To NonZealot, Cayble and oncall-- what's going on with ZDNet? Every posting on this blog seems to be getting flagged? I can't understand why .. its been a great discussion so far. (A cut above the usually ZDNet comment section.)
To NZ - I think oncall summed it up best. Its simply a business decision. As for being a good idea or not, well, the only way for that question to be answered is to "stay tuned" and see if this experiment turns a profit for Sideways. If only one half of one percent of all iPad users pay to try out this site - and assuming by 2011, there are only 10 million iPad owners as Cayble suggests, then I'd guess a tidy profit would have been made and that would constitute a success or a "good idea". Perhaps not the greatest success or the best idea but you see the point.
As for the "white elephant that can't be ignored", that is the iPad currently and tablets in general, a few points need to be made.
To Cayble, your arguments supporting the theory that the iPad is basically a fad that will burn out in a year or two are well thought out and reasoned. Except that they are points that have to be verified using real world experiences. And in that, I would have to disagree with the premise that tablets are, at best, a minor computing platform. As an early adopter of this technology, let me give a few personal observations.
Children take to this platform like ducks to water. I was at an end of school year "Student/Parent" picnic where my 11 year old niece and her classmates enjoyed a fine early summer day of games and food. Before the festivities started, I gave the iPad to her and she used it to check her email (???!!!!! On her gmail account-and I find that amazing). Within seconds she had acquired a small group of her friends and two other girls wished to check their email accounts but also to play with a few apps (magic piano and something called "Tap Tap Radiation - my nephew downloaded that one).
The thing is .. they found using the iPad tablet experience intuitive, productive and fun. This type of experience and similar observations was duplicated at a friend's home with his young children. (Much to the Dad's discomfort over thoughts regarding this season's holiday gift buying options. And to my amusement, I might add.)
When children grow up with a technology, they tend to keep using it (in one form or another) as they grow into adulthood. The fact that school systems are just beginning to grasp the potential for using this type of device shows a huge potential for future tablet growth.
As for myself, I have a MacBook laptop as well as a desktop system. I certainly didn't "need" a tablet. And, if the Government decided to ban all iPads tomorrow (Hey .. if Israel could find a reason to ban iPads initially .. any Government could .. but I'm only using this absurd example to make a point), then I would and could easily do without the iPad experience.
However, the iPad has enriched my life simply because of its mobility and usefulness over a lapbook or mobile smartphone. (I don't own a netbook but my experience using the touch interface of the iPad would trump any traditional keyboard/mouse pad combination of a small netbook format that I can envision.) I take this thing just about wherever I go now-a-days. It comes in handy. Much easier to lug around than a laptop and its "instant on" features are much appreciated.
Can businesses just limit their resources for support to this tablet platform (or iPad specifically) and still make a profit? I believe they can. It would be better to "cover all the bases" if a business has the resources to support multiple formats but if they had to choose just one, the iPad ecosystem would not seem to have any inherent disadvantages.
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