Burke

Brian Burke, Smashing Ideas: Having developed software for multiple mobile devices, and realizing all the challenges (and costs) of each, our company treats each new device with cautious optimism, thinking about its potential to help our business. We watched the iPhone closely, and we believe we pounced when the time was right. We’ve warmed up to Cupertino’s golden child, and now that device and its iTouch counterpart are an absolutely integral part of our multi-screen development DNA.

So, now comes the iPad. You may be familiar with the old expression: “no one likes the kid that grows up on third base, and tells everyone he hit a triple."

Well, the iPad is sort of that kid and while it is polarizing the development and gaming community on the blogs and in the press, Apple is also giving us an opportunity to think differently about the way we approach content and user-experiences for new form-factors. It’s not the absolute perfect opportunity, but an interesting one.

The iPad has big/small shoes to fill, but that’s where the onus ends up falling on the developer to make this buzz a reality…or not. With that comes the same questions that our clients ask relative to any new device or platform: what will work, what won’t and what’s next?

The conversations are getting interesting and we don’t quite have all the answers yet. But we’re certainly getting there.

The iPhone’s name denotes its purpose: a mobile Phone. Not quite the same for the iTouch, but we all know it evolved from the iPod, so at its foundation is a portable music player. Each evolved from a ubiquitous, indispensable device experience, and provided enhanced content and applications that redefined each medium and changed the way we understood on-the-go utility and entertainment.

So what did the iPad evolve from (of course, we could insert a joke here)? Is Satoru Iwata of Nintendo correct in stating that it is just a bigger iTouch? What is the optimal user experience for apps and what should we, as a developer community, bring to market?

Here are the facts: We have a new form-factor to work with that gives us a 9.7 inch display, multi-touch, a fast 1GHZ A4 chip, up to 64 GB of flash storage, 10 hours of battery life, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, speaker, microphone, accelerometer, etc, that you can hold in your hands.

As we begin to delve into the SDK and look at the potential business opportunities, here are a couple industries where that enhancement to the user-experience could help studios develop with a purpose:

Publishing: If e-books are the next big thing for the book publishing industry, the iPad could quite possibly be the best thing for the magazine publishing industry. The Sports Illustrated tablet demo clearly emphasizes the possibilities. I would mention comic books in the same breath, noting that they too have lost substantial marketshare to online, as well as general apathy for the medium. We could honestly see a revival here.

The iPad will allow for a much-enhanced experience, including video, interactivity and a level of depth that no printed medium can supply, and these industries should take full advantage of this. They’ve invested in their websites, but if those are falling flat (and for many they are), bring people back to the familiarity of having their publications in their hands with interactivity that serves a purpose.

Where e-books and comic readers are fine on mobile (if you don’t mind squinting), the iPad and related apps could serve as a true enhancement to the issue-by-issue “layback” reading experience. Not only that, all of your issues could be accessible in one repository, which is much better than collecting dust on the coffee table.

Gaming: The iPad will hardly replace your PC or Console, but it could provide a whole new angle to multi-player gaming that’s better than the DS or iPhone. Specifically, this device could change mobile gaming in the turn-based arena because of its form factor.

Imagine an enhanced version of your favorite board game, checkers, chess, air-hockey, or, with its multi-touch capabilities, simultaneous gaming interactions on the device (imagine 4-player dodgeball!). Because of its size, it’s better suited for this than any gaming device out there, and you can take it with you to a coffee shop or a bar (just don’t spill on it). Is this a big enough enhancement to say that it will make gaming that much cooler? I think so; this is probably one of the areas where developers can make the iPad shine.

The iPad won’t accomplish everything for us (not even close). In fact, we’ll probably continue to develop some apps for the iPhone and not make them available for the iPad (i.e. kids’ apps that use the accelerometer where your 6 year-old has the potential to shake it and throw it across the room—iPhone is better for the grip of smaller hands).

I’m excited that the iPad will be out there, but the business case will still need to evolve.

There are many things that the iPad just doesn’t do that netbooks and others devices can, including multi-tasking (essential for a true personal-computing device, and honestly, should be on the iPhone as well), in-browser flash support (being a studio that generates a lot of flash creative, with a lot of clients that have made substantial investments in the technology), and the touch-keyboard will still be a barrier for some.

Additionally, sales will need to be phenomenal to make the economics work for a lot of the aforementioned industries. And that remains to be seen when this fourth screen finally arrives.

Even if Satoru Iwata is right that the iPad is just the big brother of the iTouch, it will take the development community to send this kid from third to home.

Brian Burke is executive director and general manager of mobile and devices at Smashing Ideas, a digital media and software development firm in downtown Seattle. Opinions expressed in guest posts are those of their authors, and don't necessarily reflect the views of TechFlash or its staff. Have an idea for a guest post of your own? Email us: techflashtips@bizjournals.com