Last week there was a post over on the American Express Open Forum by Chris Brogan titled “I miss my iPad“. It was a great read and I truly respect Chris for his writing and musings about the iPad. But there was one thing he said, and some related news stories since then that have me thinking about the majority of uses for the current version of the iPad. I’d like to take this opportunity to share some thoughts about the iPad and open it up to comments.
The iPad As Consumption Device
Have you noticed lately the amount of media and games that are available for the iPad? I don’t have specific numbers but it’s a lot. In the tens of thousands. And just what do you do with these apps? You consume. That’s right. You consume content, entertainment, and information. Take a look here at this post from The Apple Blog mentioning several new video streaming services.
When Chris wrote his article in the Open Forum he mentioned the iPad as a consumption device. And after doing a little digging and thinking, I agree with that observation. Here’s why.
When you really think about the iPad and the way it was introduced, Apple did a great job showing us how we could consume content with it. In fact, right on their website it still says of the iPad that it’s “the best way to experience the web, email, photos, and video.” Shortly after that presentation and leading up to it’s initial release (April, 2010) the talk shifted from consumption to “will it replace netbooks?” That led people to start finding ways to use the iPad to make things. And this is where it gets interesting. What do you think the percentage of people out there is that consume on the iPad vs. the percentage that make stuff? I would argue that it’s about 90/10. 90% consumption and 10% making stuff.
I feel the 90/10 split is nearly accurate because of the inherent limitations of a tablet in general. Here’s a few of those limitations:
- They are hard to hold for long periods of time – it’s not like a laptop where you can create stuff on your lap or on the table easily
- The apps are mostly made to consume content or view content but not yet made to make content where we need them to be
- There lacks the ability to quickly and easily transfer and move created content around like you can with a laptop
Now, to be clear these are not reasons for rejecting the iPad or any other tablet. They are just the current state of affairs with the technology at hand. I love tablets and feel they are the future of mobile computing, but we are just now beginning to use them on a large scale.
If you are truly a moblerati then you certainly can make stuff on the iPad. Yes, you *can* create documents, art, spreadsheets, edit photos, and even create slideshows. But in truth, I think most people use these to edit things and not really create them from scratch. When people want to create, they are still using their desktop/laptop to do such. Here is a great post over on a blog I read regularly which clearly shows in the comments that follow that people are on the edge when it comes to deciding whether to get an iPad – and they are teetering on that edge because they know it’s a consumption device but have not yet seen the real value as a creation tool. Keep in mind I am largely talking about business creation. We have clearly seen the abilities of the iPad to create art.
So what is the point? Well, the main point to this entire op-ed is to bring to light the realities of tablets in their current state. I believe they are still largely consumption devices and will remain so until we see improvements in the apps and the hardware to accommodate the ability to get down to business and make things. Is this a bad thing though? Absolutely not! The iPad and other tablets to come are changing how we consume media and the internet. It’s evolutionary and out of necessity.
The bottom line is that the current models of consumption are driving a new generation of devices in order to shift entire industries. We will primarily consume until the ability to create has matured on the tablets. Until then, it is exciting to see industries such as news and magazines and video go from a world of push to pull. Instead of them pushing it out to us, we can now pull it when we want to. And further more, we can now interact with these industries in new ways using social media – yet another form of consumption.
So in the end we are still young in the tablet computing age. What is primarily 90% consumption today could be 90% creation tomorrow and when that happens the way we work and produce will make a huge dent in the universe.
Now, what do you think?
I tend to agree with 90/10 as a general statement. I’m personally closer to about 60/40. I use my iPad everyday at work, taking notes with Note Taker HD and my pogo stylus. Every meeting that I go to I can now bring up all notes from all meetings quite easily. I also utilize Omni Groups’s Omni Focus for iPad and while expensive at $40 it is easily the single most used app I have. I’m currently looking into Omnigraffle, which is essentially a ‘creation’ app, but at $50 may be a bit out of reach. We need more polished apps, such as these, that will allow iPad owners to become more productive.
Dennis,
Thanks for the comment. Yeah, I would put those apps you mentioned in the category of “creation” apps. They are definitely more robust than most. I just got my Griffin Stylus so I’m testing that out with Penultimate. The point you made about needing more polished apps I definitely agree with. I see progress there though and as more development occurs with future hardware versions it would be nice to see a 50/50 split!
I agree completely. I still struggle to use it as a creation device. I feel a bit self conscious pulling it out and using it to take notes in meetings. I feel like I’m showing off.
The other thing is people don’t see their television as a consumption device.
That’s such an excellent point about TV and so very true!!! People generally do not see that as a consumption device yet it is.
I also feel like I’m showing off in public when I use it. Funny because just today I was going to read on it but just used my phone because of the looks I get!
Great post Shane- it really causes someone to think about how they are using their iPad today! When I first purchased it, the goal was really to try to get it to a 50/50 split. I need a portable device to writing on the go- and I can do that fairly easily with the iPad (although the transfer piece is more clicks than I care for). I broke down 2 weeks ago (after 3 months with the iIPad as my primary device) and purchased a laptop. I did this because I needed an easier way for that “creation” aspect at home- I want to sit comfortably on a couch and type for hours on end. But my iPad is still my go-to for on the go. Thanks for the insight!
Thanks. Yeah I agree, I still have, and use, my Macbook. I tend to use it for heavy creation while I do use my iPad for light creation – - but I will admit that consumption on the iPad is the primary use so far.
As a doctor and teacher, for now the iPad remains largely 90/10 as you wrote. UC Irvine and Stanford Med schools may have started a trend (or not) but even they are clear in what the iPad will mainly be for. Till the day I can create my lectures and lecture notes straight out of my iPad, transmit them wirelessly to an LCD projector, and manage all my lecture and work files on it with as much ease as your typical netbook, my Sammy NC10 remains my workhorse.
P.S. If only I could also manage my blog fully from the iPad, as well.
Shane, I just read this blog post by Michael Hyatt, longtime blogger and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers:
Using the iPad to Take Meeting Notes
http://michaelhyatt.com/using-the-ipad-to-take-meeting-notes.html
And somewhere else I just read how less intrusive an iPad in a meeting is vs. a laptop, ie, it seems more like a legal pad whereas a laptop’s open screen creates a physical barrier that makes it seems like people aren’t engaged in the meeting.
Me? I’m waiting for an Android-based tablet.
Thanks Griff! I had not seen that article but will go read it now. Yes, I just got a stylus myself and I agree….with the right app it does seem rather “like a legal pad”. I am looking forward to new versions and capabilities, but yes, the android tablets will bring a totally new element to the “tablet” game!
I think that the one community out there that could push the tablets is the medical community (and education community). Initially, I envisioned it as a teach device for doctors. Which is still largely consumption. There is talk about it being able to transmit medical records and do chart notes, but I have to wonder how far away that really is. If I were a radiologist, I would love to have an x-ray done and then have the results transmitted to my iPad instantly….but all in all this is still consumption!
There lacks the ability to quickly and easily transfer and move created content around like you can with a laptop.
Shane, I really agree with this statement. As smooth and intuitive as the iPad is, it is very difficult to manipulate information and photos, etc.
Exactly. The content that is created, is rather stationary – yes, you can move it but it takes far more effort to move than to just keep it there and then it delivers less value