Written by Noah Darnell
A long sought after holy grail of successful communication in the modern age—media convergence—has been a buzzword in the telecom industry for years, and now it may have finally materialized with the revelation of Apple’s newest creation. The device debuted Jan. 27 to a crowd of bloggers and gadget geeks behind a solid wall of laptops with silver and white glowing Apple logos. The Apple iPad and its creator, Steve Jobs are making a valiant attempt at stirring the gadget pot once again with the promise of a device that will revolutionize the way the average person consumes photos, music and information.
The original iPhone hit the shelves in the summer of 2007 and almost instantaneously made substantial waves in the telecommunications market by merging communications with computing and content (the “Three C’s” of media convergence). The iPhone and its seemingly unlimited connectivity had begun to define a new generation of individuals who are, quite literally, never much farther than arm’s reach from a computer. And now the iPad, only a matter of hours old at the time of this writing, is staking its claim as the device that will make even the slimmest laptop computer seem as bulky as the desktop computer of old.
The convergence of a variety of media comes into play with the iPad in a way never before seen in a device. Apple’s innovative device blends media together seamlessly in a powerful package. Whereas devices like the Amazon Kindle were limited in their hyperlink and video capabilities, the iPad meets no barriers and runs. As Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs said in his keynote address, “as the best browsing experience you’ve ever had; it’s phenomenal to see a whole Web page right in front of you that you can manipulate with your fingers.” However, to be a device truly capable of converging all media, it must also provide a place for you to store your music and your photos, a means by which to participate and share them, get feedback and get new media, all from the same location.
The iPad is promising a future of seamless media convergence, where a magazine like ESPN can provide up-to-the-minute updates while a baseball game is still being played. Imagine being able to sit with the iPad watching a sporting event in front of the television – or at the actual game itself – being able to see on-demand instant replays, photos from the game taken only minutes before, player information and last-pitch or last-play diagrams. Whether the user utilizes the iPad as a supplement to their daily routine or a device that changes the way they view the world, the iPad undoubtedly promises to be the conduit for information at a level of interactivity, and convergence, never seen before.
The future of convergent media has been seeking a perfect conduit for its smattering of disconnected media for years; at last, Apple is seeking to wedge itself into the crossroads and have the iPad standing there as the solution for an unlimited amount of information to be streamed directly into the hands of the consumer. Maybe next time a revolutionary device is introduced to the market there will be no wall of upright laptop screens in the audience, but rather a sea of softly glowing faces from the iPad tablet computer in the audience members’ laps.
The iPad will ship in late March for $499 and feature WiFi connectivity, unlocked GSM 3G service and seamless integration with all 140,000 apps made famous by Apple’s iPhone.
