Marco Arment on iPad Productivity

Marco posted some thoughts on the direction of the iPad as a creative device. He postulates on Apple’s apparent change of direction as well as how third party developers are still figuring out exactly what we have with the iPad. I agree with him completely:

But, as often happens in technology, the iPad hasn’t “killed” the laptop at all — it has simply added a new role for itself. And that role doesn’t include office productivity for most of us.

Since the iPad was released, I have never once felt that there was a possibility it could replace my primary work machine. But that’s obvious to most folks. Going further, although it’s become clear that content creation is indeed possible on this device and many folks continue to heckle the doubters in this regard, it’s still not easy. Or comfortable.

You could take the argument further and discuss the different types of creation. Some things are possible to create on the iPad — Garageband and Omnifocus are great steps in that direction. But for most everything else — writing, design, programming, photography — the laptop/desktop computer is still so much easier and suited to the task.

Marco finishes:

I still don’t think Apple has found the sweet spot for the iPad’s usage: the ideal role it fills in personal computing. And I don’t think we, as developers or iPad owners, have found it, either. But I know that sweet spot exists, and for a computer category that has only existed for one year, we’re rushing towards it remarkably quickly.

So while you can create on the iPad, it doesn’t mean you should contort yourself in order to do so. For now, the device excels in content consumption. And there’s nothing wrong with that.