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The World needs an iPad

Investigate
A)

(Apple (2010). "Apple - iPad." Retrieved 5th May, 2010, from http://www.apple.com/ipad.)

The Apple Inc. website has been chosen as a reliable reference because it is the
website of the manufacture of the iPad. This is the most reliable site for finding the
positives about the product; however it shows the device's shortcomings as they are
trying to sell the iPad. This site includes full technical specification for the device,
design and manufacturing information including pictures of each version from
different angles, information about applications for the device including pictures of
the default applications on the device, a copy of the TV ad, guided video tours to
assist new in understanding how to use the device and information, the environmental
status report of the device, information on the devices perfect companion pieces
made buy the manufacture of the device as well as links and information about how to
buy the device and its perfect companion pieces.

(MacWorld. Retrieved 11th May, 2010, from http://www.macworld.com.)

The MacWorld website has been chosen as a reference because it is one of the main
Mac reviews websites. The company behind this site is International Data Group,
which is the world's leading technology media, events and research company, owning
websites and magazines a such as MacWorld and PCWorld. They have a team of
thirteen thousand employs worldwide, approximately 200 magazines and newspapers
and 460 websites serving about two hundred and seventy million people each month.
This site has information and reviews, presenting pros and cons, about all the versions
of the iPad. It also reviews applications for the device, rating them out of five.

(iFixit (2010). "iPad Wi-Fi TEardown." Retrieved 15th May, 2010, from http://www.ifixit.com/
Guide/Device/iPad_Wi-Fi.)

The iFixit website has been chosen as a reference because the site provides
complete and detailed teardown’s of both models of the iPad and the A4 processor.
iFixit has been chosen as valid resource as they write fixit guides, which are step be
step guided to fix broken devices (i.e. Replace the battery on an iPhone). The website
has gone to great lengths to get information about the A4 processor inside the iPad.
For the teardown of the A4 chip they have partnered with a Chipworks which is a
company specializing in reverse engineering and patent infringement analysis of
semiconductors and electronic systems. This site is the best reference on the web to
find out actually what parts are being used in the device.
(Nielsen, J. (2010). "Userablitiy of iPad." Retrieved 12th May, 2010, from http://
www.nngroup.com/reports/mobile/ipad/.)

The Nielsen Norman Group is being used a a reference as this site provides an in-
depth analysis on the usability of the iPad. The Nielsen Norman Group is reliable as
this group conducts research on all different types of mobile devices and web sites.
The site contains a 93 page report on the usability of the iPad and its apps, providing
objective criticism at times. Tis is not just what experts think about the iPad and
how usable they think it is this research uses people of all different ages ranging
from 20 to over 50 in a range of different professions.

B)

Operating System / Hardware

The iPad operating system and hardware are marvelous pieces of engineering. The
iPad’s operating system is a closed platform, which means that the iPad only runs
approved applications unless jailbroken. A jailbroken iPad is an that allows the iPad
users to run any software code on their device, as opposed to only that code
authorized by Apple.The operating system on the iPad is a slimmed town version of
the Mac OS X and a modified version of the iPhone OS. The hardware inside the iPad
is extremely well designed. The iPad is run using a custom made processor, the 1GHz
A4. The A4 processor has three layers, two layers of DRAM, Samsung K4X1G323PE
currently however the Package-on-Package construction gives Apple the flexibility to
source the RAM from any manufacturer they want, and one layer containing the
actual microprocessor . The A4 processor that Apple’s uses in the iPad is not so
difference to the Samsung processor Apple uses in the iPhone. The process or is a
single core ARM Cortex A8. The reason that the iPad dose not have a bigger
processor is that in order to get 10 ten hours battery life the entire iPad including
the display must use less that 2.5 watts on average. The display is a LG SW0627B
01SWL-0032C 1003 N23977ON using a Broadcom BCM5974 touchscreen controller
and a Texas Instruments CD3240A 01D5AKT G touchscreen line driver. The 802.11
a,b,g,n wifi and the bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and FM is all provided by the Broadcom
BCM4329XKUBG CD1004 P21. The audio processor is a Cirrus Logic device with the
part number of Apple 338S0589 B0 YFSAB0PY1001. Power management is suspect to
be handled by a S6T2MLC N2266XQT U1003 A1. The Multiplexer-Demultiplexer
part for the Display Port and PCIe connection is a NXP L0614 01 37 ZSD950. The
Accelerometer is a STMicroelectronics 2949 33DH OK2 CL. The DC regulator is a
Linear Technologies 3442 N7667 LT9L. Al the parts just mentions
are shown in the image below. (iFixit (2010). "iPad Wi-Fi
TEardown." Retrieved 15th May, 2010, from http://
www.ifixit.com/Guide/Device/iPad_Wi-Fi.)
Interface

The iPad interface is very similar to the iPhone and


iPod touch. When first starting up the iPad you are
Presented with the standard lock screen that is used
for all Apple’s touchscreen mobile devices. The main
screen seen when when browsing application is to the
right. This screen to the left is on of 11 screens that
display up to 226 applications. Once navigating into
to an application the interface changes completely
(Discussed in a later section). The standard
interface for browsing applications is a 5 by 4 grid
of application plus 6 applications on the bottom
dock.

Software

All software legally available for the iPad is served trough the Apple AppStore. The
AppStore as of April 8 had over 200,000 Apps available of which over 3,500 Apps are
specifically made for the iPad only. All applications built for the iPad must be written
in Objective-C and written in Xcode using publicly available application programing
interfaces provided in the Apple software development kit to be allowed into the
AppStore which is the only way to get apps onto the iPad unless the application is an
internal company application in which case there are ways to get the applications onto
the iPad.

Accessories
The iPad like any device has many accessories
including cases, keyboards, docks, camera connectors
and many more. The case shown to the right is Apple’s
solution to stop the iPad to stop getting scratches and
damaged. The iPad has many third party accessories
that can be used with a porpoise mad app, this
includes accessories like credit card readers, blood
pressure readers just to name a few. All accessories
that interface with the iPad must connect in one of
three ways. The first option is to use the 30 pin dock
connector on the bottom of the device. The second
way that accessories may interface with the iPad is
through bluetooth and the third way the accessories
may interface with the iPad is over wifi, however this
is the least common of the three.
Postulate
C)
Who are the targeted audience of this device? How do you know?

The target audience of the iPad is still unclear. The Apple iPad is still very new no the
market and because of this it is still unclear of how the target market is, however
when looking at what journalist has to say on this issue they were split in many
different ways. Some journalist believe that the device is geeks, macheads and PC
users, whilst others believe that it is for prospective Amazon Kindle owners, Ebook
readers and as an extension to a laptop or a desktop. Whilst journalist would say they
above some people myself included believe that the iPad is targeted at the tech savvy
generation Y and the younger half of generation X, these generations are the
generations that can afford the iPad where as generation Z is still mostly to young to
afford the iPad. It is very clear that the target audience for the iPad is quite a large
group of people.

What clues in the advertising/features make this obvious?

The advertising and features of the iPad make its target audience very large and
hard to determine. When annylising the advertising and features it use can be broken
down into three categories. Firstly the iPad can be used for travel, secondly the iPad
can be used for Business and study and thirdly the iPad can be used for leisure. The
features that make the iPad usable for travel. The iPad has a ten hour battery life
while surfing the web on wi-fi, watching video,and listening to music; it has inbuilt
maps (internet connection required) and the iPad is light and thin (According to Apple
it view is not shared by all reviewers). The business and study uses for the iPad are
massive. The iPad is an alternative to carrying a laptop. It has email application, word
processing application (Additional purchase), presentation application (Additional
purchase), spread sheet application (Additional purchase), calendar, contacts, over
200, 000 applications available, it is mobile, it is an ebook reader and it has a
powerful A4 processor (according to Apple facts do not agree) making it useful in
many different professions and university degrees. The third categories for use of
the iPad is leisure uses. The iPad had an ebook reader, email application and over
200,00 other applications which include many social networking applications. From the
informations shown above it is clear that the advertising and features of the iPad do
not shown that there is not one clear target audience, however there are many
audiences with many of the same features.

D)

What Problem/problems do you think this device addresses?

The world has gone touch crazy in the past few years, with most computer
manufactures creating some type of stylus of finger touch system. This iPad is
Apple’s solution for this market. This market that was first started by Apple, with
the Apple Newton. The Newton first started production in 1993, whilst this was using
a pen instead of a finger it is very much the basis on which may of Apple’s touch
devices today have developed from. However the Newton was a failure as it was
ahead of its time, now after 13 year absence for this market Apple thinks the world
is now ready for what it had first started working on 23 years ago. The iPad was
created to revolutionize the touch computing market.

Why did it come into existence?

The iPad came into existence to fill a a gap between smartphone’s and laptops, to
essentially create a third category of device. It is a device that was designed to
browsers the web, read emails, look at photos, watch videos, listen to music, play
games and read Ebooks better than laptops and smartphones. Apples competition
thought the solution to this was the netbook, however the problem was that they
where not better at anything. “They are slow, they have low quality displays and they
run clunky old PC software,” (Steve Jobs 2010, January 28th 2010, iPad
Announcement). Apple does not believe that netbooks are a third category of device
and they are just cheep laptops. This is why Apple brought out the iPad as they
believe that it is a third category device.

What was the market force driving its introduction?

The iPad has been rumored for many years. Regardless of how long the device has
been rumored it is here and has received a good introduction. The iPad is the hottest
device this year, with much press and anticipation caused by the device being
announce months before it was released. The device has not even hit stores outside
the US yet and Apple is still struggling to fill orders. The device has had a massive
lead up and even once the device was announce consumers still did not know when they
could get one. The introduction of the device was marketing at its best. Apple allowed
consumers to think about the device for months before they could get it so when
launch day came it was destined for success.

E)

What barriers exist between this product and commercial success, longevity and
large-scale public penetration?

The iPad had very few barriers between it and it commercial success. From before
the day the iPad was announce it was destined for commercial success. Apple had
learnt from its past experience with the Newton to not release devices until the
world is ready for them. On the other had the longevity and the large-scale
penetration of the iPad is very much in the hand of the people. The longevity of the
iPad is very reliant on the iPad in that if the device has large-scale penetration and it
is embraced then the longevity of the device is fine and Apple will continue to develop
it.

What factors could stop it from succeeding?

The iPad will succeed, this is because Apple is a publicly listed multinational company
with over 50 billion US dollars a year in revenue, even with such a large amount of
revenue Apple can afford for the iPad to not succeeding. An example of Apple making
the iPad succeed is that after the announcement in January the technology world was
shocked that Apple had not included multi-tasking. Apple had a plan and a solution on
April 8th they announced the new version of their mobile aborting system and it
included multi-tasking. The main factor that could stop the iPad from succeeding is
the number of features left out and the public demand.This was just 5 days after the
public could first buy the device. Apple has some of the most anticipated product
releases in the industry, they make they keep the public interested in the device by
consistently adding features.

What are its documented shortcomings?

The iPad has a number of shortcomings in terms of operating system and features.
Earlier in this report is was said that the multi-tasking will be added to the next
version of the operating system for the iPad that is due out in the US Fall. In terms
of missing features the iPad is missing a lot. Firstly the iPad has no camera, Apple
says that the iPad is in its own category and that it is meant to be the future, a
future with out a camera in a device that is meant to be between a laptop and a
smartphone. Secondly the device does not have a global positioning system receiver in
it and it is advertised as having maps and good for travel this is key feature that is
missing. Thirdly the device has all these wonderful application like Keynote, Pages and
Numbers but there is no drag and drop file management system so that these files
can be moved around with out the need of iTunes sycronization. Lastly the use of a
micro sim card instead of a standard sim card just makes the purchase harder and
the ability to uses the sim in multiple device close to zero as few devices support this
standard. These are just some of the many shortcomings of the iPad. Whilst the iPad
is a revolutionary device and “Magical”(According to Apple) it still has a long way to go
in terms of the included features.

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