Let’s take a look at Apple history since Steve Jobs has come back and we’ll look at a handful of products that were destined to fail for various reasons.

• iMac – “It didn’t have a disk drive!” That was the main killer there. Yet, wasn’t this the product that got Apple back on its feet?
• iPod – “It doesn’t support Ogg Vorbis!” and “it’s a hard drive-based player, you need a flash memory player!” Do we really need to discuss this one any further? An entire industry has been built around this product.
• iPhone – “It doesn’t support MMS or video. The battery isn’t removable. It’s only on one carrier”. I’d hardly call the iPhone a failure either

That’s just a handful of products that were destined to fail for very specific reasons (in addition to all three of those products being “overpriced” and only for “snobby Apple fanboys”). Now let’s look at the main gripes of the iPad.

• No Flash support – Could be a problem…for now. HTML 5 is getting tightened up and there will be no need for the proprietary Flash
• No built-in USB – Could be a problem…for now. There are adapters, there’s the dock, there’s wifi to connect to your network. Is it a killer? I highly doubt it.
• No camera – People are listing this as a reason the iPad will fail? If it’s THAT important I’m sure Apple will add one in the next release. For now I just don’t think it’s a reason to deem this a failure.
• It doesn’t do what an iPhone/netbook/laptop does – Well, it’s NOT an iPhone or netbook or laptop. Don’t try to compare it to one. It’s an entirely new device for consumers. Would you rather lug your laptop around to check your mail or read an ebook or have an iPad sitting in the living room?
• No removable battery – Do you need one? The battery lasts crazy long even under full use. An extra battery would be nice but it’s hardly a reason the iPad will be a failure
• Touch keyboard – If you really need one you can add one. Again, not a reason for failure. I think people will appreciate the sleek design and not having to worry about breaking keys as they lug this around.

Do I have an iPad? No. Do I want one? Sure. Do I think it’s a miracle device? No. Do I think it will fail? Hell no.

Apple has created a device that does not fit into any particular category. Many publishers have signed on knowing this will be an easier way to distribute their content. Developers are loving the fact there’s another platform to develop for. Consumers are still on the fence but I think once there is a realization that it fits a nice niche between iPhone/iPod Touch and a laptop, sales will continue to grow (they’d probably grow more if Apple didn’t sign another exclusive deal with AT&T. C’mon guys…really?).

That’s just the hardware side of things…don’t even get me started on how much money Apple will make from app sales and other content sales through this thing. A bust? I think not.

Some background on the reviewer (it’s not me). He’s an artist/illustrator. The man, the reviewer, the Spencer Lindsay (you’ll see some of his goods on his blog).

Here’s what he’s got to say:
======begin Spencer iPad review=======

OK.

Full day and a half of using my iPad and I can’t get it away from my teenage daughters – hence the snappy title.

• Battery Life:
  • Absofuckinglutely unstoppable. I’ve had it on for the entire day today, playing movies, surfing the web – ooohhh… the web surfing… and drawing on it.
  • As of 8:15pm, battery is at 65%
• UI:It’s cooler than SJ made it look in his easychair rollout talk. Smooth, fast and responsive without even one hiccup so far.
  • If you have an iPhone or a touch, you know what to do.
• Apps:
  • I bought iWork.
    • Pages: Pretty damn cool. Kinda hard to type fast on the slippery keyboard, but I think I can get used to it. Extremely intuitive interface with one exception: where are all the files kept and why are there multiple copies? Must look into it.
    • Numbers: Seems exactly as useable as pages – I’m going to mess with it tonight.
  • iPhone apps sometimes crash.
  • iPhone apps look a little yucky compared to the “HD” versions of the iPad apps.
  • Google Maps app is shockingly fast and useable. The multitouch stuff really is amazing in this.
• No Flash.
  • I have yet to find this a problem. CBS even has a (FREE) iPad app that lets you watch their shows (FREE) and it acts just like Hulu. I’m guessing that all the networks are going to do this if they like money. 700,000 sold in one day… yoiks!
• GPS, Compass, Accelerometer:
  • All work flawlessly with most apps, though some of the app store purchases seem a little “rickety”… possibly the new API – I know there were some changes between iPhone and iPad.
• Screen:
  • Sharp, crisp and fast.
  • Sticky fingers do leave some smudges though, I’ve had to clean it twice today but there’s been a ton of fingers on it.
• Movies: Awesome. Clear and sharp and very fast to load.
• Books:
  • I’ve purchased one book: Dies the fire, and it’s very readable – The one thing I might add is a “lock scree rotation” button. Occasionally, while shifting positions, the screen rotated on me.
  • There are a bazillion free downloads of all the classics. It felt funny loading Tolstoy and the collected works of Shakespear on it but I did it because I could.
• Mail:
  • Pretty much the same a iPhone mail with more room.
• Safari:
  • Holy mother of God this is where the iPad totally shines for me. The speed is fantastic, the refresh speed of the graphics is amazing and the multitouch to zoom in and out of pages at will is just so cool.

I had it with me at the aquarium today and the reactions were anything but ambivalent. I got one of two reactions:

1.) OMG is that an IPAD!! Want!
b.) Oh yeah, an iPad, I can’t believe you bought one. (editor’s note…it’s an inside joke with “b” following “1″ in our lists)

The naysayers usually say: But it’s just a big iPod Touch…

My question is: “is that a bad thing?”

Still trying to figure out if this will replace the MBP… it might.

=====end Spencer iPad Review======

Spencer then went on to ramble on about what happened on Day Two of his iPad experience.

=====Spencer’s iPad Thoughts Day Two====

Day two.

Left it on the kitchen counter.

In a half an hour, Clan Lindsay had looked up a map of Santa Cruz, checked housing listings, googled images of Lady Gaga all while listening to the new Black-Eyed Peas album.

It’s more of an appliance than I thought.

=====end Spencer’s iPad Thoughts Day Two====

And there you have it folks. An everyday consumer with a family seems to think “yes, I like this machine”. Forget all the “pundits” and “experts” who complain about the lack of a camera or that it doesn’t have a keyboard. This isn’t a laptop for crying out loud. It’s a new device. As I stated/asked in my last iPad piece with my predictions, it’s created a whole new category. I’ll admit I want one. It won’t replace my laptop but it will certainly be a nice device to have in the living room, bedroom, kitchen…

Kudos to you Apple for creating yet another winner and making countless millions craving to spend more money on your devices. Sheesh…anyone want to send me one to review?

I’ll make it short. I know you’re getting inundated with April Fool’s emails and such. Let’s go over these predictions and discuss:

1. Apple’s stock will continue to climb because of the iPad – Why? First, you’ve got the obvious hardware sales. Next up, you’ve got yet more sales to be made in the App Store. It also opens up a whole new ecosystem with the publishers. That’s a pretty good revenue stream coming in for Apple.
2. Laptops, even MacBooks and MacBook Pros will look like boring business machines – People will look at their big heavy laptops and use them mainly for work and keep their iPads out in the living room for some quick email checking or the bedroom for some pre-bed reading. Who wants to lug a big laptop all around?
3. Computers aren’t just for “creating” anymore – The iPad will be quite a consuming device. Consuming apps, games, books. We all know we aren’t going to create any wondrous app on this thing however we will certainly use it to buy a lot of stuff.
4. A new category of computing devices is named – Let’s look up at #3. Maybe this WON’T be considered a computer. It’s clearly not a desktop, laptop, or netbook (all considered computers). It’s not an iPod. It’s a hybrid of an iPod and a computer…but just what the hell is it? Once again…Apple creates a new industry.

I stop at four. Everyone does five or ten. Booooring! I think however this is enough thought-provoking tidbits to get us all discussing the merits of such. Agree? Disagree? Have stuff to add? Let’s get to it!

PS – I’ve got a few more thoughts but I wouldn’t want to bias what you have to say. After enough people chime in I’ll go ahead and spew more thoughts out.

1. Multiple phones on multiple carriers – Plain and simple, having more options for consumers makes it easier for Android to grab market share. Apple’s iPhone certainly made a splash but it is just one OS on one carrier. Imagine the market share the iPhone’s OS would have it was also available on Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Same goes for the Palm Pre. As great as the phone is, some people still aren’t willing to break their contracts with AT&T or Verizon simply to get the Pre. However, with Android-based phones being made on by multiple manufacturers and available on all the major networks, everyone will have an opportunity to buy one without switching.
2. Application availability - This has been Apple’s strength, and Palm’s weakness, in the smartphone market. People LOVE their apps. The phone isn’t just a phone anymore. It’s a mobile device, capable of surfing the net, locating a restaurant, tuning your guitar, keeping you entertained at the airport, translating a phrase to Spanish, giving you the recipe for a Surfer on Acid, ordering coffee, checking your bank account, and so forth. Comparing hardware and the base OS, the Palm Pre beats the iPhone in a number of categories and is rather close in others. However, it’s the iPhone’s bevy of app choices that gives it a hands-down clear victory over other smartphones compelling reasons to buy one over the other. There are already a whole slew of apps available for the Android and it’s app catalog will only grow larger.
3. App development - Many mobile app developers would rather develop on Android’s open source platform than deal with iPhone development rules, with the headaches that Blackberry development poses, and so forth. Having people WANT to develop apps on one platform over another certainly helps the cause.
4. Google backing - Google is loaded, no doubt about it. When they want something, they throw their genius at it and if that’s not enough then they dig into their enormous war chest to get the desired results.

Ultimately it’s up to the consumer to buy Android-based phones which will obviously determine the market share that it gains. Will it be big enough to overtake the iPhone? Not anytime soon. However, there are many compelling reasons for consumers to want an Android phone, from not leaving their current network to seeing what the next new thing is. Only time will tell, but given Google’s track record with new projects and the reasons given above, it’s simply just a matter of time.

It’s funny how companies can change…sometimes it happens immediately (Give Me a Mac went from a “please help I need a new computer” concept to this new vision within half a week of inception) and sometimes it takes decades (remember when IBM made typewriters…moved into the computer hardware arena and now they are a software and services company).

Change is good. Helping out the needy is good. It’s good to see that entrepreneurs still care about the community (yes, I’m talking about myself here but mad props also go to the Woz and, as much as I’m not a fan of Microsoft business practices, I’m fairly pleased with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).

Go check out Give Me a Mac, donate your old Mac if you can (not looking for money…just computers), and ponder how we can use technology to improve the lives of others. Once you’ve looked it all over and pondered it all shoot some comments and ideas on over and we’ll continue to teach the ways of being a computer geek to those that need it.

For those of you who aren’t in the know or only read the big headlines about Sprint Nextel (losing customers, posting losses, blah blah blah) let’s go ahead and put together a quick little list of cool things about Sprint.

1. Amazon’s Kindle zooms around on Sprint’s network
2. Sprint’s network is amazingly fast
3. The Sprint/Clearwire WiMax joint venture is taking off and getting rave reviews. Check out this video (you have to sit through some 3G talk though)
4. Ford plans on putting wireless in their new vehicles
5. Palm’s exclusive agreement with Sprint helps revenues. That Palm Pre is gonna rawk!

Just a few quick things about Sprint that I find notable. Yes, AT&T has the iPhone. Sure, Verizon has a giant network. Sprint though…they’ve got cool stuff. If they can just survive these rough times I think they could have something great to offer us all.

Nowhere in the history of gaming has anyone ranted about Apple as being a platform of choice for gaming. Nope. Just not there.

Enter the iPhone. Have you seen how many games are available for this thing? According to one article at the LA Times there are nearly 1,700 games available since the App Store opened in June. Good…freaking…googly. Those are mammoth numbers! From simple games developed by unknown developers to well-known games developed by the bigger names in gaming, games dominate the downloads for the iPhone.

When the iPhone was first released it was widely speculated that the iPhone was Apple’s Trojan Horse into the enterprise. Perhaps it is. However, one cannot ignore these numbers. With already 1,700 games…one thousand seven hundred…in a mere five months, Apple may be sneaking their way into a new source of revenue. We can only guess what they’ll do with this information. Perhaps they make a handheld gaming device to compete with Nintendo’s DS Lite or Sony’s PSP or maybe they’ll think bigger and go for a console gaming system. Maybe they’ll do nothing and let it be a niche product for the phone (can we really call 7 of the top 10 iPhone apps “niche”?). I don’t know…but Apple is clearly comfortable with exploring opportunities beyond desktop and laptop computers. Time will tell but I for will be keeping my eyes on this development.

The folks at MacDailyNews compiled a great list of quotes from various people that poo-pood on the notion of Apple creating a phone. These quotes of course come after the latest numbers reported by Apple showing that they are now the world’s third largest mobile phone supplier based on revenue and that the iPhone outsold the Blackberry last quarter. Not bad from a company that was once called “the beleaguered company” a number of years ago.

My favorite quote (probably based on my frustration with Palm as they keep fumbling the ball) is from Ed Colligan, CEO of Palm on November 16, 2006. He stated “We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.” 

Really? Good job Ed. While you sat there and and did nothing with your OS, some “PC guys” came along and created one of the most popular phones in history. 

It’s this kind of thinking by executives that drives me crazy. What should be a great company falls by the wayside because of a great mixture of arrogance and ignorance. I love my Treo but damn…it’s like a clunky old brick compared to the iPhone. If not for Apple’s exclusive deal with AT&T and my great plan with Sprint I’m sure I’d be yet another iPhone owner amongst my friends and colleagues.

So how did Apple do it? I’m pretty sure the “cool factor” of owning an Apple device played a role in their sales. However, Apple is known for massive R&D, for finding what the users want, for making things simple to use. While Palm (and everyone else for that part) was sitting on their ass, Apple was working on features, ergonomics, design, ease-of-use…and look where we are now.

Let this be a lesson to all those companies that think they have a particular market or even a particular niche cornered. Anybody can come in and rain on your picnic. In these days and times it is a dangerous thing to rest on your laurels. There is always someone looking to put a better product out there and if you rest, you’ll fall behind faster than you can imagine.

Here’s what I’m really seeing out of this however. Apple releases a wildly popular product with consumers. We’ve come to expect that from Apple. And of course being in the limelight, there are many critical eyes on what Apple releases. “No SDK!” and “No exchange support!” were two biggies that were most often talked about. “The iPhone has no chance going against the BlackBerry without Exchange support.”

What Apple did was genius. They create a simple to use smartphone (with elegant design of course). I don’t even think Apple intended for this to be a BlackBerry competitor. However, they release what they want to release yet leave it flexible enough to add what needs to be added when they hear back from the masses. The masses wanted Exchange support and now each new iPhone will come with it built in. They let the general population do the test marketing and dictate what would be featured in a great product. The first iPhone was no failure by any means, yet after releasing what they wanted for the consumers and then listening to the enterprise wish list, they now have a product for both consumers and business. Genius I say.