Apple finally launched its much touted tablet 10 days ago and many were unhappy that Jobzilla decided to call it iPad and not iSlate, which would have sounded more stylish. Some observers were also disappointed that the device that created so much pre-launch hype had shortcomings on aspects such as multi-tasking, display quality, etc.

At the same time, most seemed happy that the device would be converging a number of functions, mainly those of the e-reader, the media player and the netbook, for which one had to otherwise depend on multiple devices.

But more than anything else, one single thing that has apparently brought cheer to various consumer segments is that the gadget would be priced surprisingly low, for an Apple. Some reports have said the entry-level model in India would cost less than Rs 25,000, including taxes.

The obvious explanation that comes to mind is that Apple is keen to shed its premium-only image in favour of one that would help it reach out to much wider consumer segments. It also means that it would be playing more of a volume game than a niche game at the device level.

All this makes sense in today’s convergence market place, isn't it?

And yet, it all sounds so unlike-Apple…

There indeed has to be more to the iPad and its pricing than what meets the eye. And that more can’t be just certain evolved versions of iPad, which one is sure Apple would anyways need to work at.

The ‘more’ has to be beyond just a piece of hardware, and so it has to be about a service…and it has to be about an experience too!

Logically speaking, it’s the service and the associated experience that Apple should be aiming for.

And that only can be a game changer!

How? In an earlier piece in this very column, I had discussed about five categories of the infotainment consumers — speaker, listener, viewer, writer and reader — and the problems they faced in meeting their multiple needs when working with a budget typically capped at Rs 25k.

Now, the iPad pricing could address the problem, though still minus the traditional telephony function.

But as we discussed, the device itself is not the game changer; it’s the enabler. More significant will be Apple’s ability to bring about a diverse variety of infotainment content to the consumer as service.

Call that infotainment-as-a-service, which rides and leverages an ecosystem of music providers, movie rights houses, books and magazine publishers, Internet service providers, and of course, the device that accesses all this and more — the iPad.

(Infotainment-as-a-service is part of the wider paradigm now commonly called everything-as-a-service, from software, to hardware and infrastructure. )

So Apple’s game still remains about value; just that the value no longer lies so much in the device as in the content that is provided as a service, over the device.

The concept has already worked very well in the area of music and Apple has nearly mastered that with its hugely successful iPod and the associated online music store iTunes.

Amazon’s e-reader Kindle has also been a great proof of the concept, with consumers embracing it widely. More than 400,000 titles are reportedly available over the Kindle e-reader.

The concept got broadened with the opening of App Store almost one-and-a-half years ago, and with the launch of the iPad, it could very well be on a take-off strip!

Deepak Kumar