Thoughts on Apple's iPad and its impact on the industry

        Apple is notorious for releasing new products that really shake the market up, and the iPad is no exception.  People asked for a netbook, a tablet, and a macbook equivalent tablet - and Apple gave them none of it.  Instead, they were given the iPad.  The iPad is an interesting product, in the fact that it has the iPhone's base software with some scaled up hardware; the touchscreen and processor recieved a boost.  It is locked into iTunes, and can't multitask.  So... what exactly is it supposed to do?
       At first, I didn't know what the iPad was supposed to be.  It didn't really fit into any product group, and didn't meet the demands of a lot of the hardcore customers.  However, once the list of ebook vendors was released, I immediatly understood what it was for.  In my opinion, the iPad is not a true computer tablet; it is a full featured textbook replacement with an iPod touch built in.  However, there really isn't a market for this type of product!  Did Apple release a product in the wrong market?
       Looking at Apple's history, we see that they have released many products into markets that didn't exist.  The iPod, the iPhone, iTunes, and the Apple TV were all products that defied definition in the market.  The iPad is a continuation of this trend.  What Apple is doing is creating a new market for a product.  Before, no one really though of have a phone that did so many things, but now the market is chasing the iPhone with many clones of it.  Amazon is competing with the iTunes software.  With each new market that Apple creates, it introduces new competitors.  But what does Apple gain out of this? 
       With each new market that they create, they become the originators of that market that everybody remembers.  The revolutionary iPhone is the first of its kind - how well do you remember the new Palm Pre or Samsung clone of it? This gives them returning custormers, and an entrypoint for the other products and accessories that Apple creates.  Many iPhone users eventually switch from PC to Mac, and its a growing trend from the looks of it. 
       But what I think the most important part of what Apple keeps doing is giving other companies reasons for new and more groundbreaking components.  Touchscreens weren't really trendy until the iPhone.  Now they are commenplace among smartphones today.  Apple is giving the touchscreen manufacturers a reason to create better and/or cheaper touchscreens to fit the new market.  This "proof of concept" method benifits the manufacturer of the touchscreens (in addition to the textbook writers) to show them that they can invest money and time in better versions of what they do now. 
       Many people are dissapointed in the iPad, and I can clearly see why they would.  However, if Apple really wanted to meet that "tablet Mac" idea, all they need to do is take a Macbook Air apart, put a touchscreen on it and call it a day.  However, my guess is that the technology isn't there for what they consider up to par - so they need a proof of concept to instigate the market to make that technology exist as well as making it affordable. 
         I guess we'll have to see how the market handles the iPad, but I think that Apple's direction to make this new market is needed before the infamous "tablet mac" comes to fruition. 

-Triskadecaepyon