Apple iPad: Who Is This For?2

Apple just finished up its announcement for the new aptly named iPad.  Many sites will have in-depth reviews so I will speculate for a moment: who is this for?

I think that Apple has a few segments in the mobile market that all constantly push and pull at each other:

1. Macbook users
2. iPhone users
3. iPod Touch users

As an undiscovered sudoku prodigy, I’d like to use some logic to generalize a bit to find where the numbers belong.  Feel free to argue in the comments.

iPad’s interface is essentially an OS X lite for portable applications.  Of course, Macbooks are just as portable and are fully powered.  Taking out an iPad on the bus ride to work to watch a podcast would be faster than taking out a Macbook.  However, somebody that recognizes the value of a Macbook is in my opinion more likely to have an iPhone already to subsidize it with being connected. (See next section.)

Is the iPad for Macbook users?  Not likely.

iPhone users all have one thing in common: dropped calls.  As an iPhone user, am I interested in giving more money to AT&T for any reason?  NO.  The iPad offers little functionality that isn’t already fulfilled by the iPhone.  The entire app catalog is the same (for now), including scheduling, contacts and podcasts at a glance.  The iPhone excels in a few aspects such as I can strap it to my arm when I go to the treadmill, I can whip it out in .35 seconds to watch a video podcast (in widescreen might I add) on the bus without an issue.  It is fully connected with a required data plan pretty much any time, anywhere I need it.  Not to mention, I can take photos with my iPhone.

Is the iPad for iPhone users?  Definitely NOT.

Given the hardware specs, iPod Touch users are likely people who don’t have iPhones because they don’t subscribe to AT&T for one reason or another.  Since iPod Touch is basically an iPhone minus the phone, what is left is a love for the functionality.  These people probably fall into the realm of possible new customers.  Really, the iPad 3G is an upgrade for iPod touch users who would like to extend beyond wifi connectedness into the rest of the world.  This group probably makes up the largest group of theoretically “unconnected” customers.  According to this graph (and this post) from Wired, app sales from iPod touch jumped 1000% around Christmas time.

It’s been enough time (about a month, ha) where pretty soon all of these new users will be realizing the deficiencies pointed out by the iPad, and will begin wanting to use more connected and location-based apps. (Touch users currently only have wifi-based location services; iPad does not have GPS but has wifi/3G-assisted location services.)  This is what Touch users are lacking and while it’s not full-on GPS, it is pretty good and is one step closer.  An iPad will not fully replace the portability of a Touch, but it would make a good addition to somebody’s iLife without throwing down $1100+ for a Macbook.

Is the iPad for iPod Touch users?  Probably.

There are no doubt people that fall in between, and groups that are completely unrelated to any of these like students.  Other users might include:

1. Students – I think that if I was a student, I would buy an iPad in a hurry especially if textbooks were available.  Then again, since the desktop computer is essentially on the way out and most students have laptops anyway, they might fall back into the Macbook (laptop) users category.
2. Sales People – If all you have to do is present, this would be an excellent tool for doing that, as well as keeping entertained on the plane ride.
3. Everybody not in my industry – I will admit that it is difficult to see through lenses of somebody who isn’t surrounded by technology all of the time.  Having been brought up in Smalltown, U.S.A., I can appreciate the simplicity of being “unconnected”.  Perspective, my friends, is everything.  If I didn’t stare into a laptop screen all day long – if I was waiter or a hotel concierge or a bus driver, I might invest in one of these.
4. My Dad – I think he would think this is pretty cool.  I know that he doesn’t have 3G coverage.  He barely has cell coverage (at least for “big city” cellphones) and high-speed Internet can be found in the back of the co-op chemical building in town where you choose between Internet and cell signal.  He would dig the searchable iBook thing and I don’t know how many farmer apps there are but I think he would get some use out of it.

I am not far from this side of the fence: I would buy this for portability reasons when I have a larger/heavier laptop and do more freelance work that requires more presentation, and when it has a camera (because this is begging for augmented reality apps and video chat).

What do you think?  Will you buy an iPad?