The iPad is strangely antisocial

http://www.sgmitch.com/blog/2010/01/apple-ipad-an-antisocial-device/

by roachsocal • 16 years ago

21 24 16 years ago

The lack of a camera was a seriously incompetent move by apple, especially considering that they've placed one in the Nano, which has none of the potentials for use like the iPad.

I'm sorry, but this is 2010, I've rarely seen a cell phone without a camera since 2000. Apple has even pioneered placing them in devices that have no need as a gimmick. So someone at Apple HQ was having serious brain farts when they decided to let the iPad go to production without even a single camera in it.

The iPad requires a self-portrait camera for video chat and the ever popular self-pic, but it also needs a camera for taking pictures and recording the environ.

wmblaettler• 16 years ago

I wholeheartedly agree with your entire statement. I was just making this same point earlier today to someone.

The iPod Touch should have a camera by now as well! Yet somehow the nano got one first.

there2• 16 years ago

holding that giant ipad up with two hands to take a picture of something seems kind of awkward. an iphone or ipod nano can easily be steadied in one hand to take a picture.

benatkin• 16 years ago

I was going to say that it would only be a little awkward, but then I remembered once again that I'm not representative of their target market. It's certainly an issue.

nfnaaron2• 16 years ago

Awkward? It seems almost hostile.

joezydeco• 16 years ago

My guess is that you won't see a camera until the device gets on Verizon LTE and one can do two-way video. AT&T just can't handle the bandwidth.

You seem pretty sure Apple is filled with incompetent idiots that all, en mass, decided not to deploy a camera on the iPad.

roachsocal2• 16 years ago

I’ve always felt the same way about iTunes. Listening to music, sometimes, is a very social thing. I often find myself tweeting the song I’m listening to, or the lyrics I just heard. iTunes supports none of this.

The iPod (line) – same thing. This is where Zune has done some innovating. In realizing that music is social, they’ve created features that let you temporarily share songs and see what others are listening to.

There’s no technical reasons why Apple would need to leave these features out. Traditionally Apple hasn't fully grasped the power of the open web, much less social.

But things are starting to change. Their acquisition of Lala is a huge deal. I can’t remember them ever acquiring a website — and a VERY social website on top of that. I’m ready for Apple to take these to the next level by injecting social into their products. They should start with the iPod audio player interfaces (iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad). Let us Tweet, Facebook, Copy a Link, Share With A Friend.

joubert2• 16 years ago

iChat and Skype both can change your status to be the current iTunes music. You could write an app that plugs into this API and Tweet.

roachsocal2• 16 years ago

Yes but Apple hasn't.

anigbrowl• 16 years ago

Good insights in this article, though Apple might argue that they see a social dimension in a pad that can be held on one's lap and shared between people who are physically present (it's unclear if the display is easily viewable off-axis, but I've heard no complaints about it).

I agree with electromagnetic that the lack of a webcam is a mistake. Perhaps a later version will allow for multitasking so you can chit-chat via skype or Goggle Voice while surfing or using apps, but it's a shortcoming in the first version. Of course, I expect that part of the reason for the 2 month delay between announcement and availability is to gather feedback of the kind we're discussing here.

Timothee• 16 years ago

The marketing material from Apple specifically says that the screen is good even from the sides. Of course, it would have to be seen in real life, but at least they're conscious that it could be an issue.

For the lack of camera, I find that puzzling. Because it's an obvious thing to put there and Apple has been putting iSights everywhere for many years now. So, I'm curious to know why they didn't put one "on purpose".

Your mention of multitasking while using Skype or Google Voice made me realize that it is in fact important. All the time while I'm on a video call on Skype, I go online to check out a website or find a link that I want to share. In that use-case that'd be pretty limiting…

pohl2• 16 years ago

Pandora, Last.fm, etc. are other good examples where at least one process in the background would be nice.

flogic2• 16 years ago

Personally I would find a cam awkward. Mainly due to having to hold the pad at the right angle. However for me, IM is critical.

there2• 16 years ago

It’s possible the iPad will allow apps to have push notifications with audible alerts

that got me wondering about the hardware differences between the ipad and iphone.

has anyone looked at the sdk yet that can verify whether the ipad os works the same with respect to push notifications? does the ipad have the hardware to vibrate? when you push the power button on it does it just shut off the display like an iphone or go completely to sleep like a laptop? if it's completely sleeping, does it wake up on a timer to display notifications like calendar alerts? but then how can it handle incoming push notifications from applications if the wireless radios are off? with a month-long standby time i have to imagine it's a pretty deep sleep and can't keep the wireless/3g radio on that entire time. my kindle can only survive about a week with the 3g radio on while not doing anything.

pohl2• 16 years ago

Most punditry that I read on the web suffers from the same flaw: the author is so into their own decision-making calculus that they do not consider that others have different ways of thinking. This author is no exception. She looks at the icons on her iPhone, sees that she has loaded it with social apps, and assumes not just that other people are no different from her, but also that the device itself (a smartphone) is "inherently social".

Speak for yourself, social butterfly. My iPhone is my device to use as I wish, and if I'm an individual who loves solitude, then the way I use the device will reflect that.

TrevorJ• 16 years ago

Marketing a product is about knowing your audience. You have to make certain assumptions.

For the vast majority of computer users out there, the ability to have email, chat, or other "social" interactions pushed to them is taken for granted. I think she has a very very good point.

Of course the author is writing from their own viewpoint, and I think her observation is fairly valid.

zephyrfalcon• 16 years ago

So I wonder. All these people who claim that the iPad cannot do this, cannot do that. What do they base these claims on, considering they most likely haven't been able to use one yet (other than the very few people who got to use a prototype or demonstration model)?

My old Palm Pilot is "modal", but you can still happily switch between apps, do something else, come back and pick up where you left off. It would make perfect sense for the iPad to have a similar system at least, so you could e.g. download a picture from your browser, edit it in another app, then use it in a presentation using KeyNote, all without breaking stride.

It would also make sense to have some sort of notification bar or other system telling you that you have mail, tweets, facebook comments, IM messages, whatever.

(Granted, playing music might be a different story, as that would make for a heavier load on the processor as a background process.)

Did Apple make explicit statements about this? Did they state that this definitely isn't possible? Or are we just guessing?

(In case there is actual proof of this, please post a link or so. The articles I've read so far have done nothing to back up their claims.)

roc• 16 years ago

Your don't trade in your phone to buy an iPad.

i.e. devices aren't social, their use is. And their use doesn't preclude the use of other devices. Ergo not every device needs to be useful for everything.

e.g. the iPod functionality of the iPad is technically terrible. Does Apple expect you'll carry that thing around to listen to music? But therein lies the rub: you don't. You have an iPod for that.

My guess is that the camera feature in the iPad SDK has more to do with a bluetooth interaction between mobile OS X devices than future iPad hardware plans.

philwelch2• 16 years ago

You're supposed to sit on the couch and share it with another person, showing them your vacation photos or cute kitty videos on YouTube or a movie or something. That's a lot more "social" than abstracting human contact behind text messages and webcams.

flogic2• 16 years ago

That only works if the other person is withing sharing range. It sucks for talking to people in other town/states/countries.

philwelch2• 16 years ago

See, the problem is the idea that "social" technologies necessarily mean telecommunications. There are a lot of technologies for talking to people who live far away from you, what's missing is technologies for socializing with people in person. In this sense, maybe having an IPS screen with 178 degrees of viewing angle fulfills more unmet social needs than just another IM client or VOIP app or videoconferencing technology.

elblanco• 16 years ago

I'm also surprised at the complete lack of connectivity between an iPad and an iPhone/iPod/iPod Touch. It would seem to me to be a very "minority report" type of situation, with a larger device for regular use, and a simple set of gestures to swipe some data over to your iPhone for on the run portability.

nfnaaron2• 16 years ago

"By leaving out two features ..."

If you introduce a product with distinct features X, Y and Z, then you'll sell that product to everyone interested in it and who require X, Y and Z.

If you introduce product V1 with only X, you'll get the X people, and most of Y and Z people will sit it out.

But then you introduce an upgrade, V2 that includes X and Y. Now you'll sell to some of the Y people. But also, some of the X people will buy it again, to have the full experience of X and Y.

Then introduce V3 with X, Y and Z. New customers, and a percentage of repeat customers who have now bought the product two and three times.

The iPad is strangely antisocial

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