A few days ago the iPad just passed 2,000,000 units in sales in under 60 days. Why is that? I think its because the device allows people to take their information sources and uses (e.g. their personal marketspace) and "bring" it into their everyday life. When you create a device which can be spliced into life, it can crop up everywhere. Radical innovations redefine how we think about a category, and history is replete with examples. Take Radio for example. Radio has a rich and interesting history, from its scientific roots in the mid 1800s to the creation of the first broadcast station by Charles Herrold in 1909, and the subsequent scaling of the powerful idea of advertising driven broadcasting was lead by David Sarnoff at RCA.
Early on in commercial radio, the most optimistic projection for adoption was to have one radio in every household because at the time radios were expensive, furniture encrusted devices. But, with the advent of the transistor, the radio became portable and could fit in the car, on the nightstand, and even in the pocket. I still remember my father's golf-club-head radio and listening to the WEEI in Boston early in the morning as he made breakfast. The estimates of use completely missed what the new patterns of behavior would be when the device became small.
Likewise, the iPad solves a number of size, interface and connectivity problems, simultaneously. Its versatility was driven home to me when I watched this video by Jason Kottke: Velcro + iPad = Love. This short piece of creative genius shows that you can "put" an iPad anywhere and use it for everything from a map, to a weather station, to a book, to a personal communcator on the top of your motorocycle gas tank.
So, my question is, how are you using iPad to reinvent your customer's experience?
Relevant and recent links:
- How the iPad is Like the Tesla Roadster (HBR Post)
- iPad Enterprise Adoption (CIO Dashboard Post)