iPad

Technology is an area with no limitation. From time to time, there are new inventions of product with purpose for easy use and is not exceptionally for Apple with their new invention, iPad.

According to Glaser, M (2010), as a new product, iPad has some advantages and disadvantages regarding to the features and function of it. From article he wrote, it showed that different group of ages has their own interest toward iPad, for instance his son is only interested to it for gaming, while he prefers to read books. Thus, there are some issues will discuss later on concerning iPad.

iPad syndrome?

Recently, as a booming product, iPad grab much attention of technology and Apple lovers by 11.5% in US market share by the end of May 2010 (www.getclicky.com) and 22% of e-book market share (Raby, M 2010). And even before it released, demand for it was mountain. Through advertisement and demonstration, they prepared audiences to buy when it is launch.

At first time seeing iPad, you might think that is a giant iPod touch because the similar design and only size difference. iPad is identical with e-book and it will be the first choice for people who do not have this gadget yet. Moreover, it targeted to people who wants to upgrade their e-reader to featured-rich and color-filled gadget experience too (Medeiros, N 2010).

Do iPad adopt multimodal text theory?

Referring to Walsh (2006), texts that contained more than one ‘mode’ in order to deliver message called multimodal texts. iPad as a media to read books electronically proved that multimodal texts exist. We are not only reading a page full of texts but it accompanied by pictures, sounds, videos, etc. iPad was a new outstanding gadget features that impressed the world and they happily use it. Thus, advanced technology brings new idea and shifts monomodal text to multimodal texts as appeared everywhere today in difference medias such as printed text, gadget, newspaper, websites, etc.

Is audience satisfied?

Subsequently, even though iPad famously known, research in America showed that people who really interested on iPad only 4.6% overall the market and 65% people are not interested at all (Sutherland, Ed 2010). It happened because they are not reader user and some of them prefer to use iPhone instead of iPad concerning to its size, similarity features and another extra benefit which is call line while iPad do not have it.

(http://www.cultofmac.com)

References:

Glaser, M 2010, 'Glaser & Son Review the iPad', Media Shift, viewed 10 June 2010, <http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/04/glaser-son-review-the-ipad098.html>.

Medeiros, N 2010, 'ILL and iPad: reflections on the fast and furious', International digital library perspective, vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 66-68, viewed 5 June 2010, <http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=Article&Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/1640260201.pdf>.

Raby, M 2010, 'iPad Collects 22% Of Ebook Market Share At Warp Speed', I4U, viewed 5 June 2010, <http://www.i4u.com/article34902.html>.

Sutherland, Ed 2010, 'iPad Survey: 4.6 Percent 'Extremely Interested'; 16.4 Percent 'Somewhat Interested', Cult of Mac, viewed 8 June 2010, <http://www.cultofmac.com/ipad-survey-4-6-percent-extremely-interested-16-4-percent-somewhat-interested/38042>.

Walsh, M. (2006),” The ‘textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts,” Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol.29, no.1, pp.24-37.