The secret of success or iPad Steve Jobs created the first successful tablet in history (Part 1)

Recently went on sale a book by Fred Vogelshteyna 'Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution'Dedicated, as you probably already understand from the name, the fascinating history of the development of two high-tech companies-giants of the competition in the past, present and future.

To whet your interest in the publication, Vogelshteyn published Wired magazine a brief history of the birth of one of the key products for the industry - the iPad, a device that was able to revive what was considered a long-forgotten and unnecessary - a tablet computer. This week MacRadar prepared for you a translation of this article in three parts. Today - the first part. Enjoy reading!

A Steve Jobs and Google Android ubiquitous was simple and audacious: he introduced the iPad world. Many suspected that Jobs is preparing a tablet, in spite of the fact that for 7 years before in an interview with The Wall Street Journal argued, if people want keyboards. "I think the plates are destined to be a disastrous idea" - he said at the time.

But he reconsidered his views. While Google is trying to win the war the number of mobile platforms, Jobs decided to win quality. All that made Andy Rubin, working on Android - install it in any Popeye arm device as Bill Gates did with Windows. Rubin did not experienced, which of these devices will be sold, and which is destined to sink into oblivion. Jobs for the main task was to ensure that on iOS devices stand out from the crowd workmanship.

While people inside and outside of Apple whispering, Do not make a mistake Jobs, making the new platform is too inflexible and closed, it seemed that everything he touches Jobs - becoming that way. In 2010, Jobs decided to release the body most devices such that they can not be opened without a special screwdriver. It seems a trifle, but in Silicon Valley symbolism of this decision was obvious to all: Android always advertised due to its flexibility, both in terms of software and devices.

Maybe the world really will always be more owners of Android-smartphone than the iPhone. But people who use iPhone, likely to acquire iPad, iPod and other Apple devices, since they all work on the same software connected to the same online store and integrated cloud service iCloud. Only Steve Jobs was confident enough to put such a high bar.

Third wheel?

When the January 27, 2010, Steve Jobs revealed iPad audience, he seemed to show the direction in which will now move Apple. He put his new invention to the side, slowly, as if to give people time to put his thoughts in order. Then, Jobs showed a slide with a picture of the iPhone and the MacBook, put a question mark between them and addressed the audience: "Is there a middle way for a new category of devices?"

Jobs has often said that many people thought that there, in the middle, was supposed to be a netbook. "The problem is that the netbook is in no way superior to a laptop. They are slow, their displays - poor quality, they always brake, even with legacy software designed for PC power. They are no better than a laptop. They just cheaper. "

Most people bought the laptops are not for the purpose for which they were conceived: office work such as word processing, spreadsheets, planning, presentation, financial analysis, etc. People use them to communicate in social networks, browsing the internet and various media content, such as books, movies, photos, music, games, etc. Jobs believed that all this can be done using the iPhone, but the screen is too small, causing some discomfort. You can continue to do this on a laptop, but a small charge mobility and brief life anyway will disturb you.

What the world did not have - in the middle of the device. Something that would combine the best of both: it is easier and more intuitive than a laptop, something more effective and powerful than a smartphone.

After a long and laborious work, Jobs managed to find the answer. iPad perfect complement to the MacBook and iPhone on the slide, taking its rightful place among them.

As the iPad stays on top when others have failed?

Of course, not all were delighted with the iPad. Many believed that witnessed the great mistakes of the great entrepreneur Steve Jobs.

Tablet PC has always been the most undervalued category in the world of consumer electronics. Entrepreneurs are trying to create a tablet computer ever since the appearance of the PC. They tried to do it so many times that common sense began to suggest - it's impossible.

Alan Kay of the Xerox Research Center, also in 1968 worked Dynabook concept and presented his idea in 1972, describing it as a "personal computer for children of all ages." Apple has created prototypes of something similar called the Bashful in 1983, but the device has not seen the light. The first tablet to get to the customer, was created by Jeff Hawkins, later founded the PalmPilot. In 1989, his brainchild - Tandy firm GRiDPad, saw the light. GO Corp. next entered the tablet market with its EO in 1993.

Apple Newton presented in 1994. But this revolutionary CCP turned to Silicon Valley in the same failure, what was the Edsel automobile industry in America and Apple symbol of the era without Jobs as the company manages several hapless managers who actually brought it to bankruptcy. Newton was the first product that Jobs destroyed, returning in 1997. From that moment, wishing to have a laptop computer to buy laptops. Manufacture of something else still considered too risky.

However, the PalmPilot and similar Soup was quite popular in the next 5 years, most likely because they do not take on too much.

The earliest attempts to revive the tablet has taken Gates and Microsoft in 2002. In 2009, it seemed that besides the Amazon Kindle in the tablet market completely empty, as the competition was incredibly weak, but after all, can not be called Amazon Kindle tablet. You can download the book or the text of the newspaper and read them on the black-and-white screen. It's all.

All these factors have made the creation of the Tablet PC is very risky for Jobs, especially at a time when Google is literally "breathing down his neck." But such an idea and attracted Jobs. He has managed to rethink the PC, portable music player and mobile phone. And by creating iPad, it has reinvented the tablet PC. iPad did almost everything on it was capable laptop. But he weighed less than four times, worked three times as long, had a touch screen like the iPhone, include, without long downloads and was always connected to the Internet.

Buyers did not took time to "retrain" or "addictive" - ​​the software was virtually identical to the fact that they have used on the iPhone.

Technically, iPad is controlled in the same way as the iPhone. control of the fingers to the iPhone, which fits in your pocket - it was logical. But managing something with a screen size as a small laptop without a mouse, keyboard or stylus - was a revolution. In the video shown during the presentation of the first iPad, Scott Forstall, the former head of the department Software, says: "If you see something, you just reach out and touch it. This is natural and you do it without thinking. Just doing and everything "

Immediate response to the iPad was full Ohoven and poisoning substances. Room The Economist with a cover depicting Jobs in religious garb, with a halo around his head, holding in the hands of the iPad, has become legendary. The headline read: "The Book of Jobs. Hope, PR and Apple iPad ".

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Article Continued on MacRadar tomorrow.

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