Entelligence: Lessons from the iPad launch
By Michael Gartenberg 
posted January 31st 2010 5:00PM
posted January 31st 2010 5:00PM
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.
1. Define what your product does. The first thing Apple did was answer that question immediately and then define what the product needed to do. Apple explained what capabilities need to be in the this class of device and then went on to show how each of those features not only worked but were optimized for the iPad. That's something we've seen lacking in this category to date.
2. Leverage what you've done before. I believe the iPad is likely to do well with consumers as it leverages Apple's previous successes with the iPod and the iPhone. At the base level, that's compatibility and synchronization with iTunes as well as backward compatibility with existing applications. That's important -- as a user I can use my existing content library and my application collection. It also means that iPad has 140,000-plus applications at launch. But it's more than that. Apple is not only leveraging its ecosystem of devices and software, it's leveraging the lessons it spent a decade teaching consumers. Apple taught its market about MP3 players, digital music, smartphones, capacitive multitouch screens and mobile apps. It can now go directly to selling the form factor, as well as new features such as productivity and e-books.
3. Make your product additive to your ecosystem. What separates the iPad from being just a large iPod Touch or small MacBook -- although it has clear aspects of both -- is that Apple made the product additive to the line and optimized the software for the experience. While backward compatibility is great for early adopters who can use their iPhone apps, long term it's about developers who will create optimized experiences for the device. Apple demonstrated how games, newspapers, books and productivity functions are all different than either the corresponding phone or computer experience, yet familiar at the same time. The result is that other Apple products will help sell iPad in the short term, but the iPad will likely help sell other Apple products over the long term. Users will provide context for specific use cases and decide what device is appropriate for what scenario.
Other Apple products will help sell iPad in the short term, but the iPad will likely help sell other Apple products over the long term |
4. Solve a problem, don't be a feature. I personally like Tablet PCs and what Microsoft has done with Windows in the space, but Tablet is a feature on top of Windows, not an experience designed for a new form factor. Devices like the JooJoo or even the Kindle are designed to do primarily one thing and are essentially one feature products. Apple seems to have learned to provide an out-of-the-box experience which solves specific consumer use cases for media consumption, internet use and productivity, while also providing the framework to allow others to build on top of that and provide further solutions designed for this form factor.
Apple didn't invent the MP3 player market or the smartphone market, and it's got a long way to go in the market for tablet devices. In each case, it refined the concept to make a device that appealed to the enthusiast market but was able to go beyond that space and capture the attention (and wallets) of the mass market. Vendors competing with Apple in this space are going to need to understand these lessons and in many cases change not only their current products, but the story they tell.
Michael Gartenberg is vice president of strategy and analysis at Interpret, LLC. His weblog can be found at gartenblog.net. Contact him at gartenberg AT gmail DOT com. Views expressed here are his own.
I hate to throw out this term lightly, but this article reads like a shill. It was a big week for Apple all right: one which saw their stock prices plummet almost immediately after the iPad was announced. If there are lessons to be learned from the iPad launch, it's not the ones listed here. Rather it's a lesson in humility.
Consider all the rumors that swirled around this thing. It was supposed to run a full OS, have a camera for web chat, work on several major cell phone networks out of the box, use a new e-ink derived screen technology for longer battery life, and probably even cure one or two forms of cancer. And Apple, following it's usual commitment to secrecy, let these rumors grow and feed consumer expectations right up until their launch day. Then Steve Jobs takes the stage, and unveils what's essentially an underpowered netbook running a cell phone OS. None of these key features that actually excited people were there, though at least the multiple network compatability seems to be on the horizon. For the first time, Steve Jobs delivered a product that was thoroughly beneath consumer expectations.
Now, arguably, the last thing you want to do as a marketing exec is get fewer people talking about your product. But it should be obvious that falling that short of the mark like they did can be devastating to a brand as well. I know a lot of hard-core Apple fanatics whose confidence in Steve Jobs has been shaken to the point that they're rushing to sell off their stock in the company. And it's not because the Tablet fills a niche that doesn't really need to be filled to begin with. It's because they're worried that anyone who actually thought that the iPad would fulfill all the unspoken promises he made about it has become dangerously disconnected from reality.
And all of this could have been avoided had Apple just put out a few press releases trying to control the more ridiculous claims being made. They could have told the world that they were going in a different direction without breaching their secrecy. Instead, their statements were delivered with a virtual wink that most people took as confirmation that the tablet was going to be all the things the rumor mongers promised and more.
As for the points mentioned in the article, it bothers me that they make lots of claims without really providing any concrete examples. The first point, for example: Define what your product does.
...What does the tablet do? Can anyone tell me this? What does it offer that makes it so different from a smartphone or a laptop? And is this worth a $5-9 hundred dollar price tag?
Also, what problem does this solve? I don't know about you, but I don't sit around at home thinking "gosh, my computer's all the way over there. If only I had some kind of dedicated device that would let me browse the web without getting up from the couch or having to put up with my netbook's keyboard on my lap." I also don't really feel a burning need to pick up a data plan from AT&T when I've already got internet that isn't tied to a specific device from a far more reliable provider. And even if I did, the lack of flash support just about kills it for me. E-books? I had high hopes for it on this, but it's battery life rules that out. If I'm going to throw down money for an e-Book reader, I don't want one that I have to charge every day I've already got a netbook for that niche, and at least with that I can swap out the battery when it dies. Newspapers? Well, frankly, the internet has already just about made them obsolete, and there's a reason for that. Once again, I'm not going to pay $500 for a version of the New York Times with full motion video instead of pictures.
Ironically, I do suspect that there may be a future of sorts for this device and the numerous follow ups it will eventually spawn. But I don't think it'll be Apple leading the way. What they've produced is a under-engineered gadget with no clearly defined purpose that just reeks of a laziness that I've never before associated with them. Rather I think it's salvation lies in third party developers. I have no doubt that given enough time, there will be scores of programmers who can come up with brilliant and creative ways to make this device justify its existence. And they're the ones who ultimately should be praised for this thing's potential success, not Apple.
Apple makes us all puke and engadget is riding along on this moneytrain we gotta stop. People, let's continue this new state of mind! We demand action now! No more brainwashing! No more gadgets we dont need! No more crap! Let's spend our money to useful things! I ask for someone who stands up and makes a better gadget website then this so I can leave this site behind me. We must move forward. Look @ serious reviews, not clownmovies like this of crapgadgets. This is not what we want. Engadget you make us puke. Thanks a lot.
Brilliant, Jobs just split his base between Kindle users and Mac users, and got everyone thinking about how much better eInk is and how overpriced Apple stuff is. It's one thing taking on boring corporate Microsoft. Taking on Kindle and losing isn't my idea of Marketing 101.
Worse, Apple is facing pressure from Android, Windows 7, Nokia's back up to 40% market share, and there's a huge wave of new eReaders & tablets out. Jobs needed a game changer, the industry cleared a spot for him, and he underwhelmed. The only big question is whether he can make a dent in the ecosystem like he did with apps and music, but aside from the backlash against Amazon, I don't think anyone really wants to do business with Apple. (Like, there may be an app for that, but there's not much profit for that)
I don't understand why these are four marketing points that "Apple taught the market this week."
I would assume that the market only learns from successes. And by most accounts I'm hearing, Apple didn't provide a very strong case for why the general public should buy this product...or, frankly, that there's even a viable gap in consumer tech that the iPad fills.
So if the majority of analysts are at best taking a "wait and see" attitude, how can the claim be made that Apple has taught everyone a great lesson?
If the market learned a lesson from the iPad launch at this early stage, it certainly doesn't appear to be the one Apple had hoped for...
its a learning experience what NOT to do during a launch, other manufacturers will take note and this will become a classic case study of what NOT TO DO WHEN LAUNCHING A PRODUCT.
Dell's advertised award winning support. When I had a Dell Laptop, the answer I got was, "Oh, that's only for our desktops!" Then, a couple years later, Dell knowingly shipped systems with issues to keep much needed cash flow coming, with a "we'll fix it later" attitude! What a disaster. And, folks who don't watc the business news, or read stock reports are none the wiser. Dell couldn't fix my laptop, but I wasn't getting my money back. With those business ethics, it's an expensive gamble!
good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-pmpgrYQgs
BOYCOTT!
I propose a boycott of the iPad until Apple allows Flash onto it and enables multitasking, which it seems to me are the most common & reasonable complaints that folks have been having about it. There lots of other changes that I'd like to see, but these could be done immediately and would sway me back to buying the machine.
If you agree, please help spread the word.