it’s more computer than smartphone, despite the apps it runs. But to leave it off a year-end list of mobile products? Sacrilege! The iPad has completely changed what mobile computing means to us – it’s a worthy replacement to notebooks and netbooks, even eating away at the latter’s sales. And it has prompted competitors to make major changes in their own device offerings, too. Next year, we’ll see more Android-based tablets, tablets from HP-Palm running HP’s newly acquired Palm webOS and even new Microsoft tablets running Windows.
But is the iPad mobile? Maybe, maybe not. Says Michael Mullany, VP of products at mobile app builder Sencha, “The iPad is the Starbucks of computing devices – a third device between your phone and your laptop that you didn’t even know you wanted. But once you get that first hit, you’re hooked (and it doesn’t even have caffeine).”
Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps puts it more simply: “The Pad is the right product for the right time.” She also noted its dual uses. “Consumers are primed for mobile media consumption and casual couch computing, and the iPad delivers on both fronts. One-quarter of iPad owners use their iPad for work, too – it’s becoming the must-have accessory at meetings and events.”
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