The End of an Era: iPad lacks the fervor we’ve been hoping


I’m sorry, Conan but despite my promise to you to stop being cynical, I can’t help it. And in this one case, I wish I was not. After watching the Internet show Steve present the iPad to the public, I froze and was taken to a temporary time warp to the day when Steve announced the iPod nano and the shuffle. Then it fast forward to the day he announced the iPhone. And when my quasi-Ebenezer moment was done, I came back to blog comments, analyses, and photos of the iPad and I realized one thing: all we are is dust in the wind and I’m getting old.


I hate to admit it but I haven’t been wowed in while from Steve’s keynotes. Maybe it’s because they’ve set the bar so high, there’s nothing new for Apple to really revolutionize. I admit, the iPad is beautiful. It’s going to sell. It’s going to have its cult set of followers and haters but it lacks the very thing that made the iPod and iPhone beautifully successful — it doesn’t seem to do one thing really well. I’m looking at it and I’m wondering .. how can I even hold this up? Book reading – check. Browsing – check. iWork – check. But essentially, it’s a big iPhone / iPod touch. In fact I can even reverse engineer it and say that the iPad’s next generation v2 WILL BE the iPod touch.

OK maybe I can not be cynical about it. Maybe it is about time Apple goes through its second dark ages in the same way Microsoft went through something after Windows XP. It’s the folly most companies fall into once they grown big and complacent. It’s the cycle, really.

As Steve smiled and looked down on the audience today showing off his new baby, I can feel the effects of the distortion field waning. Maybe the era really is coming to an end, and I’m glad to say that I’ve been a part of it. Thank you, Steve.


Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

8 Comments

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  1. I felt the exact same way today. This project isn’t magical it is sad. Apple has lost that Think Different edge I am sad to say. They are missing the polished edge and focus. Name ipad, all wrong, No camera video (would be perfect for video conferencing or ichat) Needs to have some type of writing device. I don’t want to type in a meeting or in a group brain thinking I want to scribble. Teachers would want wifi projector abilities. Walk around and be able to project. Even Steve looked silly having to be tethered to the projector. These days it should have a simple apple dongle that the ipad talks to bluetooth and sends that to the vga dongle or DVI dongle . Imagine that hooked to your tv , you could play stuff on tv form ipad. Multiple apps. We all multitask these days and to only have one app open. Come on Apple, I want to be watching a movie, while chatting and surfing the web looking up facts about the movie I am watching. The ipad takes us back 10 years not forward 10. Apple you are not thinking different or thinking out side the box. You built one amazing device called the iphone and you are now trying to live off that hit for years to come. Sorry but people who expect a company to think different and push technology will see through this. Apple needs to listen to the people that use there products everyday to change the world and not just give the masses so eye candy and a product that makes them just play games, watch movies and surf the web. Has everyone at apple lost that spark ?! Passing off a blown up ipod touch with iphone os is not a new or magical product!!

  2. Let’s see. You were initially excited about the Tablet and now you don’t like it because you found out you have to hold it? At what point did you discover that little tidbit? Before, or after it was introduced? Im pretty sure I knew all along I would have to hold it, at least until my Taiwanese mail-order bride gets here to do it for me.

    Furthermore, Im also pretty sure we all knew it was going to be a big Touch, it’s what we all wished for. Now that it’s here you are disappointed? I just don’t get it. I read all of the wish lists you guys posted and Apple pretty much delivered. I think you just have an “overhyped” hangover.

    By the way, have you even touched it yet? if it does everything my Touch does only faster, brighter, and more screen real estate, then I’m sold. I use my Touch for everything from surfing to controlling the lighting and security system in my home and home theater, from anywhere in the world.

    Feel free to show me a better device. And no, cheap junky netbooks running bloated Windows 7 don’t count. I would never consider buying that crap in a million years.

  3. I agree with Sean and inigo…because I think it is AMAZING…yeah it would be nice to have a front facing camera…but isn’t this the same reason the iPod Touch doesn’t have a camera…

    because they want it to be the perfect size to fit in the thing and not give crappy video or pics…besides what do you have to look forward to on the next version…very little then

    I am pretty sure when the iPhone 4.0 OS comes to life it will have the ability to multitask…hell I have my iphone JailBroken and I can multitask…but how often do I do it…RARELY

    I think it would be good to be able to have the remote app to be running all the time if I wanted it to…just so I could go do something else and then go back and work my AppleTV when I need to…but I have a LOGITECH Harmony 900 to do all that with

    the iPad is a strange name but it will catch on…as long as Apple can get the Trademark away from the Japanese company that sorta owns it…but it goes with the scheme of the product line…iPhone, iPod, iPad…it works and if you don’t like it…DON’T BUY ONE

    of course it is going to sell like HOT CAKES…because it is a beautiful piece of art…and it’s powerful to boot

    this is just the beginning of Apple’s new chip tech…can’t wait for the new iPhone to come out with the 1Ghz processor chip…that will be insanity…and I’m sure the new iPhone will be made the same way as the iPad is with the black section at the top for 3G or 4G antenna to get a better signal

    imagine the new apps that will be made for this device…if they could take iWork and make it totally touch it won’t take long for most apps that we use regularly to become iPad Apps…that sounds amazing…I can’t wait…and if they could do it with iWork maybe M$ will port Office to the iPad…and many other apps can do the same thing…it’s a whole new world…

    and you must realize just because you geeks are unhappy with the show…REMEMBER YOU ARE NOT THE TARGET AUDIENCE…the general public is…people that have no desire to know what happens under the hood…those that can’t be bothered with hacking thru the entire OS and changing everything around…they are happy with the ability to just use the product as it is intended…

    think about all the high school/college students that may no longer have to lug around those heavy books…all they have to bring is their iPad…and the Medical field will be changed universally by a product like this with the right apps on it…think about more than just yourselves for one moment

    if you want to change everything around…use your mac but if you want the portability and the fun of the tablet then buy one and find out…remember if you don’t like it you have 30 days to return it for whatever reason you want…

    and just to know that it is not tethered to AT&T is the rising sun in this situation and NO CONTRACTS required…that’s gold as well

    there are so many reasons to have this product and so few not to have it…grow up and realize that you want something specific to your own needs…GO MAKE IT YOURSELF…and let us all know how that turns out???

    now I will stop my ranting for the moment but remember I have more if you need it