There’s a surprising amount of “That’s it?’ sentiments going around online about Apple’s announcement of the iPad. Usually it’s like the second coming whenever Steve Jobs holds a press conference.
The easiest way to describe it is that it is a giant iPod Touch. Power users aren’t impressed. But I’m thinking this could go the Wii route. It’s going to sell to the casual PC user. At $500 for the base unit, that could be the sweet spot for a person looking for a quick email/web/music experience in their home (another $130 for 3G + subscription service is pretty insulting if you ask me).
The “hardcore” gamer market balked at the introduction of the Wii. Said it’ll never take off and even if it does, it’ll be a fad for a few months and hit the dirt. The casual gamer/soccer moms have made the Wii a juggernaut for more than 3 years. Sure it’s got a mountain of shit games that is shocking to comprehend, but the Wii is kicking the 360 and PS3’s face in and it’s making Nintendo a fortune. That’s what I think could happen with the iPad. People who don’t care or know about the fastest processors or multitasking will snap this up when they see how it works and how attractive it is. This isn’t the Apple Air, the price point could really sell this. I’ve been thinking it could be good for my mom, she’s wanted a laptop for awhile.