Apple's ipad: Hits and misses

BANGALORE, INDIA:The Apple's ipad released on Wednesday is not just another fancy devise. It's release is set to make an impact across verticals.

Here are reactions from leading analysts:

iPad’s impact on media & publishing

“The iPad is a grown up iPod Touch. Apple has taken the safe route of offering its existing customers an option that goes beyond today’s iPod Touch in size and capability, but it has not offered a new category of devices that tackles the 5-6 hours of media we each consume every day. With no integrated social media for sharing photos, recommending books, and sharing home video, the iPad misses a big piece of what makes media so powerful.

As it stands, by relying on the App Store as the single most important draw of the device besides its attractiveness, the iPod Touch is a significant step toward making tablets respectable. But making tablets respectable should have been the least of Apple’s ambitions. It had (and still has) the opportunity to create a new media experience in consumers’ lives.

As it stands, a quick, well-structured response from Amazon in the next version of Kindle could easily be a contender here. That’s why I say that the iPad is priced lower than expected because it is less revolutionary than expected.”

- James McQuivey (Vice President, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research)

iPad’s impact on the mobile/wireless

“Apple might still be right that there is meaningful demand for a device that resides between the phone and the laptop, but if they are, the iPad — despite its beauty and impressiveness as a feat of hardware and software engineering — isn’t it. The significant discount on 3G connectivity versus netbooks won’t be enough to sway the majority of pending netbook buyers, especially considering the price premium for a well-equipped and always-on version of the iPad.” - Charles Golvin (Principal Analyst, Forrester Research)

iPad’s impact on mobile marketing

“For marketers, the iPad further evolves contextual advertising. Consumers will be in an environment where they can act on an impulse to buy. If this product can change and grow media consumption, advertisers will be happy.” - Julie Ask (Vice President, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research)

iPad’s impact on business adoption

“Make no mistake, this is an attractive business tool. Laptops will be left at home. Apple knows how to time the market. And the market it's timed this time around is an important one: information workers self-provisioning what they need rather than what their employers provide.” - Ted Schadler (Vice President, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research)