Apple’s cart

The recently released Apple iPad has created quite a stir and lots of news, some good and some bad. The good news is that it is designed for every form of multimedia out there, except possibly Blu-ray discs. It’s got a huge screen with a multi-touch interface and in-built accelerometers to enhance user friendliness. The criticism for the product is more wide ranging. Some say the name reminds them of feminine hygiene products, others feel let down, probably hoping for a futuristic computer straight out of the movie Minority Report. The most relevant criticism, however, is potentially the iPad’s greatest strength.
Apple’s A4 chip, which lies at the heart of the iPad, is at the core of this contention. Built indigenously by iPad (a break from the norm, where most processors use chips built by specialist chip-making companies like Intel and AMD), the A4 chip has the advantage of being much more intrinsically and uniquely linked to the software, making it faster, more reliable and more versatile. It also gives Apple the advantage of product innovation secrecy. With everything being done in-house, there is very little scope for secrets to be divulged. Hardware critics, however, fear that this is all bravado, and that the A4 doesn’t have the capability to make the iPad fast enough to be a real competitor.
Whatever the verdict, Apple has definitely dealt a massive blow to Microsoft and, to some extent, Google. Microsoft is sure to lose market share due to the sheer novelty of the iPad. People will buy it just to try it out and like most Apple products, it will not disappoint. Apple is planning to use the A4 chip in the iPhone, which should be a real blow to Google’s Nexus One phone, which was deemed to be the closest thing to an iPhone killer.
In one swoop, Apple has once again entered a niche and transformed it. This is growing into a habit.
Sharad Raghavan