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From the comments here, I think many people are missing a very important factor: while we (as technologists) focus on what WE think of the iPad, or what we can

From the comments here, I think many people are missing a very important factor: while we (as technologists) focus on what WE think of the iPad, or what we can do with it to be productive, this is only part of the picture of the general population. In my opinion the iPad has had a tremendous impact within the general population and (combined with smartphones) got rid of the PC altogether for the average family. And tablets, especially for the elderly, are a true game-changer. My mother, not a technologist at all (she doesn't even have a cellphone) cannot live without her iPad. Granted that she could do everything with a smartphone, but the bigger screen of an iPad is particularly good for people who have a waning eyesight and, in general, might require a bit of a bigger UI (bigger buttons, etc.).

k__ 7y ago
I don't know anyone with an iPad and only professionals who sometimes use an Android tablet for special cases (drawing, audio stuff) Most non-tech people I know simply have a Smartphone and that's it. Tablets in general still seem like a niche product to me.
Darkstryder 7y ago
I agree with this. My grandmother (who passed away in 2018 at the age of 91) tried to get into computers regularly for a decade, starting in the early 2000. We tried a lot of things, nothing stuck. Every device we would give her would quickly gather dust, unused after a few days. Then in 2013 she got an iPad 2 and she instantly started using it several hours a day for the next five years. In particular, I set it up so I could push new family photographs to her iPad remotely through iCloud. That was absolutely life-changing for her: now she was able to see super recent photos of all her children and grandchildren without having to beg for a printed version. That also worked for videos: for the first time since the VHS days she could replay family videos whenever she wanted. She also liked multiple card games and the iPad was a wonderful device to play them electronically. The biggest self-service I ever gave myself was to only suggest games that had a paying version without ads, and pay a few euros to buy them. The biggest problems with ads for her was that she could sometimes be a bit sloppy with the touchscreen : when an ad was present it would redirect her to a random website and she would get lost. The quality of the iPad touchscreen and that we stuck to ad-free apps allowed her to almost never get lost like this anymore. While the iPad may not have been a revolution for the general population, it definitely changed the world for my grandmother. For that I will be grateful for this device to exist. Miss you, grandma.
toomuchApple 7y ago
I don't think I've seen an iPad used outside a restaurant payment system since they came out. And I think whoever owns that restaurant might not be that smart if you consider the competition. I like the idea of Microsoft's surface. But I haven't used one.

k__ 7y ago

I don't know anyone with an iPad and only professionals who sometimes use an Android tablet for special cases (drawing, audio stuff) Most non-tech people I know simply have a Smartphone and that's it. Tablets in general still seem like a niche product to me.

Darkstryder 7y ago

I agree with this. My grandmother (who passed away in 2018 at the age of 91) tried to get into computers regularly for a decade, starting in the early 2000. We tried a lot of things, nothing stuck. Every device we would give her would quickly gather dust, unused after a few days. Then in 2013 she got an iPad 2 and she instantly started using it several hours a day for the next five years. In particular, I set it up so I could push new family photographs to her iPad remotely through iCloud. That was absolutely life-changing for her: now she was able to see super recent photos of all her children and grandchildren without having to beg for a printed version. That also worked for videos: for the first time since the VHS days she could replay family videos whenever she wanted. She also liked multiple card games and the iPad was a wonderful device to play them electronically. The biggest self-service I ever gave myself was to only suggest games that had a paying version without ads, and pay a few euros to buy them. The biggest problems with ads for her was that she could sometimes be a bit sloppy with the touchscreen : when an ad was present it would redirect her to a random website and she would get lost. The quality of the iPad touchscreen and that we stuck to ad-free apps allowed her to almost never get lost like this anymore. While the iPad may not have been a revolution for the general population, it definitely changed the world for my grandmother. For that I will be grateful for this device to exist. Miss you, grandma.

toomuchApple 7y ago

I don't think I've seen an iPad used outside a restaurant payment system since they came out. And I think whoever owns that restaurant might not be that smart if you consider the competition. I like the idea of Microsoft's surface. But I haven't used one.