Apple's IPad Underwhelming for Consumers, but Not Educators

But the company could do one heckuva end-run around the fickle and nutty consumer market and target the iPad to the public educational market (K-12). Think about it: these kids are learning on age-old analog tools: paper books, pencils, notebooks, erasers, etc. They are all going to be working in a digital world, not an analog one. If an iPad could replace a whole stack of textbooks (it can) to offering features like in-page virtual note taking, scratch pad with a stylus or even a finger, color pencil replication, etc., that kind of electronic textbook could make the iPad completely replace the analog learning experience that's becoming more outdated every year (okay, every nine weeks).

If Apple could get the cost more reasonable, just make the WiFi version of the iPad available to schools everywhere, work with school book publishers like Saxon and McGraw-Hill (MHP) to feature full electronic versions of standard textbooks (which could be updated instantly and electronically when needed), the educational market across the entire U.S. could be brought up to speed with the best tools for the times quickly and efficiently. The kids would be learning in ways that the real world live in every day and more interactive experiences could be designed so these third-graders would not have to wait until college or university to actually use a laptop in class with two-way interactivity going on during the entire class period.

That's the untold magic of the iPad nobody is talking about. The consumer market expects a one-up innovation from almost anything Apple announces and releases, and in that circle, the iPad is not being seen as a must buy from every single person this writer has talked to in the last few days. That doesn't mean there isn't a huge untapped need from a market that was not even mentioned by Steve and his partners Wednesday. To say standard public schools have cutting-edge learning tools is laughable -- iPads for everyone and the right software for learning could change that.