Why is Everybody So Angry about Apple’s iPad?
I realize that anytime you write a post regarding Apple or an Apple product, like I did on Thursday after Apple’s iPad announcement, it triggers a lot of emotional responses from both Apple lovers and haters, but I’ve gotta tell you, after reading some of the comments from my post, and how people reacted to Terry’s post (which I linked to) and other articles around the Web, I think this iPad product announcement has actually wound up making some people madder than Nikon’s pricing for the D3X (and I didn’t think that was possible, though I think it’s just as silly).
So, here’s a quick Q&A to wrap up this blog’s coverage of the iPad until it actually ships:
Q. Wow Scott, some people were really mad about you recommending that they should buy an iPad. Why do you think that is?
A. Actually, if you re-read the post (link) I didn’t recommend that anyone should buy an iPad. I just said I was going to buy one (well, two. One for my wife as well).
Q. Then why were they so mad?
A. Anytime you use the word ‘Apple’ in a sentence, and you’re not referring to New York City or a healthy snack, it triggers something in people who hate Apple with a passion that knows know bounds, and they go on the attack.
Q. They really hate Apple that much?
A. Just ask the folks at Engadget.com (one of my favorite sites), who ran a post yesterday on how to get a custom RSS feed that excludes their news about Apple for “…people who hate Apple news.” (their words).
Q. OK, but why do they have it in the for iPad? Is it because of all of Apple’s hype around the product?
A. Apple didn’t hype it at all. Apple didn’t even mention it. In fact, you couldn’t get anyone at Apple to even admit the existence of the iPad until the moment it was actually introduced.
Q. So Apple never promised anybody anything in the iPad?
A. Nope. Apple is notoriously secretive about product releases, so there were no “the iPad is coming” ads, or banners, or anything from Apple itself. Even Apple’s media invite only said “Come see our latest creation.” The hype wasn’t created by Apple.
Q. So why are some people so Mad?
A. Because they were led to believe the iPad would have some features it in it doesn’t have.
Q. Did Apple lead them to believe this?
A. Nope. Just rampant rumor and speculation all over the Web.
Q. So they’re mad at Apple because the rumor sites made them think the iPad would have more or different features?
A. Yup, pretty much.
Q. That’s crazy.
A. That’s a statement, not a question.
Q. OK, isn’t that kind of crazy?
A. Yup.
Q. And they’re mad at you because you told them you’re buying an iPad, even though it doesn’t have those features, right?
A. Yup.
Q. But you never told them to buy an iPad, right?
A. Right. I just gave my opinion, which is, I think Apple’s going to sell a lot of them. That’s what my post was about.
Q. And that made some people really mad?
A. Oh, yeah. They let me know in great detail why I was wrong, why Apple was wrong, and exactly why they weren’t going to buy one.
Q. Why would they take the time to write a long comment on why they wouldn’t buy a particular product?
A. Ahhhh, this is what really amazes me the most. You see, Olympus just came out with a small point-and-shoot digital camera called the Olympus Optio I-10, and I looked at a very favorable article about it, but it’s not really for me. There are some things I’d want in a point-and-shoot that it doesn’t have, and there are some things it has I don’t need, so I’d probably go with something else. But yet, I have no urge whatsoever to write a long detailed comment to that Olympus blogger about why that Olympus isn’t for me, or where I think Olympus messed up in not creating the perfect product for me, nor do I post something telling the writer that he’s an idiot for writing about it. You know what I do instead? I just don’t buy that camera. Instead of spending my time writing comments like that, I figure I can use that time to write a book or two, and it’s worked out pretty well so far.
Q. After the iPad was introduced, most analyists greatly upped their predictions for how many million units Apple will sell in the iPad’s first year. Do they know something we don’t know?
A. Yup. They know that the iPad isn’t for everyone, just like the iPhone isn’t for everyone, but they also know there are enough people who, when they see and hold one in person, will absolutely fall in love and buy one right there on the spot. There is a big market for the iPad, it’s just not for everybody, but it doesn’t take everybody to make a product a hit. It just takes a lot of somebodies.
Q. But it doesn’t include a phone? How it could it not include a phone?
A. It’s not a phone. We all already have a phone. This is supposed something in-between a phone and a laptop (at least, that’s what Apple says).
Q. But isn’t just a big iPod Touch?
A. Kinda. It’s actually more than that, but wouldn’t a big iPod Touch be really nice? I always wished mine was bigger (stop snickering).
Q. But it doesn’t support Flash, right?
A. I know, that’s the one thing I really wished it did, that it doesn’t.
Q. Well, that’s a deal breaker for me.
A. Then don’t buy it.:)
Q. Hey, you’re being kind of harsh, aren’t you?
A. Not at all. Seriously, if it’s not for you, you shouldn’t buy it. The iPad’s not for everybody, and not everybody will buy it. If it makes sense for you, great. If it doesn’t, why in the world would you buy it? Besides, I put a smiley face after my comment to take the harshicity out of it, because I don’t work for Apple. If you buy it, don’t buy it, etc., it doesn’t change my life one way or the other.
Q. Aren’t you going to write a book on it?
A. My plate’s pretty full this year with all the updates and new titles I have coming, so no iPad book for me.
Q. Hey, are we going to be able to shoot tethered into the iPad?
A. Maybe. Terry had a post on his blog about Apple’s “iPad Camera Connection Kit” which lets you import images from your digital camera into your iPad.
Q. Shouldn’t Apple have come out with a product that is for absolutely everybody, that immediately fulfills everyone’s individual needs, and included all the speculated and rumored features, no matter how far fetched?
A. Yes.
Q. Then why didn’t they?
A. They never have. No one ever has. Well, maybe except for Microsoft. (wink).
Q. Hey, aren’t you just a big shill for Apple?
A. Yup. Hey—-anything to boost the stock price for my Apple stock.
Q. Do you have Apple stock?
A. No.
Q. So what do you get from Apple? I’ll bet you get lots of freebies from Apple, right?
A. Nope. I don’t get “jack squat” from Apple. If I want Apple software or hardware, I buy it like everybody else. I did get a free t-shirt from a guy in the SoHo Apple Store after I spoke there once. That was cool.
Q. Yeah, but I bet you get special treatment at the Apple Store, right?
A. Sadly, no. I know one person there: Jessica (hi Jessica), and if I wait in line long enough, she’ll help me, just like everybody else. Hey, but when my son dropped his iPhone (a hand-me-down), the woman at the genius bar had been to my Orlando Photoshop seminar last year.
Q. Did she hook you up with a free replacement?
A. Nope. It cost me an arm and a leg to buy him a replacement. Well, it just cost an arm. I made him pay the leg part himself. It’s that whole parent thing.
Q. So you really have no “juice” at Apple do you?
A. Not a drop.
Q. So why did you say you were impressed with the iPad, and that you were going to buy one?
A. Because I was impressed with the iPad, and I’m going to buy one.
Q. That was pretty risky, ya know?
A. I know. Mentioning an Apple product is not without peril.
Q. Why is that?
A. Although there are three types of people: (1) Apple haters (2) Apple apologists and (3) Everybody else, when you write anything about Apple—–anything—you immediately hear from numbers 1 and 2.
Q. What’s an Apple Apologist??
A. That’s someone who defends Apple’s decisions no matter what.
Q. Have you experienced them first hand?
A. Not since I mentioned how much I hated my new MacBook Pro because the gestures on the new trackpad kept rotating my Photoshop CS4 canvas, but luckily Adobe released a plug-in that stopped the rotation, so my life is back to normal.
Q. So some people were mad that you pointed out that problem?
A. Like you cannot believe. I did a short video showing the problem to run here on the blog, but I stupidly posted it on YouTube.com and then embedded the video into my post. Big mistake. I still get emails from Apple apologists telling me I’m an idiot for trying to use Photoshop with a trackpad, and that the problem is my fault–not Apple’s. I just wish “idiot” was the phase they most often used. Sadly, it usually had one less letter. Those are Apple apologists.
Ask Terry White what happens if he posts something the least bit critical about Apple. When he posted that the USB ports were too close during his review of the new MacBook Pro (they are, by the way)—-so close that you often can’t connect two USB devices at once, people railed him in droves, claiming that instead of Apple properly spacing the ports, that instead all USB flash drives and cables should be redesigned with thinner bodies to accommodate the tighter ports.
Q. But you just said you agree that the ports are too close? Isn’t that saying something bad about Apple. Aren’t you going to catch a rash of $%&$ for posting that?
A. Absolutely.
Q. Doesn’t that worry you?
A. Honestly, I’m getting used to it. It used to bother me, but I find it bothers me less and less since I added the Delete Post key as an Apple Quick Key. ;-)
Q. Does any of this surprise you?
A. Not at all. In fact, I’ll guarantee you that after all this, at least a few people will actually post comments here today going on about how Apple has totally messed up, and then they’ll go on to explain why they’re not going to buy one.
Q. Seriously, you think someone will actually do that?
A. I would bet money on it.
Q. So you think because you mentioned the iPad missing Flash, now you’ll catch some heat for that, too?
A. Absolutely. It kind of comes with the territory, but somehow, I’ll trudge on.
Q. The iPad’s not even shipping yet. In fact, it’s still months away. Do you think we should hold our judgment until we actually hold one in our hands and try one out?
A. Absolutely not. Judgment should be passed immediately (if not sooner). Nail Apple, Steve Jobs, and anyone the least bit connected to it, on any level. That’ll teach ’em to try to introduce a new product that doesn’t appeal to every living person.
Q. So with all these people screaming about what it doesn’t have, do you still think Apple will sell a lot of iPads?
A. Yup. Millions and millions in its first year. I know, but not to you. You’re no sucker, you’re smarter than that, you’re no chump, etc..
Q. Hey, did you mean me?
A. No, not you. Them (you know who you are).