I have written here, here and here about Apple’s inevitable assault on the Tablet market. What I hadn’t factored until recently is how symbiotic such a device would be for Baby Boomers.
Why Baby Boomers? Well, for the same two reasons that this demographic is unlikely to embrace the palm-sized iPhone en masse. One, such a bookish-sized tablet device – I’ll call it the Boomer Tablet – would be tailor-made for home Wi-Fi setups, thereby obviating the mobile access costs associated with iPhone, a significant barrier for a generation that is programmed to keep mobile bills within a tight spending range. This is key, because with the onset of age, Boomers’ motor skills have become less precise; their vision has become poorer; and their eyes get tired easier. As such, the premise of them plugging away on tiny keys and peering into the tiny screen of a mobile device like iPhone/iPod touch is a non-starter. By contrast, the Boomer Tablet offers a superior input, viewing and playback environment for accessing your iTunes library, personal media, syndicated content services, iPhone Apps and presumably, Mac Apps; something that the 70M+ Baby Boomers in the US who are aged 53-73 would likely find compelling. Moreover, if Apple put a video camera in the device – not a stretch since they are doing it in the iPhone GS – it could make video conferencing and VOIP ubiquitous in a relatively short time (Skype already has a client for the iPhone/iPod touch). What better way to stay connected to distant loved ones? Read the rest of the post HERE (at O'Reilly Radar). UPDATE 1: Good Article in Fast Company looking at how Amazon is attempting to play its cards right with respect to Kindle. Check out 'Amazon Taps its Inner Apple.' UPDATE 2: My post on the (baby) Boomer Tablet computing device was referenced in today's New York Times. Very cool. P.s., yes, I noted that the author misspelled my name. UPDATE 3: AppleInsider is reporting that it has confirmation (from a trusted, reliable source) that this device will be coming to market in Q1, 2010 (versus Q4, 2009). I wish it was the earlier date, but as my post underscores, this is a BIG undertaking. Meanwhile, over at Seeking Alpha, Jason Schwarz argues 'Why Apple's iTouch Tablet Will Become It's Flagship Product." Two, because a larger-form factor device would offer Boomers a bigger viewing screen and “lifestyle” settings, like fatter keys and a more forgiving keyboard to ease input, and wizard-like shortcuts to simplify recurring tasks.
Related Posts:
- Start in the Middle: The "Jobs," "Outcomes" and "Constraints" Innovation Model
- Apple, TV and the Smart Connected Living Room
- iPhones, App Stores and Ecosystems
- Is the iPhone Platform Destined to Disrupt the Packaged Software Industry?
- Analysis: Apple WWDC Keynote - Punishing the Wizard, Part Two
