iPad 2: almost to infinity and beyond - LucianoJJ's Blog

LucianoJJ's Blog

iPad 2: almost to infinity and beyond

Posted on March 12, 2011 at 01:10 PM.

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Fourteen months ago I wrote a blog entry about the potential of the iPad. First editions of many products are uncertain. I waited for whatever refinements and enhancements would come.

Rather than wait in long lines with the fanboys at the Apple Store I chose an ordinary suburban Best Buy in my quest. The wait was uneventful. The quantities were too small for there to be any hassles. The biggest retail employees I've ever seen were on the sales floor, in case some mayhem erupted. I left with all of my fingers intact. The only real violence was the brawl when my three young sons fought for control of the device. I can see this will be an ongoing struggle. Based on their reaction to the iPad I imagine this is what it was like when people brought home their first TVs in the 1950s.

Am I exaggerating? The iPad tends inspire strong opinions. It attempts to offer alternatives to media players, consoles, and laptops. While it doesn't quite replace all of those, down the road, advancements in chipsets and storage could make tablets the prevalent form factor the majority will use. My speculation last year was wilder. Owning one less than a day makes me wonder how much they will improve.

While an iPad2 will run last fall's versions of Madden and FIFA designed for smart phones, they look dated stretched out on the bigger screen. Surely there will be new versions are designed specifically for tablets this year. IF developers do a better job with the transition to tablets than they did with the initial design of Next Gen games, the iPad and other tablets could offer a legitimate alternative to consoles. A balance will be struck between performance and price point.

The current specs of tablets would do well with text sims. The long career modes of some titles simply wouldn't fit given the tablet's smaller storage. Some gamers might be willing to trade a 30-year franchise mode for better and cheaper gameplay.

Eventually the newness will wear off. It will become just another gadget, like the PS3 or the iPod. But the shift from boxed software to downloaded apps is in motion. Digital downloads, and the eventual rise of Cloud computing, could make tablets more useful and more practical than desktops and laptops. The view will be clearer in 2012.