How the iPad Ended the Reign of Tech Nerds

Now that the iPad has finally started to arrive in the hands of the common man and illuminati alike (check out David Letterman's iPad Top Ten List), new light will be cast upon the device's merit. No amount of pre-release speculation and hype can give us the clarity that comes from average everyday Joes and Janes blogging, tweeting and chatting about their impressions. The internet has been rife with armchair experts speaking out very loudly both in praise of and damning Apple's new device. For the past few months, voices have boomed very loudly all over the web, to the point where you almost have to stop and say "is this really only just about a handheld device?" The religious fervor of those who are both for and against can actually be frightening at times. One thing you can never say is that the masses are generally indifferent about Apple. Or quiet.

When looking for input on the iPad and what it might mean to your life, the first thing you have to do is learn to filter out those I can refer to as "Holy Rollers". You know... those creepy, intense people who don't seem to be talking about a tech device as much as they're trying to work out some childhood trauma without consulting a mental health professional. In the time I've been surfing around reading peanut-gallery comments about the iPad, I've seen people claim that the iPad will lead directly to an Orwellian state of totalitarianism, abject socialism or (everyone's favorite) the return of the Third Reich. I've also seen people say that the iPad is going to be the only computer people will ever need for the rest of their lives and that if the Apple doesn't support it, the world doesn't need it and never will.

You can just dismiss that white noise and move on.

All that aside, there are some very reasonable criticisms which deserve reasonable replies. It's a long list, too; from the lack of a USB plug to the battery which the user can't replace, from the high cost to the lack of Flash in Safari, from the lack of camera to it being unable to use for phone calls over 3G... it can't be said that it has everything for everyone. And yet, the iPad is flying off the shelves at breakneck speed; already Apple has sold out its pre-ordered stocks and consumers who lined up around the block have depleted every store in town. It's naive to think that this device isn't going to own the tablet market (if it doesn't already). It's hard to imagine how Apple could have hoped for a more positive response from the buying public.

 Yeah, yeah. We all know what it looks like.

And this is really the crux of the matter: When techies and nerds all over the world are showing blatantly empirical evidence that the iPad offers markedly fewer checkbox features than some of the competition, it can be hard to understand why it's smoking everything else on the market. The answer is somewhat subtle and even touches upon a powerful but little-understood reality of the computer market: People don't actually care about computer power. Legions of buck-toothed nerds will fight to the death against me for saying it, but computers aren't measured purely in terms of megahertz, RAM and peripheral jacks. That era is over.

It's Apple who showed us that, in the current generation, most computer users are only passingly concerned about what's under the hood. Sure, they want to feel their apps launching quickly and they want enough storage for thousands of photos... but they're going to be primarily interested in whether or not they can get to Facebook with ease. They want to know whether or not they can check their email quickly. They want to know how many barriers stand between them and getting on with their lifestyle. This is what made the iMac a hit. Techies and IT pros grit their teeth in frustration watching the world accept a computer that simply did what they wanted it to do and gave them a user experience they enjoyed. It was no different then: The internet was abuzz with outrage about the iMac's success and seemingly air-tight arguments about why you'd have to be stupid to buy one... and yet they kept flying off the shelves.

I remember the first time I held an iPod in my hand back in 2001. I was at an Apple event a few months after its release, and a kind Apple employee invited me to the booth to play around with one (wearing a "PRESS" badge sometimes gets you treats like that). I had not been a big fan of the iPod up to that point; I was curious about how it could survive in a market where the competition offered bigger numbers: More space, more features, just more in general (and for less money, to boot). When I held it in my hand, I understood and changed my mind. I realized what Apple intended for me to realize; that a device which is going to be part of your day to day life should not be measured solely by its list of tech specs. That kind of scrutiny is intended for smoke alarms and hazmat suits.  This was a device that was intended to feel like something you want to hold, with a UI so streamlined and smooth that you develop a relationship with it instantly. I held the weight of it and could imagine it in my pocket. I dialed my finger around the little white wheel and understood that I would get what I want out of the device with almost no effort whatsoever. At that time, I realized that it held quite enough songs, supported enough formats and was acceptably affordable. I realized that Apple was making a device intended to be enjoyed by normal people living normal lives. I realized that Apple understood better than any other company that I had to like the device if I was going to buy it and keep it. Most of all: I realized that holding an iPod educated me more about what it's all about than all the tech specs I could read on the web.

This is why Apple leans back casually with a smirk as the geeks everywhere tear their hair out in frustration. It's true that the iPad has some pretty distinct limitations, but the key to understanding its appeal is: Most people won't miss them. What they would miss is the incredibly slick UI, the effortless ease of use, the simple lines and satisfying weight.

This is why the iPad is going to own the tablet world for the foreseeable future: There tablets which look better on paper, but most of the world is deaf to the rants of those who can't see past Megahertz and USB jacks.