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I look at the cheapest [iPad] as the best value because it comes out before the 3G model, and given it’s a new platform I wouldn’t be eager to spend extra on a first generation/Revision A model. If spending monthly for the 3G service is no problem to you, I’d wait and get the cheapest 3G model when they come out.

From kevin.tumblr.com, in response to a question of which iPad is the best value.

Also, if you live in NYC, 3g is going to barely work anyway - so why spend the extra money on that model?

The iPad and the Future of the Web

Much of the debate about the iPad has revolved around the meme that Apple has purposely set out to kill Flash, and by extension, Adobe. Comments that Steve Jobs made a few days after unveiling the iPad further encouraged the spread of this idea, with an all-out social-media-war opening up between Web Standards advocates, Flash and Flex developers, Apple fans, and everyone else with an opinion and an internet connection. I’ve read a lot of these articles, and the wildly-diverging opinions of people I respect has been of particular interest. After considering the merits of the various arguments, I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve all missed the point: the iPad isn’t about the battle of HTML 5 and Flash; it’s about the browser.

Taking aside the vitriolic comments that Jobs (and some Apple fans) have made about Flash, let’s assume that the iPad, like the iPhone, will never have Flash installed. What is the user experience in Apple’s perfect world?

1) Web browsing - performed through Safari. Mobile Safari, based on the open-source Webkit, would be Flash free and optimized for websites with HTML 5, CSS 3, and h.264 video. Apple’s ideal user would use Safari for perusing document-based sites - CNN, Wikipedia, friends’ blogs, whatever. These sites are fairly static - checking out a single video, reading a few articles or blog posts. For anything more complex, Apple wants its iPad users to download…

2) Apps - Standalone applications, downloadable through the App Store. From Apple’s point of view, anything more complicated than a fairly-static, document based site should go here. And it’s not just a matter of games and media vs textual content - the NYTimes is one of the premier App Store apps. MLB layers video and content. Facebook’s app allows for a more multi-touch optimized exploring than its site through mobile Safari. Cynics rightly see this approach as driving editorial (and financial) control to Apple, but that motivation aside, Apple’s argument boils down to the following: “User experiences that require stateful or rich interactions should exist outside of the browser, and should be optimized for the platform on which they are being used.”

So. “Rich User Experiences” should live out of the browser, and ideally should exist natively on the client. Where have I heard that before… wait, what was that Air thing Adobe has been working on?

From Apple’s point of view, Flash is moot. Web browsing is a fairly passive experience that should be based around open standards (and, to be frank, a video codec that works in their favor) - which means no Flash, and if that means a faster and less-bug-prone browsing experience, all the better. Anything more complicated than that should (in Apple’s view) live in an App, and I doubt Apple truly cares if that app is written in Obj-C, or in Flash or C# compiled to iPad compatible bytecode.

In this scenario, Adobe is far from dead - it actually is placed in a very strong position, if it can execute properly. Flash (and for me, Flex) can become *the* best way of creating rich applications for any client, either via Air, or by compiling Flash apps to run as an iPhone/iPad app.

No, this battle isn’t between Apple and Adobe… it’s Apple and Google. Go take a look at the concept videos for Google’s rival tablet. Notice the difference? In Google’s world, EVERYTHING is in the browser. Google’s ideal user experience is diametrically opposed to Apple’s.

This isn’t a battle of web technologies. It’s a battle for the future of user experience.