Apple Days Of Innovation Are Over? History Doesn't Seem To Agree.

This is a note I posted on a local newspaper website that I wanted to share: 

START COMMENT

I'm hardly an Apply "fanboy" in that I proclaim Apple to be untouchable. I do have a Mac Computer, iPad and iPhone but don't hate it if people want to use other stuff. Heck, I use Windows and Blackberry for work! 

I am a bit of an Apple historian though. I grew up using an Apple IIe (1980's baby!) and quite familiar with Apple's history before and after the Apple IIe. Apple's history has always been "to innovate" with some product and then build on it incrementally.

The Apple I was nice but it was the Apple II that really took off. While Apple added some things over time: Upper / Lower Case keyboard, Disk Drives, More Memory, etc, the basic Apple II features hardly changed for the better part of a decade. The Apple II graphics and sound capabilities that existed in 1977 were the same capabilities that went through the Apple II+, IIe and IIc. It wasn't until the Apple IIGS was introduced in 1986 that there were significant upgrades to features.

The original Macintosh was like that as well: Mac 128, Mac 512, Mac SE. There were a couple of desktop Mac's, then the Performa line.

It wasn't until Jobs introduced the colorful iMac's that the computers got a huge makeover. The MacBook Air was well received but these days are just getting some makeovers.

These days, Apple is just doing the same thing everything. The iPods, iPhones, iPads and computers are in the "let's update incrementally mode". At the end of the day, nothing wrong with that.

Is Apple's days of innovation over? We won't know for a while but let's not discount them. Apple has a history of innovation (most of it with Jobs). However, I have faith that someone will step into the role in time.

END COMMENT

I'll add that people are expecting way too much for any company to continue innovating.  Maybe I'm from an older generation but at the end of the day, I just need an iPhone to make calls.  The rest are just perks.  That's why I still have an iPhone 4.  If I do need the newer model then I will move to a newer model. 

Blackberry Playbook Redux

Tablet computers are quite popular these days.  To many users, the only tablet computer worthy of consideration is the iPad.  To me, I personally didn't feel the need to get a tablet.  I had an iPhone that served me well when I needed to get email, Internet access or other information on the run. 

I did pick up an iPad 2 for my mom as an entertainment / gaming device at home.  For the first time since I bought the iPad 2, my mom and I took it on the road for vacation.  I used the iPad to surf online a bit while at the hotel. 

What most people don't know if that I quietly picked up a Blackberry Playbook tablet computer a few months after buying the iPad 2.  There was an opportunity to pick up the Playbook for free which I took advantage of.   I didn't have any specific need for the Playbook but wanted to see what it could do. 

The initial version of the operating systems was a little limited and buggy.  I got a decent experience going online but apps were lacking.  Since the Playbook was a WiFi only tablet, I was limited in the places I could use it (home or other places that had WiFi internet connections).  As many people heard, the Playbook lacked email apps at launch and that was a major limitation. 

With an updated operating system several months ago, the bugs were ironed out a bit and email apps were added.  I download the update and gave the new operating system a spin.  It was pretty interesting but I didn't have a major need to use the Playbook.  When I was home, I would use my computer.  When I was out, I would use my iPhone.  My needs on the road didn't require a tablet.   With that, my Playbook just sat on a table collecting dust until tonight. 

I participate in a fantasy football league and for the first time in a few years, we were drafting players in person at a friend's house.  The league had drafted online only the past few years so I could easily just use my computer.  I wasn't sure if we were still going to use the online system even though we were meeting in person.   It was with that thought that I decided to pull my Playbook out of the mothballs and bring it along to the draft. 

As it turned out, there was only me, my friend and another guy at the house drafting while the other folks were drafting online.  I asked my friend to grant me access to his wireless network and I powered up my Playbook. 

After logging in and going to our fantasy football draft website, I was able to get into the draft room successfully.  It was NOT the smoothest of experiences I've had though.  There were some hiccups with the draft room though it wasn't a deal breaker.  I figured out what I needed to do and just went with it.  At the end of the day, the fact that I was able to participate and complete the draft entirely from the Playbook was good enough for me!  

Since the draft room was Flash based,  I probably would not have been able to participate in the draft with my iPhone (or an iPad).  I was fortunate that the Playbook was around and had Flash support.  While I understand why Apple did not want to support Flash, there are some cases where it is useful as I found out tonight.  

So while the Playbook may not be used regularly by me, I did find one niche use case for it tonight.  I may use the Playbook for monitoring my fantasy football team during the season as well.  My iPhone is ok for that purpose but the bigger screen of the Playbook may be better.  

My blog post will not necessarily turn around Blackberry's fortunes in the business market.   However, hopefully anyone reading the posting will keep an open mind and find uses for the Playbook (and other tablets) that exist on the market. 

iPad for Seniors: Personal Experience

As a person that work on a computer most of the day, has a computer at home and carries around an iPhone, I did not have a need for an iPad.  Yet,  I spent a lot of time playing with the machine at Apple stores.  While I enjoyed playing with it, I felt is a glorified iPhone without the ability to make calls.

I had a change of heart when I realized the iPad 2 could be an interesting device for my mom when she's not out doing stuff.  I thought it would give her an additional option beyond just watching TV.  Like many elderly folks, my mom is not much of a technology person.  The only piece of my technology actively uses is her cell phone.  However, that cell phone is a very basic one.  You would never see my mom using an iPhone or Android phone.

If not the iPhone, then how come I suddenly thought about the iPad?  Well, I felt the iPad would be simple enough so I could teach my mom a few simple things to do.  I initially planned to teach her how to surf the Web, watch YouTube and play a few games.

After thinking about things for a couple of weeks, I ended getting the iPad.  Alas, only one out of the three items I wanted to teach my mom has worked out.  My mom doesn't know much about the Internet and doesn't watch a lot of videos.  So, those two ideas went out the door quick.

However, the games have saved the day.  I had to teach my mom to do some basic navigation of the iPad.  Once she got that down pat, she has spent a lot of her free time playing a few games (2 card games + one bowling game).   The two card games require some thinking and strategy so that is helping my mom stay mentally active.

The nice benefit is that some of the games can be played on both the iPad 2 and my iPhone (as both are using my iTunes account).  So when we both have time, I can compete against my mom on some of the games.  Good family bonding time!

In addition, while the iPad is not a phone, I've installed an app that allows the iPad to make and receive calls.  I have the same app on my iPhone.  While the cell phone will be the primary form of contact, it's nice to have a backup option.

If you've never thought about getting an iPad for yourself, consider it for your family member.   It is definitely worth the investment.

My first impression of the Apple IPad

I'm back! I've been busy with work recently and writing the blog hasn't been the highest priority. However, today felt like a good day to get back to writing a bit.

This morning, I officiated a couple of youth basketball games. Afterward, I headed to the mall to grab some lunch (Spaghetti and Meatballs, bread stick, potatoes).

After stuffing my face, I decided to head to the Apple store located in the mall. It had been about a month since the Apple IPad had been released and I figured it would be a good time to check it out.

There were still quite a few people checking out the IPad's, but I got lucky. There was one available IPad that no one was using to I immediately swopped in and began to explore it's functions. Specifically, I used the IPad to check my email, go to Youtube, and browsed around Yahoo. All in all, I spent about 15 minutes or so using the IPad.

My impressions? I surprisingly liked the IPad but not for the reasons that Apple may want. Apple markets the IPad as a replacement for the netbook computers that have taken off in recent years. I don't think the IPad will replace netbooks due to the touch screen keyboard. I found it difficult to touch type. Perhaps I will get better with practice but that was a minus.

It should be mentioned that the IPad touch screen keyboard is better than the IPhone because the screen is bigger. I never liked the IPhone touch screen since it was too easy to hit the wrong key. That is less of a problem with the IPad. Also, there is an option keyboard that can be used though it wasn't demoed at the store.

On the positive side, being able to browse with Safari on a large sized mobile device was great. Watching YouTube videos and seeing websites in full size was definitely a bonus. The IPad's were using basic wireless to connect to the Internet and I had no complaints about the speed.

I believe the IPad is going to be a hit with the multimedia crowd. Lugging a laptop around to watch videos and listen to music is sometimes impractical. The IPad is hardly small BUT is portable enough to not get in the way. I believe tons of people are going to use the IPad to watch videos, listen to music and read a book, especially when they travel.

While the IPad is not great for email or other business applications that require a lot of typing, it's not impossible to use those applications. People will just have to get used to the touch screen keyboard.

Additionally, I saw other people playing with various applications such as games. I didn't get a chance to look at those applications but will try to do so in the future.

All in all, I liked the IPad and would consider getting one just for the multimedia aspects. I love watching YouTube videos and being a music guy, I would listen to tunes as well. However, I won't be getting one anytime soon as I want to see what Apple's future plans are with the IPad before plunking down money for one.