iPad Review: 24 Hours with the iPad

After ~24 hours with the iPad, I decided to post a few 'mini-reviews' of the device, experience and applications. Here is my take on the iPad itself, with a couple more posts coming on particular apps: Background: I have the 32GB wifi iPad and also carry a Verizon Mifi card (which can act as the 3G provider for the iPad).

In short: I had very high expectations / hopes going into this ... just look a handful of my excited blog posts. The iPad exceeded my expectations by a landslide, and everyone else who came into contact with it - some Apple fanatics and some cynics - had the same excited response. I really cannot recommend the iPad enough - it will change the way you travel, interact with the web at home, and interact with branded applications.... and you will have a ton of fun using it.

Pros:

- It is a beautiful device. It looks great and feels sturdy and nice in your hands / lap. - The iPad hums. Unlike the iPhone or a regular computer, everything flies on the iPad: applications, emails, bootup, app transitions, etc. - The screen is terrific - crisp, dynamic and rich. Looking at photos and colorful websites like ESPN is a treat. - Typing is much easier than I anticipated. In landscape mode, traditional qwerty typing is doable, intuitive and fast. - Mail, calendar and contacts are much better than I expected. The apps are very intuitive and efficient - particularly navigation. - Books are outstanding... sorry Amazon, but this is a *much* better experience - there is really no comparison. - iPad-specific apps are beautiful, fast and able to take advantage of the large real-estate. More to come on this in future blog posts - but it really is a new realm of development opportunity - The speakers are far better than I expected. Normally internal laptop / cell-phone speakers are pitiful. This isn't a Bose system, but it is quite good.

Cons:

- The biggest downside is that there simply aren't a ton of iPad-specific apps yet. Running iPhone apps on the iPad is really disappointing. Of course this will change over time, but app inventory is limited. - Similarly - and this too will change - book inventory is not as deep as Amazon's. - No camera: it still bothers me that there is no front-facing camera for chat. - There are some minor UI annoyances (ie why are downloaded apps stuck on a new screen?) that I assume will be fixed in upcoming software updates.

Gorgeous Beta Launch: WordPress & VaultPress

If you're an active blogger and WordPress user, you should be excited about the new launch of VaultPress - a backup and monitoring service for your sites. Vaultpress launched this week as a Beta and has the best looking "Beta Applications" I have seen... and in the world of optimizing funnels (registration paths, purchase flows, etc), this is a great lesson in thinking about how to apply that knowledge and analysis to fuzzier aspects of the business (like the Beta launch). What can be learned?

1. It is simple and clever... all within the VaultPress brand and look 2. It cleverly captures all of the information typically requested (name, URL, etc) 3. It captures directional information that will help inform usage, customer type, etc: as examples, "How much would you pay?" and "Why would you pay?" 4. VaultPress understands the Beta applicant and therefore can intelligently invite / control the invitation process (such that they can have early users of whatever type / pattern they prefer)

Note: Polaris is an investor in Automattic (parent company of WordPress).

Android: 2% Smartphone Requests in Feb 2009, 24% in Feb 2010

AdMob's monthly mobile metrics reports provide terrific, real insights into mobile trends (hardware, software, OS, and mobile usage).The February report has two important trends that I have highlighted over the last few months:

1. Android continues to ramp and take significant market share: "Android was the fastest growing operating system in the AdMob network year-over-year. Android's share of smartphone requests increased from 2% in February 2009 to 24% in February 2010. The top five Android devices worldwide, by traffic, were the Motorola Droid, HTC Dream, HTC Hero, HTC Magic, and the Motorola CLIQ."

2. The iPod Touch and other web devices are becoming significant mobile devices... and wait until the iPad and tablets emerge

"The mobile Internet device category experienced the strongest growth of the three, increasing to account for 17% of traffic in AdMob’s network in February 2010. Although the vast majority of traffic in this category comes from the iPod touch, the category also includes devices like the Sony PSP and Nintendo DSi."

iPad Developers: Last Call for iPad Apps (March 31st)

Attention iPad developers: today is your last chance to submit applications for the iPad launch on April 3rd. According to Apple's recent developer mailings and the iPhone Dev Center, applications must be received by March 31st to guarantee a spot in the "grand opening of the iPad App Store". Of course, for marketing and distribution purposes, this represents a huge promotional opportunity and first mover advantage.

More Freemium Data: Pandora & Dropbox

More data out of the Freemium Summit and following the great insights from Evernote. Here are tidbits from Pandora and Dropbox about their freemium business models and results. More case studies and data are available on GigaOM.

Pandora Freemium product: Pandora One Premium features: higher quality streams, desktop app, no usage limits Results: 300,000 subscribers - 1.6-1.7% of monthly uniques Dropbox Premium features: Bandwidth Results: Dropbox has one of the best referral programs on the web (see my review here). The program increased signups by 60% and now drives 30% of all signups. Organization: 30% of the engineering is devoted to user acquisition

Evernote (see full write up here) Premium features: premium account, bandwidth Results: 1.8% of users (6% of active users) have converted to premium users. And Evernote has driven 50K premium subs in 28 months.

New Additions to Dogpatch Labs SF: Burbn, Cardpool, Formspring & More

I have been delinquent in updating this blog with recent additions to Dogpatch Labs San Francisco... so here are five companies that have taken home at Dogpatch Labs over the last couple months (and I'll try to provide more frequent updates!) Burbn is a new way to communicate + share in the real world.

Cardpool is a gift card exchange service where anyone can buy, sell, or trade their gift cards in a safe and secure environment.

Formspring: Ask questions, give answers and learn more about your friends..

ProfessionL centralizes all your recruitment management needs into one unified web-based software application that can be used by any business that recruits (including recruitment specialists).

Rosepad is an education platform for secondary schools.

Evernote's Freemium Insights: 1.8% Users, 6% Actives Go Premium

Attention freemium marketers: popular utility application Evernote gave a very detailed overview of their freemium business... and the data is both fascinating and within the typical band of freemium products. The major takeaway: 1.8% of users (6% of active users) have converted to premium users. And Evernote has driven 50K premium subs in 28 months. I appreciate Evernote's willingness to provide visibility into their model as it helps other freemium businesses learn and optimize accordingly; and as we know, freemium has become a productive, consumer-friendly way to monetize apps, services, social content, etc.

I encourage you to read the full article on Venturebeat... but high-level statistics are below. If you are a freemium business and are interested in analyzing your performance, KISSmetrics is a great solution (Polaris portfolio company).

- 2.7m users with 7,000 added daily - Premium accounts are $5.00 / month - Has product on iPhone, Android, Mac, PC, and web - 60% of audience is US - 50,000 paying subscribers which is 1.8% of users and 6% of actives - "The key to hanging on to older users is introducing new features." - Cost per active user is $0.09 (originally was $0.50) - Revenue per active user is $0.70 per month

Advertisers, Publishers Await iPad Launch

"Some of the things you can do are just mind blowing," says Steve Pacheco, FedEx's director of advertising. "You are taking something that used to be flat on a page and making it interactive and have it jump off the page." This is just one glowing quote, among several, in the Wall Street Journal's "Magazines Use the iPad as Their New Barker". Yesterday, I wrote about how the iPad has the opportunity to transform traditional print and reading; today's WSJ talks about how the iPad has the potential to transform the advertisements (and therefore the revenues) for print publications like Conde Nast, Hearst and Time Inc. The model seems appealing to:

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are working with test iPads, according to people familiar with the matter. Six advertisers, including Coca-Cola and FedEx, have agreed to advertise with the Journal, and a four-month ad package costs $400,000, according to these people. Coke and FedEx declined to comment on terms. The Journal plans to charge subscribers $17.99 a month for iPad subscriptions, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Ultimately it comes down to consumer appetite and distribution, but the cycle has the potential to create greater value from already-produced content:

- publishers can deliver content electronically ... and derive direct revenues from download - advertisers, who can create more compelling, engaging ads - and therefore the publishers can draw greater ad values (of course sell through is the major issue)

Whether or not the iPad transforms print, it has captured the attention and imagination of publishers and advertisers alike - and that is sparking innovation... which alone is valuable and exciting.