Fashion Contrast

A very interesting article cropped up on ReadWriteWeb on the new product from Apple the fairly (in my opinion pointless) IPad. It is below.

When consumers rush out to purchase Apple’s new handheld device, the slate-like computer called the iPad, they’ll have several options to choose from. In addition to multiple storage capacities, iPad buyers will have to make an even more critical decision: Wi-Fi or 3G? Although Wi-Fi hotspots are in many places these days, from airports to coffee shops and sometimes even blanketing a city’s downtown, anyone with an iPod Touch will tell you that they’re far from being everywhere. That problem certainly limits some of the functionality of the iPad apps, especially those relying on real-time updates for breaking news, data downloads or other Internet-only content.

Considering that the contract-free iPad 3G plan starts at $15 per month, one would think that, given these potential issues, the 3G version would be the top choice among consumers. However, AT&T’s CEO thinks otherwise. He predicts the iPad will primarily be a Wi-Fi only device. Is he right?

Too Many Subscriptions

According to a Reuters report, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson says he doesn’t expect the iPad’s launch to lead to very many new AT&T service subscriptions. “My expectation is that there’s not going to be a lot of people out there looking for another subscription,” he was quoted as saying.

He may be right. As consumers, we’re starting to hit a saturation point with how many times we have to pay – again and again – for access to the same Internet. We have our broadband bill for at home, a mobile broadband bill for our laptop’s “air card” and a third bill for our phone’s data plan. Layer on top of that the numerous subscription services for Internet-accessible content, like Xbox LIVE, Netflix (via their “Watch Instantly” service) and premium music streaming sites like Pandora, Spotify or Last.fm, and it’s clear that we’ve become overloaded. Will anyone out there be able to afford yet another wireless data plan? Apparently, AT&T isn’t counting on it.

Will You be Missing Out?

If you plan to use the iPad mainly as an eBook reader and portable media device for streaming iTunes-purchased content, then you won’t miss out too much when you go offline, which – let’s face it – when you leave the house, that will be most of the time. The majority of iPhone games, all of which will work on the iPad out-of-the-box, won’t be affected either. But what about when you want to read the newspaper or a magazine via the iPad? Without an Internet connection to download the latest, you’ll be stuck with yesterday’s news or last month’s edition of Wired. And if you wanted to quickly share something you read on Facebook or Twitter, you would be out of luck, here, too.

However, many people may be willing to live with these limitations. Just as we’ve learned to sync our iPods and iPhones before we leave the house, we may soon need to remember to update our online newspaper and magazine apps, too. For this minor inconvenience, there’s a major payoff: the monthly savings, of course, but also hundreds of dollars off the retail price of the iPad.

When the IPad hits the stores in the UK it will be interesting to see whether there is essentially a pay as you go option. Personally I cant really see the point of the device

A financial contract is all well and good when the financial climate is good. Small businesses during a recession are less likely to sign/agree long term/large contracts and for good reason. We all know how annoying it is when you sign a deal with say, a Mobile Phone or Mobile Broadband provider and a hugely better deal comes around a lot quicker than you ever thought it would. Dare I say it, if I wasn’t on an Orange Mobile Phone contract, I would almost certainly have gone for the iPhone pre 3g! But then of course, I would have been disappointed at the arrival of the 3g iphone which seems to be tonnes better.

Iphone 3G - Do I need one?

The way forward is to have the ability to ‘chop and change’, using a pay as you go system. Take for example Car Rental or Van Hire, an industry which seems to being effected by car hire shortages. Of course the BBC is talking specifically about foreign holiday based car hire brokers, but overall the shortage is seemingly crippling the industry.

Do the working’s of an industry need to change as soon as possible to allow for small companies who need the use of rental vehicles at a reasonable price to rent at a competitive rate for day to day tasks, in a pay as you go fashion, rather then having the crippling long term financial commitments a contract brings?

Tailor-made packages need to be thought through, with emphasis on being client specific and client friendly. Could this be free delivery of vehicles within a 10-20 mile radius, or huge discounts for advance payments on pre-pay vehicles? Flexibility is the key to any business needs and perhaps there should be an overall re-think in the rental vehicles market…? Thus, saving money and ensuring business work together to get through uncertain economic climates.