Will The iPad Be Idolized?

American Idol contestants aren’t the only ones to have their performance judged. New tech toys, like the iPad, must also endure a complex series of advance reviews aimed at determining their ability to “make it.” Imagine the house lights coming back up. Randy Jackson yells above the crowd, “Yo—so listen up Dawg. I mean, for me it was dope, the rich screen colors, the convenient size, and all the cool app choices. The touch screen touched me.”

Luckily, for those of us wary of the Idol stage, we get to hear from a completely new set of judges for all things digital. Speaking of www.allthingsdigital.com, no new Apple device would be complete without a hands-on, pre-launch lowdown from personal technology guru, Walt Mossberg.

“This beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop,” Mossberg writes in his Wall Street Journal column. “It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades.”

Mossberg is not shy about comparing the new device with Amazon’s book reader. “The iPad is much more than an e-book or digital periodical reader, though it does those tasks brilliantly, better in my view than the Amazon Kindle,” he says. “And it’s far more than just a big iPhone, even though it uses the same easy-to-master interface, and Apple (AAPL) says it runs nearly all of the 150,000 apps that work on the iPhone.

“If you’re mainly a Web surfer, note-taker, social-networker and emailer, and a consumer of photos, videos, books, periodicals and music—this could be for you. If you need to create or edit giant spreadsheets or long documents, or you have elaborate systems for organizing email, or need to perform video chats, the iPad isn’t going to cut it as your go-to device.”
New York Times technologist David Pogue reviewed the iPad from two perspectives, that of a regular person and a “techie.” In his techie version (techies run Linux, use BitTorrent and have more e-mail addresses than pants), Pogue says it’s, “basically a gigantic iPod Touch.” He starts the second review for everyone else with the same line, but adds with obvious adoration, “The simple act of making the multitouch screen bigger changes the whole experience. Maps become real maps, like the paper ones. Scrabble shows the whole board, without your having to zoom in and out. You see your e-mail inbox and the open message simultaneously. The new iBooks e-reader app is filled with endearing grace notes. For example, when you turn a page, the animated page edge actually follows your finger’s position and speed as it curls, just like a paper page. Font, size and brightness controls appear when you tap. Tap a word to get a dictionary definition, bookmark your spot or look it up on Google or Wikipedia. There’s even a rotation-lock switch on the edge of the iPad so you can read in bed on your side without fear that the image will rotate.”

Overall, both reviewers laude high praise on the new device which streets Saturday, April 3. They also agree that battery life exceeds Apple’s 10-hour claims. “We all know you can’t trust the manufacturer,” snarks Pogue. “And sure enough, in my own test, the iPad played movies continuously from 7:30 a.m. to 7:53 p.m. — more than 12 hours.”

Both Mossberg and Pogue note the iPad’s lack of Adobe Flash, a video camera and real keyboard. “I found the iPad virtual keyboard more comfortable and accurate to use than the cramped keyboards and touchpads on many netbooks, though some fast touch typists might disagree,” says Mossberg. Pogue adds, “YouTube, Vimeo, TED.com, CBS.com and some other sites are converting their videos to iPad/iPhone/Touch-compatible formats. But all the news sites and game sites still use Flash.”
So dim the lights please. Apple’s Steve Jobs has been quoted saying, “When people see how immersive the experience is, how directly you engage with it … the only word is magical.” The judges seem pleased, but over the next few weeks America will vote—with its wallets. Will the iPad become another game changing, profit-packed, trophy on Apple’s technology mantle?