Much ballyhoo was made over Steve Jobs demand at the January 2010 Apple Event (and again at the February shareholder’s meeting) that Apple is now a mobile device company. Many worry that Apple will abandon the big, heavy desktop computers that we know and love. But I want to tell you that Apple has always been a mobile device company.
When Steve Jobs envisioned the Mac, he imagined students carrying it with them to the library to do research. The original 1984 Macintosh (desktop!) computer was considered a portable! It had a handle on the top, making it easy to remove from the included carrying case. The new iMac introduced in 1997 had a handle at the top. The original clamshell iBooks had handles built in, too.
Steve positioned Apple Computers to counter the staunch suits at Big Blue. Steve didn’t want Apple to build giant mainframe computers that were shackled in building basements, or hulking terminals for boring office-space types. He wanted to build for artists in their studio, and explorers off on adventures — all taking their computer with them.
Steve has always wanted to build a computer that was mobile.
Whether you like it or not, the iPad is coming, it is mobile, and it is the future of computing. The reason why is all about access: iPad is accessible to you, and to your Grandma. Both of you can use it in almost any situation. You can use it standing, you can use it sitting. You can use thumbs, you can use five fingers. You can use geolocation, you can use 3G. It’s the culmination of computing to this day.
Yes, it is a really big iPod touch. But that doesn’t mean a big iPod touch isn’t the future of computing.
(Sidenote: If I was in the accessory business right now, I’d be churning out every imaginable case for the iPad that allows the most access in anyway at anytime. The Apple case is too cheap, and I’d like something a bit more like a solid hardcover book. I already know I want my iPad with me at all times, and nothing fits in the hand like a book.)