Effect of Gestures

So Apple does it again ‘eh?  With orders for the iPad topping 50,000 in the first two hours of pre-order, earning a reported $75M in the first day, the iPad may just be the “next” iPod. Just what the world needs another gizmo right? Well, the cynic in me would love to say that (and who knows, five years from now, may look at this and laugh) but this could truly re-define publishing.

Many have questioned what makes this truly unique. Isn’t it just a flat, less versatile version of a netbook? Well, it could be unless publishers and advertisers don’t make use of the unique gestural capabilities. Faris Yakob’s December 2009 predictions alluded to gestures being a huge part of 2010, and lo and behold, here it is.

It’s not just going to be translating what was “paper” into an iPad interface, nor is it a banner ad of the 2000’s meagerly disrupting a user’s experience: this is about creating a new kind of user experience. This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us to push our boundaries of creativity and push into a new “medium”–play and have fun again.

What is unique about this interface? A popular theme of mine, humanizing technology. The touch screen does just that. Makes it tactile. There isn’t that physical separation of space anymore–the direct interaction with information is electric and “bonds” the user to the machine (I know how strange that sounds). And of course being Apple, the design is exquisite. Beautiful and light, I saw one in person a few days ago, a young developer playing with it (in San Francisco of course). And it is quite magnificent.

Penguin books have consistently stayed fresh (reviving classic covers with fresh illustrations), but their iPad capabilities could take them into a space of recapturing those “lost readers”. They’ve “imagined” some of their future with the iPad. While the mainstream “grown-up” market will probably take the lions share of the attention once launched, I think the opportunities for children could be amazing. Making those wonderful children’s books come to life in this space could be amazing.  Imagine Harold and his purple crayon dancing, playing and drawing in the hands of a 2-year old–what an amazing outlet for creativity.

And the magazines are seeing their futures perhaps a bit brighter with this innovation. Everyone from Wired, to Conde Nast to Sports Illustrated are giddy for where their pubs may go (and the money they may just revive).

And flighty and superficial as this sounds, as a consumer, I see this as a huge opportunity for a lighter travel bag. I cannot bear to carry around another September issue of Vogue or 500 page hardcover. This is gonna be good…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 at 5:53 am and is filed under DESIGN, TECHNOLOGY and tagged with gestures, iPad. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.