looking around the web today, the number of strident, over the top fanDroid articles declaring the superiority of the Xoom, and/or inevitable dominance of Android tablets - even while the iPad 2 sells out globally at an unprecedented pace - is remarkable.
one guy even declares the Xoom equals the iPad for "style" - i kid you not.
you can smell the desperation. and this new Apple ad - which no doubt will saturate TV starting tonight - is going to make them foam at the mouth. don't get too close!
When I first got my Lisa at work, its basic functions were explained to me ? documents, folders, applications and the like. When I moved up to the Mac II, most of what I had learned simply ported itself over to the new machine. I had no concept of the file system, nor did I know how to control where files went, for a long time. So, one day, our department's dedicated Mac guy showed my how HFS worked, and the shade was raised. So me, I'm patient when it comes down to teaching new dogs old tricks. I was there once. I'm in my 70s now, and am eagerly awaiting my iPad2. Lighten up, we all have to go to school to learn how do do anything.
It is silly to say specs don't manner when millions passed up iPad one to wait for the improved model. This has nothing to do with the competition. It has every thing to do with the perception that iPad was a very rev one device and was wanting performance wise.
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Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton
The message is that the real value in the iPad 2 is that it is more than a bag of parts. It's the whole shebang: from parts to software to network services, all working together to do something amazing for the person using it. Component makers have conditioned people into thinking of the value of their PCs as if it were the value of the parts inside; Intel, ATI, and nVidia pay to put their stickers on new PCs to remind people of what's in their PCs. It's been going on for decades. With the iPad, Apple is going back to fundamentals and saying that what matters to people who aren't conditioned to think in terms of "Intel Inside" are what the iPad can do for them.
Ultimately you can not know what a device will do for you without knowing a bit about what is inside. The lack of RAM on iOS devices is a very sneaky limitation because it effects the ability of apps to do what you expect of them. Not being able to open large PDFs on older devices is an example here.
This is a brilliant ad by Apple. The format is long overdue. I really enjoyed the "Get a Mac" ads, but what I always felt they lacked was the simple demonstration of what people can do with Macs (i.e., everything they do with PCs, only without the headaches).
A well-made ad (in ways noted by others below), but, hey, I dunno. Just for K&G I could see some entertaining, "Hi, I'm an iPad"/"I'm a Xoom" (or Tablet) ads. With the first focusing on Xoom's trying to find some native apps for one of its needs.
As for casting... ...how about a campaign using the distaff side this time? A slightly warmer, slightly less snarky woman for the iPad (who looks/acts fully magical/functional/lithe/smooth and appeals to men and women), and as for the competition, say, a rather clumsy, "mechanicalish" android with a tendency to start spouting "GHz, USB" and other tech gibberish out of context.
(Some of you probably have much better [and funnier] suggestions. I'm losing touch with pop culture, alas.)
Which reminds me, why hasn't Lucas Films filed for trademark infringement on the little greed droid icon's obvious resemblance to R2D2? Or, wait, didn't I read somewhere that have they been compensated for the "droid" name already?
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Originally Posted by REC
Yep. They managed to brag without obviously bragging.
...
It's also the first ad I've seen from apple in a long while that comes close to bringing back the feelings of passion and inspiration that was part of the think different ads. It's definitely a "reminding you of who we are" spot.
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Originally Posted by addabox
I wanted to add that I think it's fairly significant that the spot uses the phrase "we believe." Apple very rarely presents itself this way-- as a company with a philosophy that makes the product which expresses that philosophy. ...
... For all their success selling individual, well liked products, Apple itself is an oddly distant, even cold company, with an oddly distant, even cold CEO. Warming that up a bit-- telling the story of what Apple "believes" about the role of technology in people's lives (and they actually do seem to have some pretty specific and largely unique ideas about that) would be a great move, in my book.
I like the "we believe" notion - unless it's overplayed/overworked and the tone becomes either too syrupy or overbearing. And even if it's a mainstay, Apple needs other ads that are playful, entertaining and show the fun factor of their products. Geico gets the need for variety - it's why they regularly rest the Gecko and sometimes step entirely out of their general format. (But I still know better than to buy insurance from them, FWIW.)
I also like that the campaign's also a subtle step toward the day when Apple will need to be seen as a coherent enterprise - with a positive identity and philosophy of its own - in a coming post-Jobs era.
I get occasional advertising emails from outfits that I've done business with and one recently came from Adorama, a camera store that I like. This ad was for the Exhume (I mean Xoom). The ad states that they're "Xoom-ing out the door fast: Get one before they're gone!" Then a bullet list of specs, and finally "Our price: $599.00".
I called them to see how fast they were "xooming" out the door and the sales guy told me "Not as fast as the iPads." "Oh, you also sell iPads?" "Yes but not over the phone or by mail order. And we sell them as fast as our stock is replenished." Or words to that effect.
Supplies are limited, so don't delay. Order in the next ten minutes and we'll include the free water bottle, a $19.95 value absolutely free. Offer void in Montana and Idaho.
Actually Xoom has 4x the RAM of iPad1. 1GB vs 256MB. Now your point is twice as good. lol
Ooops.... I'm just getting my iPads all mixed up...
It's funny though that a one-year old machine with 1/4 the memory and 1/2 the number of CPU's can smack the "best" Android tablet and make the XOOM tablet look like something with an obesity problem.
The tech-heads with their typical arrogance that all regular users are too stupid to use a "real" computer spin the specs like it really matters in today's era of fast CPU's. If a half-backed OS like Android requires that much horsepower to barely keep up with an "old" model, then Android is the equivalent of a Gas-guzzling SUV and the tech-heads are trying to put lipstick on it and label it a Ferrari.
Note to techheads, nerds, and geeks... your beliefs in what the market should be doesn't mean squat. Continuing to kick and scream about the direction mobile computing is heading just proves it even more.
....Actually, I could see a place for a super-cheap device that operates that way-- just a window on your social networks and RSS feeds, email and text with a browser to to navigate. The odd thing is I get the impression that a lot of Android phones are being used pretty much this way, which is ironic considering that market's obsession with ever more ponderous hardware. "Dude! I totally have a quad core 5" screen with 2GB of RAM and lasers! It makes scrolling through my Facebook updates scream! And weather updates? They are awesome!!....
This is the impression that I get of WP7?following all of those things on the home screen in "tiles". It looks like a good idea, but I can't help thinking it's got to be very graphics-intensive?like Cover Flow only worse.
Without having used a WP7 phone (so I could be all wet), it looks like an addition to the 25-year tradition of Microsoft software writing checks no existing hardware can cash.
This is a brilliant ad by Apple. The format is long overdue. I really enjoyed the "Get a Mac" ads, but what I always felt they lacked was the simple demonstration of what people can do with Macs (i.e., everything they do with PCs, only without the headaches). I think once Lion arrives, and makes the user experience of Macs that much more similar to that of iPads, this ad campaign will expand to include iMac and MacBook spots.
I hope so, but sadly I think Steve Jobs is bored of the Mac
After using Windows for over 20 years I can honestly say using IOS is an experience that is highlighted by Functionality, ease of use and Integration. I used to concentrate on the quality of the hardware when in reality it's all about the functionality and ease of use. Windows forgot about the customer Long ago while Apple strives to improve its IOS constantly.not only is Apple improving their operating system they are are creating the infastructure we will all use in one way or another
It takes time to create believers and users however Apple has achieved that task by innovation and ease of use
If apple has any issue, the hardware specs are not that issue. The problem (assuming for the sake of conversation that there is a problem) seems to be that iOS is stuck with this insainly bad view of what a home screen can be, the grid of icons are kinda Apples identity at this point, but sheesh, give me widgets on the home screen - there is no reason on the ipad, or iphone 4 for that matter that I shouldn't be able to have a dynamically updating home screen showing me the local weather, latest twitter/FB updates, news, sports, whatever. There is a lot to not like ablout Android, but home screen widgets is something that Google got right big time. Why should I open an "app" to get the temperature or the CNN headlines that are available in RSS?
Well, I have to disagree. I saw the Honeycomb screen on the Xoom and thought it was too busy, too complex a UI that only geeks could love. I get it--it's like something out of Minority Report--but if I were building a tablet for non-geeks (my mom, for example), I wouldn't subject them to such an intimidating, busy home screen. The paradigm is simple: the home screen is where your apps live and it is how you launch them. It doesn't do anything else. Simplicity and focus.
My guess is that the strong/confident male voice was chosen because we still live in a pretty chauvinistic society, where an older male voice exudes "experience/strength/knowledge", whereas a female voice will come off as either trying to be sultry/seductive (a young voice appealing to the young male/mid-life crisis male demo) or appealing only to women (an older female voice), and projecting that the iPad is a "chick" device (appealing to the Oprah Winfrey/Ellen Degeneres crowd).
Not saying I agree or endorse this. But I think it is a reality, and proof that we still have a long way to go towards gender equality.
Yes, in thinking about it after I posted I came to much the same conclusion.
I still think there is room in there for *one* ad where the gender issue is addressed if only because the Android adverts are so terribly, obviously, and continually gender biased towards young men. I think it would be funny to rip on that fact with an Apple ad that shows a middle-aged woman besting the lot of them with her iPad, but maybe that's just me.
What anyone here thinks about Apple's ad campaign is unlikely to make any difference at all though, and Apple is about as far from a gender biased company as one could get in today's world anyway.
Number one it tells me if I can open documents that are to large for my older iOS devices.
Two it gives me an idea about how quickly the model will become outdated.
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do you want to buy one with more RAM? because you can't.
Which is one of the reasons I have yet to get an iPad. The original did not have the capacity I needed. It is pretty simple really if a PDF does not open on an older device but does on one with 512MB of RAM then you pretty much should realize that knowing the installed RAM is critical to knowing if the device will work for you.
In any event this question is so ignorant that I'd suggest learning a bit about computer architecture for one. Second learn a little bit about what iPad one couldn't do due to the lack of RAM. If you understood what was going on you wouldn't be happy with Apple either.
Well, I have to disagree. I saw the Honeycomb screen on the Xoom and thought it was too busy, too complex a UI that only geeks could love. I get it--it's like something out of Minority Report--but if I were building a tablet for non-geeks (my mom, for example), I wouldn't subject them to such an intimidating, busy home screen. The paradigm is simple: the home screen is where your apps live and it is how you launch them. It doesn't do anything else. Simplicity and focus.
Agreed, at this point the target of iPad2 in US is mostly the baby-boomers, and they definitely won't be intested in the iPad2 if they've to manually set up the home screen. Actually for a lot of them, even folders and multitasking are too difficult, and they'd never use those functionalities.
Apple should focus attention away from hardware, especially since they released an iPad 2 that was little more than a speed bump with a substandard camera and no retina display.
Another alias, teckstud? Don't you ever get tired of it all?
You will appreciate iTunes when your iDevice gets lost, stolen, or when you upgrade. My nephew dropped his iPhone at sea and when he got new one the next day the device restored to where the old one last synced. The same thing happens when you upgrade or buy new iDevice. Maybe there will no need to use iTunes when the iPad, iPhone, iPod can self backup to the cloud automatically. But until then, I think it is a plus not a negative.
I agree. My guesstimate is that this will all change when or shortly after the new datacenter is fully functional and online.
It is silly to say specs don't manner when millions passed up iPad one to wait for the improved model. This has nothing to do with the competition. It has every thing to do with the perception that iPad was a very rev one device and was wanting performance wise.
I have to disagree. I am a high school science teacher and I am continually amazed at how little students know about their home computers and technology in general. I don't have any hard facts documented but I talk current science/tech to them each Friday and I am very confident that more than half of the students I teach don't even know the size of their hard drives. Which I'd argue to be the most relevant and easiest to understand computer spec there is. What does that say about this 'tech savvy' generation? Specs don't matter, what can I do with it does.
I'm inclined to think that millions didn't pass up the iPad1. They simply didn't know what it was or how it could be incorporated into their lives.
Number one it tells me if I can open documents that are to large for my older iOS devices.
Two it gives me an idea about how quickly the model will become outdated.
Which is one of the reasons I have yet to get an iPad. The original did not have the capacity I needed. It is pretty simple really if a PDF does not open on an older device but does on one with 512MB of RAM then you pretty much should realize that knowing the installed RAM is critical to knowing if the device will work for you.
In any event this question is so ignorant that I'd suggest learning a bit about computer architecture for one. Second learn a little bit about what iPad one couldn't do due to the lack of RAM. If you understood what was going on you wouldn't be happy with Apple either.
I am very happy with Apple. I either buy or don't buy their products based on what they are designed to do, not on what I wish they would do. If you need a computer (laptop, desktop or whatever) buy a computer. Don't expect any mobile OS device (iPad, Xoom etc.) to have the memory or capability to do the tasks, jobs to fully replace your computer.
A well-made ad (in ways noted by others below), but, hey, I dunno. Just for K&G I could see some entertaining, "Hi, I'm an iPad"/"I'm a Xoom" (or Tablet) ads. With the first focusing on Xoom's trying to find some native apps for one of its needs.
Or just contrasting the quality of the apps-- putting up Garageband or iMovie or Omnigraffle or Sketchbook Pro or one of the Tapbot apps against anything performing those functions on Android. Android for tablets will continue to accrue apps, I just don't think many of them will be much more than adequate.
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As for casting... ...how about a campaign using the distaff side this time? A slightly warmer, slightly less snarky woman for the iPad (who looks/acts fully magical/functional/lithe/smooth and appeals to men and women), and as for the competition, say, a rather clumsy, "mechanicalish" android with a tendency to start spouting "GHz, USB" and other tech gibberish out of context.
Wouldn't that be a miracle? An ad for a piece of consumer electronics that used a middle-aged woman who wasn't a steely CEO striding purposefully through the airports of the world (not that that character is actually allowed to be much out of her 30s).
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I like the "we believe" notion - unless it's overplayed/overworked and the tone becomes either too syrupy or overbearing. And even if it's a mainstay, Apple needs other ads that are playful, entertaining and show the fun factor of their products. Geico gets the need for variety - it's why they regularly rest the Gecko and sometimes step entirely out of their general format. (But I still know better than to buy insurance from them, FWIW.)
Agreed. If overplayed, "we believe" could start to feel like those transparently fatuous financial services ads where they're trying to con you into believing they represent some kind of foundational values of thrift, determination and generosity. As you say, cloying.
But a pretty straightforward articulation of what Apple's about (the stuff Steve articulates in keynotes but for some reason they've never picked up on for advertising)-- that putting the user experience first, and making sure all the parts support the user experience, before and after the point of purchase-- would be a pretty good thing for Apple to do.
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I also like that the campaign's also a subtle step toward the day when Apple will need to be seen as a coherent enterprise - with a positive identity and philosophy of its own - in a coming post-Jobs era.
Good point, and that may have something to do with this ad at this time. In a way, it would be like what Disney did after Walt died-- turn his legacy into a vibe that you make sure is always part of the branding (I'm talking about advertising strategies here, not the relative merits of any particular individual or company, so no need to remind about Walt's many personal shortcomings or the various crimes of his namesake).
At any rate, Apple could really use a public persona that extends beyond "Steve's personal plaything", and this is probably a good time to start laying the foundation. "We believe" moves beyond the "I" in what Steve believes to a more general corporate philosophy. It's not hard to imagine an ad that has something along the lines of "Here at Apple, we've always strived for one simple thing" sort of VO coupled with a nice historic overview of their wares, bringing us forward to the present, but just ending with "Apple" and the logo instead of any particular product.
Number one it tells me if I can open documents that are to large for my older iOS devices.
Two it gives me an idea about how quickly the model will become outdated.
Which is one of the reasons I have yet to get an iPad. The original did not have the capacity I needed. It is pretty simple really if a PDF does not open on an older device but does on one with 512MB of RAM then you pretty much should realize that knowing the installed RAM is critical to knowing if the device will work for you.
In any event this question is so ignorant that I'd suggest learning a bit about computer architecture for one. Second learn a little bit about what iPad one couldn't do due to the lack of RAM. If you understood what was going on you wouldn't be happy with Apple either.
There are multiple tradeoffs that the manufacturer needs to consider. Sure they can put in just the amount of ram that will make you happy - but if that is going to cost $2000 you are not going to be buying it anyway. Do you want a 3 Ghz processor and retina display and sd card slot with that as well?
I thought I was very clever and ordered a quad core 1080p Dell studio 15 last year - only after I started using it did I realize that the darn thing runs so hot it should not be classified as a laptop and the battery lasts maybe 1 hour. I think I am done with the HPs and dells and will stick to Apple for now as they seem to make good tradeoffs for the customer.
I have to disagree. I am a high school science teacher and I am continually amazed at how little students know about their home computers and technology in general. I don't have any hard facts documented but I talk current science/tech to them each Friday and I am very confident that more than half of the students I teach don't even know the size of their hard drives. Which I'd argue to be the most relevant and easiest to understand computer spec there is. What does that say about this 'tech savvy' generation? Specs don't matter, what can I do with it does.
I'm inclined to think that millions didn't pass up the iPad1. They simply didn't know what it was or how it could be incorporated into their lives.
Very important point. There's a tendency to assume "young people" are tech gurus (a flattering characterization they're happy to accept), but my experience is that they can learn how to use the tech that interests them very rapidly but have little curiosity to explore the surrounding systems.
So, yeah, no trouble Skyping or texting or mastering Facebook or tweeting or adopting whatever location aware app is making the rounds, in record time. But older people seem to confuse setting up a profile with "programming" and go from there to imagining that these phone happy children are capable of hacking into the Pentagon or field stripping their hardware, if so moved. They can certainly learn arcane strings of commands to get what they want, if necessary, but what they want is to do the handful of things that their social circumstance deems necessary.
Comments
one guy even declares the Xoom equals the iPad for "style" - i kid you not.
you can smell the desperation. and this new Apple ad - which no doubt will saturate TV starting tonight - is going to make them foam at the mouth. don't get too close!
When I first got my Lisa at work, its basic functions were explained to me ? documents, folders, applications and the like. When I moved up to the Mac II, most of what I had learned simply ported itself over to the new machine. I had no concept of the file system, nor did I know how to control where files went, for a long time. So, one day, our department's dedicated Mac guy showed my how HFS worked, and the shade was raised. So me, I'm patient when it comes down to teaching new dogs old tricks. I was there once. I'm in my 70s now, and am eagerly awaiting my iPad2. Lighten up, we all have to go to school to learn how do do anything.
Lisa... Why does that sound familiar?
It is silly to say specs don't manner when millions passed up iPad one to wait for the improved model. This has nothing to do with the competition. It has every thing to do with the perception that iPad was a very rev one device and was wanting performance wise.
The message is that the real value in the iPad 2 is that it is more than a bag of parts. It's the whole shebang: from parts to software to network services, all working together to do something amazing for the person using it. Component makers have conditioned people into thinking of the value of their PCs as if it were the value of the parts inside; Intel, ATI, and nVidia pay to put their stickers on new PCs to remind people of what's in their PCs. It's been going on for decades. With the iPad, Apple is going back to fundamentals and saying that what matters to people who aren't conditioned to think in terms of "Intel Inside" are what the iPad can do for them.
Ultimately you can not know what a device will do for you without knowing a bit about what is inside. The lack of RAM on iOS devices is a very sneaky limitation because it effects the ability of apps to do what you expect of them. Not being able to open large PDFs on older devices is an example here.
This is a brilliant ad by Apple. The format is long overdue. I really enjoyed the "Get a Mac" ads, but what I always felt they lacked was the simple demonstration of what people can do with Macs (i.e., everything they do with PCs, only without the headaches).
A well-made ad (in ways noted by others below), but, hey, I dunno. Just for K&G I could see some entertaining, "Hi, I'm an iPad"/"I'm a Xoom" (or Tablet) ads. With the first focusing on Xoom's trying to find some native apps for one of its needs.
As for casting... ...how about a campaign using the distaff side this time? A slightly warmer, slightly less snarky woman for the iPad (who looks/acts fully magical/functional/lithe/smooth and appeals to men and women), and as for the competition, say, a rather clumsy, "mechanicalish" android with a tendency to start spouting "GHz, USB" and other tech gibberish out of context.
(Some of you probably have much better [and funnier] suggestions. I'm losing touch with pop culture, alas.)
Which reminds me, why hasn't Lucas Films filed for trademark infringement on the little greed droid icon's obvious resemblance to R2D2? Or, wait, didn't I read somewhere that have they been compensated for the "droid" name already?
Yep. They managed to brag without obviously bragging.
...
It's also the first ad I've seen from apple in a long while that comes close to bringing back the feelings of passion and inspiration that was part of the think different ads. It's definitely a "reminding you of who we are" spot.
I wanted to add that I think it's fairly significant that the spot uses the phrase "we believe." Apple very rarely presents itself this way-- as a company with a philosophy that makes the product which expresses that philosophy. ...
... For all their success selling individual, well liked products, Apple itself is an oddly distant, even cold company, with an oddly distant, even cold CEO. Warming that up a bit-- telling the story of what Apple "believes" about the role of technology in people's lives (and they actually do seem to have some pretty specific and largely unique ideas about that) would be a great move, in my book.
I like the "we believe" notion - unless it's overplayed/overworked and the tone becomes either too syrupy or overbearing. And even if it's a mainstay, Apple needs other ads that are playful, entertaining and show the fun factor of their products. Geico gets the need for variety - it's why they regularly rest the Gecko and sometimes step entirely out of their general format. (But I still know better than to buy insurance from them, FWIW.)
I also like that the campaign's also a subtle step toward the day when Apple will need to be seen as a coherent enterprise - with a positive identity and philosophy of its own - in a coming post-Jobs era.
No shit Red Ryder!
I get occasional advertising emails from outfits that I've done business with and one recently came from Adorama, a camera store that I like. This ad was for the Exhume (I mean Xoom). The ad states that they're "Xoom-ing out the door fast: Get one before they're gone!" Then a bullet list of specs, and finally "Our price: $599.00".
I called them to see how fast they were "xooming" out the door and the sales guy told me "Not as fast as the iPads." "Oh, you also sell iPads?" "Yes but not over the phone or by mail order. And we sell them as fast as our stock is replenished." Or words to that effect.
Supplies are limited, so don't delay. Order in the next ten minutes and we'll include the free water bottle, a $19.95 value absolutely free. Offer void in Montana and Idaho.
Actually Xoom has 4x the RAM of iPad1. 1GB vs 256MB. Now your point is twice as good. lol
Ooops.... I'm just getting my iPads all mixed up...
It's funny though that a one-year old machine with 1/4 the memory and 1/2 the number of CPU's can smack the "best" Android tablet and make the XOOM tablet look like something with an obesity problem.
The tech-heads with their typical arrogance that all regular users are too stupid to use a "real" computer spin the specs like it really matters in today's era of fast CPU's. If a half-backed OS like Android requires that much horsepower to barely keep up with an "old" model, then Android is the equivalent of a Gas-guzzling SUV and the tech-heads are trying to put lipstick on it and label it a Ferrari.
Note to techheads, nerds, and geeks... your beliefs in what the market should be doesn't mean squat. Continuing to kick and scream about the direction mobile computing is heading just proves it even more.
....Actually, I could see a place for a super-cheap device that operates that way-- just a window on your social networks and RSS feeds, email and text with a browser to to navigate. The odd thing is I get the impression that a lot of Android phones are being used pretty much this way, which is ironic considering that market's obsession with ever more ponderous hardware. "Dude! I totally have a quad core 5" screen with 2GB of RAM and lasers! It makes scrolling through my Facebook updates scream! And weather updates? They are awesome!!....
This is the impression that I get of WP7?following all of those things on the home screen in "tiles". It looks like a good idea, but I can't help thinking it's got to be very graphics-intensive?like Cover Flow only worse.
Without having used a WP7 phone (so I could be all wet), it looks like an addition to the 25-year tradition of Microsoft software writing checks no existing hardware can cash.
This is a brilliant ad by Apple. The format is long overdue. I really enjoyed the "Get a Mac" ads, but what I always felt they lacked was the simple demonstration of what people can do with Macs (i.e., everything they do with PCs, only without the headaches). I think once Lion arrives, and makes the user experience of Macs that much more similar to that of iPads, this ad campaign will expand to include iMac and MacBook spots.
I hope so, but sadly I think Steve Jobs is bored of the Mac
It takes time to create believers and users however Apple has achieved that task by innovation and ease of use
If apple has any issue, the hardware specs are not that issue. The problem (assuming for the sake of conversation that there is a problem) seems to be that iOS is stuck with this insainly bad view of what a home screen can be, the grid of icons are kinda Apples identity at this point, but sheesh, give me widgets on the home screen - there is no reason on the ipad, or iphone 4 for that matter that I shouldn't be able to have a dynamically updating home screen showing me the local weather, latest twitter/FB updates, news, sports, whatever. There is a lot to not like ablout Android, but home screen widgets is something that Google got right big time. Why should I open an "app" to get the temperature or the CNN headlines that are available in RSS?
Well, I have to disagree. I saw the Honeycomb screen on the Xoom and thought it was too busy, too complex a UI that only geeks could love. I get it--it's like something out of Minority Report--but if I were building a tablet for non-geeks (my mom, for example), I wouldn't subject them to such an intimidating, busy home screen. The paradigm is simple: the home screen is where your apps live and it is how you launch them. It doesn't do anything else. Simplicity and focus.
Agreed.
My guess is that the strong/confident male voice was chosen because we still live in a pretty chauvinistic society, where an older male voice exudes "experience/strength/knowledge", whereas a female voice will come off as either trying to be sultry/seductive (a young voice appealing to the young male/mid-life crisis male demo) or appealing only to women (an older female voice), and projecting that the iPad is a "chick" device (appealing to the Oprah Winfrey/Ellen Degeneres crowd).
Not saying I agree or endorse this. But I think it is a reality, and proof that we still have a long way to go towards gender equality.
Yes, in thinking about it after I posted I came to much the same conclusion.
I still think there is room in there for *one* ad where the gender issue is addressed if only because the Android adverts are so terribly, obviously, and continually gender biased towards young men. I think it would be funny to rip on that fact with an Apple ad that shows a middle-aged woman besting the lot of them with her iPad, but maybe that's just me.
What anyone here thinks about Apple's ad campaign is unlikely to make any difference at all though, and Apple is about as far from a gender biased company as one could get in today's world anyway.
why do you care how much RAM is in the iPad?
Number one it tells me if I can open documents that are to large for my older iOS devices.
Two it gives me an idea about how quickly the model will become outdated.
do you want to buy one with more RAM? because you can't.
Which is one of the reasons I have yet to get an iPad. The original did not have the capacity I needed. It is pretty simple really if a PDF does not open on an older device but does on one with 512MB of RAM then you pretty much should realize that knowing the installed RAM is critical to knowing if the device will work for you.
In any event this question is so ignorant that I'd suggest learning a bit about computer architecture for one. Second learn a little bit about what iPad one couldn't do due to the lack of RAM. If you understood what was going on you wouldn't be happy with Apple either.
Well, I have to disagree. I saw the Honeycomb screen on the Xoom and thought it was too busy, too complex a UI that only geeks could love. I get it--it's like something out of Minority Report--but if I were building a tablet for non-geeks (my mom, for example), I wouldn't subject them to such an intimidating, busy home screen. The paradigm is simple: the home screen is where your apps live and it is how you launch them. It doesn't do anything else. Simplicity and focus.
Agreed, at this point the target of iPad2 in US is mostly the baby-boomers, and they definitely won't be intested in the iPad2 if they've to manually set up the home screen. Actually for a lot of them, even folders and multitasking are too difficult, and they'd never use those functionalities.
Apple should focus attention away from hardware, especially since they released an iPad 2 that was little more than a speed bump with a substandard camera and no retina display.
Another alias, teckstud? Don't you ever get tired of it all?
You will appreciate iTunes when your iDevice gets lost, stolen, or when you upgrade. My nephew dropped his iPhone at sea and when he got new one the next day the device restored to where the old one last synced. The same thing happens when you upgrade or buy new iDevice. Maybe there will no need to use iTunes when the iPad, iPhone, iPod can self backup to the cloud automatically. But until then, I think it is a plus not a negative.
I agree. My guesstimate is that this will all change when or shortly after the new datacenter is fully functional and online.
Simple to get a machine with better specs!!!!!!
It is silly to say specs don't manner when millions passed up iPad one to wait for the improved model. This has nothing to do with the competition. It has every thing to do with the perception that iPad was a very rev one device and was wanting performance wise.
I have to disagree. I am a high school science teacher and I am continually amazed at how little students know about their home computers and technology in general. I don't have any hard facts documented but I talk current science/tech to them each Friday and I am very confident that more than half of the students I teach don't even know the size of their hard drives. Which I'd argue to be the most relevant and easiest to understand computer spec there is. What does that say about this 'tech savvy' generation? Specs don't matter, what can I do with it does.
I'm inclined to think that millions didn't pass up the iPad1. They simply didn't know what it was or how it could be incorporated into their lives.
Number one it tells me if I can open documents that are to large for my older iOS devices.
Two it gives me an idea about how quickly the model will become outdated.
Which is one of the reasons I have yet to get an iPad. The original did not have the capacity I needed. It is pretty simple really if a PDF does not open on an older device but does on one with 512MB of RAM then you pretty much should realize that knowing the installed RAM is critical to knowing if the device will work for you.
In any event this question is so ignorant that I'd suggest learning a bit about computer architecture for one. Second learn a little bit about what iPad one couldn't do due to the lack of RAM. If you understood what was going on you wouldn't be happy with Apple either.
I am very happy with Apple. I either buy or don't buy their products based on what they are designed to do, not on what I wish they would do. If you need a computer (laptop, desktop or whatever) buy a computer. Don't expect any mobile OS device (iPad, Xoom etc.) to have the memory or capability to do the tasks, jobs to fully replace your computer.
A well-made ad (in ways noted by others below), but, hey, I dunno. Just for K&G I could see some entertaining, "Hi, I'm an iPad"/"I'm a Xoom" (or Tablet) ads. With the first focusing on Xoom's trying to find some native apps for one of its needs.
Or just contrasting the quality of the apps-- putting up Garageband or iMovie or Omnigraffle or Sketchbook Pro or one of the Tapbot apps against anything performing those functions on Android. Android for tablets will continue to accrue apps, I just don't think many of them will be much more than adequate.
As for casting... ...how about a campaign using the distaff side this time? A slightly warmer, slightly less snarky woman for the iPad (who looks/acts fully magical/functional/lithe/smooth and appeals to men and women), and as for the competition, say, a rather clumsy, "mechanicalish" android with a tendency to start spouting "GHz, USB" and other tech gibberish out of context.
Wouldn't that be a miracle? An ad for a piece of consumer electronics that used a middle-aged woman who wasn't a steely CEO striding purposefully through the airports of the world (not that that character is actually allowed to be much out of her 30s).
I like the "we believe" notion - unless it's overplayed/overworked and the tone becomes either too syrupy or overbearing. And even if it's a mainstay, Apple needs other ads that are playful, entertaining and show the fun factor of their products. Geico gets the need for variety - it's why they regularly rest the Gecko and sometimes step entirely out of their general format. (But I still know better than to buy insurance from them, FWIW.)
Agreed. If overplayed, "we believe" could start to feel like those transparently fatuous financial services ads where they're trying to con you into believing they represent some kind of foundational values of thrift, determination and generosity. As you say, cloying.
But a pretty straightforward articulation of what Apple's about (the stuff Steve articulates in keynotes but for some reason they've never picked up on for advertising)-- that putting the user experience first, and making sure all the parts support the user experience, before and after the point of purchase-- would be a pretty good thing for Apple to do.
I also like that the campaign's also a subtle step toward the day when Apple will need to be seen as a coherent enterprise - with a positive identity and philosophy of its own - in a coming post-Jobs era.
Good point, and that may have something to do with this ad at this time. In a way, it would be like what Disney did after Walt died-- turn his legacy into a vibe that you make sure is always part of the branding (I'm talking about advertising strategies here, not the relative merits of any particular individual or company, so no need to remind about Walt's many personal shortcomings or the various crimes of his namesake).
At any rate, Apple could really use a public persona that extends beyond "Steve's personal plaything", and this is probably a good time to start laying the foundation. "We believe" moves beyond the "I" in what Steve believes to a more general corporate philosophy. It's not hard to imagine an ad that has something along the lines of "Here at Apple, we've always strived for one simple thing" sort of VO coupled with a nice historic overview of their wares, bringing us forward to the present, but just ending with "Apple" and the logo instead of any particular product.
Number one it tells me if I can open documents that are to large for my older iOS devices.
Two it gives me an idea about how quickly the model will become outdated.
Which is one of the reasons I have yet to get an iPad. The original did not have the capacity I needed. It is pretty simple really if a PDF does not open on an older device but does on one with 512MB of RAM then you pretty much should realize that knowing the installed RAM is critical to knowing if the device will work for you.
In any event this question is so ignorant that I'd suggest learning a bit about computer architecture for one. Second learn a little bit about what iPad one couldn't do due to the lack of RAM. If you understood what was going on you wouldn't be happy with Apple either.
There are multiple tradeoffs that the manufacturer needs to consider. Sure they can put in just the amount of ram that will make you happy - but if that is going to cost $2000 you are not going to be buying it anyway. Do you want a 3 Ghz processor and retina display and sd card slot with that as well?
I thought I was very clever and ordered a quad core 1080p Dell studio 15 last year - only after I started using it did I realize that the darn thing runs so hot it should not be classified as a laptop and the battery lasts maybe 1 hour. I think I am done with the HPs and dells and will stick to Apple for now as they seem to make good tradeoffs for the customer.
I have to disagree. I am a high school science teacher and I am continually amazed at how little students know about their home computers and technology in general. I don't have any hard facts documented but I talk current science/tech to them each Friday and I am very confident that more than half of the students I teach don't even know the size of their hard drives. Which I'd argue to be the most relevant and easiest to understand computer spec there is. What does that say about this 'tech savvy' generation? Specs don't matter, what can I do with it does.
I'm inclined to think that millions didn't pass up the iPad1. They simply didn't know what it was or how it could be incorporated into their lives.
Very important point. There's a tendency to assume "young people" are tech gurus (a flattering characterization they're happy to accept), but my experience is that they can learn how to use the tech that interests them very rapidly but have little curiosity to explore the surrounding systems.
So, yeah, no trouble Skyping or texting or mastering Facebook or tweeting or adopting whatever location aware app is making the rounds, in record time. But older people seem to confuse setting up a profile with "programming" and go from there to imagining that these phone happy children are capable of hacking into the Pentagon or field stripping their hardware, if so moved. They can certainly learn arcane strings of commands to get what they want, if necessary, but what they want is to do the handful of things that their social circumstance deems necessary.