No, this does not stand for World War 1.
I think that one of the most asked questions after an innovative product is presented to the world, usually begins with
"Why Would I?". Well, it's not just Apple's new iPad. I guess that decades ago, WWI questions were asked with the introduction of the telephone, radio and TV. "Why would I want to be interrupted by ringing bells during tea time, darling?", "Why would I want to host foreign people's voices in my living room?", "Why would I sit and watch movies instead of reading books or listening to the radio"? and so forth.
Of course, many more WWIs were probably asked about products or innovations that nobody really needed, ending up in history's garbage. God knows how many insomniac nights did I spend in front of some TV shopping channels, ending up not buying any innovative mop, because why would I need one. Better recollection now reminds me that I didn't have a nickel to spare that time, but that another issue.
But once a truly innovative product is adopted, no one questions it. WWI is then replace with IWI, standing for "I Wish I" / "I wish It". I wish I was able to call friends without the need for a human operator in the middle. I wish I could carry it with me everywhere. I wish it had colors, not just black and white. Or, in our case, you already hear IWI for built-in camera, USB, HDMI, multitasking, you name it. And the sucker hasn't hit the stores yet.
Indeed, I have a few WWI for the iPad myself. Why would I want to have email and other push alerts when I try concentrating in a book? This is where the Kindle shines - it does one thing perfectly. No interventions, great readability, long battery life. People use other devices for email, text or other alerts, usually their phones, laptops or Netbooks. Why would I want to watch movies on it? At home I have a variety of devices just for that - a plasma screen hanging on the wall, two desktop computers and one laptop, all have great visible quality and 16:9 screens. On the go I have my iPhone, why would I? the iPad looks a bit large and heavy holding it for a long time, standing in the subway.
In business trips I will always carry a laptop with me. I need some heavy duty software, like photoshop, integrated development environments and other geek stuff, not available on an iPad. Of course, during a boring meeting, it would be a breeze to use it, but that's about it.
So why would I, indeed? The answer is in the question. Unlike mops utilizing latest NASA technologies, this one really has something into it. We don't know what exactly this thing is, but unless it's a total technological failure, which it's not, you will see people using it everywhere. Home, office and on the go. No one will ask WWI. It will just be there. Easy to use, a bit irritating with alerts during Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, a bit needy on battery life, well - a bit of everything, annoying to pleasing.
Israel's first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, said once: "I don't care about what the people wants. I know the people needs". That what some of us love in Apple. As Steve Jobs himself once said, about his Apple exile period: “It took us three years to build the NeXT computer. If we'd given customers what they said they wanted, we'd have built a computer they'd have been happy with a year after we spoke to them - not something they'd want now.”. And if he's wrong this time?
