I’ve been very excited for the Apple event today, floating blissfully somewhere between the hype and the anti-hype. For me, the iPad has delivered nicely to a set of use-cases that contains the majority of Lindsay’s daily computing and a good portion of mine.

Of course, many of my fellow geeks are lamenting the release with “it’s not good for anything” just as often as they are praising the release. It seems like it’s the exact same phenomena for any subculture that merits itself on knowledge. Just like music aficionados will exclaim how they liked a band before they made it big, and now they suck, technologists often seem to have distain for a new technology that has mass appeal.

There are really two reasons that a knowledgeable geek isn’t excited about the iPad:

1. They are geek snobs and just can’t like popular things and/or they respond to hype with a natural skeptical antibody that turns them past skeptical into cynical.
2. They aren’t pushing the “niche” boundaries of where they use computing in their lives.

There’s no real response to #1, that’s just a personality thing, but #2 is very real. It’s important to identify the niche that the iPad is meant for. It is not the same niche as your iPhone or laptop. It’s a type of computing that I’ll temporarily dub, for lack of a better term, “semi-portable computing”. It’s something that both the iPhone and the laptop are weak at. Here are some use-cases that fit into this “semi-portable computing” category, and how the iPad can deliver better than either your iPhone or laptop.

• Reading in Bed - As old as the pattern of “winding down” and reading in bed is, more and more the majority of reading content is found and consumed online. As a result, many of us are taking our laptops or iPhone to bed in order to read some content or play a bit of games before bed.
  • The iPhone works admirably well, but doesn’t allow a very relaxed posture while winding down in bed. You need to keep the device pretty close to your face to read for moderately long periods.  It’s absolutely no accident that the presenters on stage at the Apple event sat on comfortable furniture on every opportunity when using the iPad.
  • A laptop brings too much to the bed. For reading and very light night-time gaming, one rarely/never needs a keyboard, so half of the laptop is just in the way. Additionally, the power consumption and heat production of a laptop can make bedtime computing uncomfortable, sometimes even requiring a bedside charging cable draped over part of the bed. (Lindsay’s bedside floor is always a cable spaghetti at our home.) The iPad is compact and has a long battery life, no night-time charging or heat problems.
• Kitchen Computing - As products like Personal Trainer: Cooking and numerous lifestyle category apps for grocery lists can attest, the computer is becoming an important part of kitchen life. From (very basic) inventory management, to recipe use, even to cooking show viewing, computing in the kitchen is a natural fit.
  • The same portability that makes the iPhone great in so many situations is a liability in the kitchen. It’s a too-small utensil to be lost in the mix, or it’s a too-small screen to be used while working.  The optimum use case for kitchen computing is “on the counter near me while I’m working”, but the iPhone is only truly effective in the hand.
  • Just like the bedroom, a laptop brings too much to the counter top. When counter top space can be at a premium, a laptop can take and entire workspace away. Keyboards are also problematic, because they are so difficult to clean. It’s no problem to get a little food or fluid on something in the kitchen, because everything in the kitchen is easy to clean. A laptop brings a large, fragile item to the kitchen where the burden is notable.  Lindsay will often wrap the keyboard of her MacBook with cellophane to avoid getting it too dirty. A iPad would stand, docked, taking less than a third of the space and could even handle some smudged up screen-work to be cleaned easily later.
• Couch Computing - Internet media use and interactive gaming has skyrocketed in recent years to a comparable percentage of leisure time that television once was the sole occupier. But, importantly, the total television watching time hasn’t decreased proportionally. What does that mean? It means now, more than ever, people are consuming multiple forms of media at the same time. The computer is being used on the couch, as an interactive complement to passive television viewing.
  • The iPhone serves the “quick lookup” niche well enough, with a quick visit to Wikipedia or IMDB making a nice complement to television viewing. However, an instant messaging or facebook session that lasts for the entire duration of a television show becomes uncomfortable and/or unwieldy. Once again, the iPad brings a comfortable computing interface that maximizes the utility of computing in this setting.
  • Laptops again, are just too much for couch computing. The heat and power consumption almost always means an uncomfortable lap and a power adapter tethering the device to the wall. “Passing” a laptop over to another viewer to check out a complementary source is often more trouble than it’s worth. The iPad is a quick pass around the room, no wires or bulk attached.
• Travel Computing - While drivers still need their focus, entertainment during travel is becoming a larger part of the base expectation of typical users.
  • The iPhone can make a dent, providing music and video to travelers, but the form factor still can be inconvenient for sitting and watching content. The iPad is a comfortable form factor that makes interactive and passive use trivial in a car or plan. The optional 3G makes it especially attractive for interactive use in the car.
  • But due to the annoyances of battery consumption, laptops have largely been passed over for more passive entertainment like movies and television that are inexpensive to build into cars and planes. Plus, take away internet access and most laptops are paperweights anyway, one has to really prepare for any notable time without internet.

These are the example use-cases that I picture the iPad excelling at. There are many, many people that are stretching the use of their laptop or their iPhone into these niches with mixed success. To a significant extent, the iPod Touch is an experiment in just these directions, and a successful one.

So when I hear someone mention how the iPad won’t fit in a pocket or isn’t as powerful as a laptop, the first answer I think of is “it doesn’t have to be!” This isn’t a replacement for an iPhone or a heavy laptop user, this is a device that serves all of the gaps in a connected lifestyle that the existing products poorly serve.

I could never give up my laptop for a device like this, my laptop is a desktop that moves easily and the features unique to a “real” laptop are something I use every single day. But, on the other hand, when look at the use case of my wife, this thing looks like a serious contender. With a bluetooth keyboard and perhaps an external monitor for light laptop-centric work, this is a really compelling option. And for potentially half the price of a new laptop!

So as the anti-hype blows around everywhere now that the iPad is public, it’s interesting to me to see how many geeks are warm to the idea but can’t find a use. It means that computing isn’t as pervasive in their lives as I would have guessed. Well, or they are a geek snob.