I Finally Cracked It

After seeing the recent iPad announcement, I had a thought: What if our understanding of what Steve Jobs said in Walter Isaacson’s Biography is a little skewed in regards to “an integrated television set that is completely easy to use.” I believe it is bigger than just a hardware/software based solution, I believe we are on the verge of a bigger shift.

In the nineteen-seventies, a handful of people were crazy enough to believe that computers would be personal and that we would have them in our homes. Prior to that in the age of radio, only a few thought that Television would succeed and dreamt that families would have multiple Color Television sets in their homes. A few years ago, after many failed attempts, only a few were able to shift personal computing to a Tablet device - the iPad. It has changed the way we consume and produce.

I grew up in a time when houses had a landline phone and television set(s). My televisions first had antennas and then cable service to provide channels for my consumption. At present many homes don’t have landline phones anymore (even VoIP phones from cable companies). Homeowners opt to just use cell phones since coverage is generally good and long distance is a moot point. However, most homes still have television sets and content providers cable or satellite, but I predict as tablets and other personal computing devices become more user friendly in comparison with the traditional computer at a desk model, the market’s use of television is shifting.

What if that integrated television set that Steve Jobs mentioned is the iPad (with an Apple TV box for traditionalists)? I watch more video on my iPad than I do my Television or my Computer combined. I can access content from numerous sources - YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix and others. The device has changed the way I consume media, and if I am at home I can easily play content out via AirPlay to my AppleTV and broadcast on my TV. It already is completely easy to use, however, I believe the integrated shift is bigger than just the hardware/software layer. I believe the integrated television set that was mentioned is a shift in the way that we use television. It is similar to the shift that took computers from mainframes to personal, from cellphones to smartphones*.

Apps are content channels. Netflix, YouTube and other similar Appss have shifted the model of consumption from the surfing to interactive.MLB.com at Bat has proven that direct distribution can work for original content creators. It also bypasses the annoying regional filters that broadcast sports on television face. This is the type of shift that Apple has long awaited, it signals the end of digital empires that control what content is broadcast to what screen. It is a similar shift to what iTunes has pioneered with the Music Industry. I think this is the beginning of what Steve meant. The sheer volume of 25 billion app downloads shows that the platform is completely easy to use. I think that when he said “I finally cracked it” he saw something similar to what he saw when he first started Apple: a major shift in consumer behavior and an opportunity to build a platform. We are at an intersection in terms of television consumption and personal computing and I think what Apple has in store is more than just a hardware/software layer change. I think they have something much bigger in store, and I don’t mean in terms of Television screen real estate.

*simply used for brevity’s sake.