Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak: Tablets Are For 'Normal People'

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is rooting for the iPad, which he says has been a mission for Steve Jobs' since day one.

Speaking to a gathering of engineers at Storage Networking World in Santa Clara, California, Woz told his audience that tablets were intended for the average consumer.

"The tablet is not necessarily for the people in this room," he said, according to Computer World. "It's for the normal people in the world."

He said the iPad had been Steve Jobs's ultimate goal since Apple Inc. was founded in 1976.

"But," Woz recalled, "it was just hard to get there, because we had to go through a lot of steps where you connected to things, and (eventually) computers grew up to where they could do ... normal consumer appliance things."

The Woz also addressed the fierce competition that has arisen from the iPad's competitors built on Google's Android platform.

"I read today that Android tablets are expected to surpass iPads, and I hope that never happens," Wozniak said.

Wozniak has expressed similar sentiments in the past. In 2010, he said he was "saddened" by Apple's and Google's rivalry.

"I love Google but I'm afraid it has the chance to of becoming the the Microsoft of the future," he said at the time. "You remember how Microsoft used all of their ownership of the operating system to take over the browser."

To read more from Wozniak's recent keynote address, visit Computer World.

Comments

[Zora Daly]

02:39 AM on 05/18/2011

All you need in life is at GadgetTown.com, where a huge number of gadget products are provided, such as Tablet PC supplies with free shipping at www.gadgettown.com/Tablet-PC/.

[Rich Phitzwell]

06:25 PM on 04/08/2011

Some make the claim Apple has become the MS of yesteryear a while ago. I keep watching the 1984 commercial and looking at all of apples white little devises in their white little stores all running the same way with Apple getting into a hizzy anytime someone modifies the devise after purchasing it...no connection at all to the commercial...

[robodawa]

07:09 PM on 04/07/2011

These iPads are not unlike the books maintained by the precognitive Kalends in Phil DIck's "Galactic Pot Healer". Would love to know the books Woz and Jobs were reading in the 70's.

[hagagaga]

09:14 AM on 04/07/2011

I'm glad I'm not a normal person. The marketing genius Steve remained with Apple when the computer genius Steve should have.

[JohnTheMac]

11:07 AM on 04/08/2011

It was a fantastic duo. They really needed each other to get to where they are.
Without Wozniac, Jobs would have probably made a fortune in Amway.
Without Jobs, Wozniac would have had a nice career in HP, (until Carly laid him off), and had a really cool garage. We would still be using punch cards or something! LOL

[AllyCat7]

02:19 AM on 04/07/2011

Guess I'm not normal then. lolz

[Jason Priestley]

01:38 AM on 04/07/2011

The internet in general is for physically deformed people who want to have 'friends' without facing well...without facing.

[tigerianwinter]

12:48 PM on 04/06/2011

I agree with WOz in terms of Google's future state. The way Google approaches Android is the same business model that Microsoft approached the PC market with their software configurations. Numerous packages of the same product: Ultimate version, Student version, Home version, business version, etc. Although it makes good business sense in the midterm to approach and industry like this, it ultimately leads to either an irrelevancy situation like M$ as it can't seem to innovate properly, or you spread yourself too thin like GM and have to make HUGE restructuring commitments. All the way, competitors smile and leave you behind while you play catch up to get bloated all over again. It isn't a sound long term strategy.

Alternatively, BMW and Apple have been doing exceedingly well and they do not attempt to monopolize all markets. They stick to what they are good at, expand vertically to keep their products fresh and appropriate capital to innovate smoothly. These are companies that go the distance. Which is why they are my 2 favorite brands!

Hopefully Google's restructuring will help to change their mentality of doing business like this. They need to pull themselves together. I would LOVE to see two Apple-like companies duking it out in the market place.

[AllyCat7]

02:23 AM on 04/07/2011

Not everyone can be niche. Just by definition, you have to have non-niche companies in existence in order to have a niche company.

[rbergen]

04:57 AM on 04/06/2011

Woz's and Jobs' 70's notion of a tablet computer reminds me of the Dynabook conceptional study of Alan Keys at Xerox PARK, the idea being to develop a computer that is no larger than a paper notepad, low-priced and with few parts.

[Maschine]

11:14 PM on 04/07/2011

Xerox dropped the ball big time. Their research at PARK was second to none .

[JohnTheMac]

11:08 AM on 04/08/2011

PARC?
Palo Alto Research Center?

[v eyepete]

03:51 AM on 04/06/2011

Thank you Apple-ington Post.

[IronLogic]

01:54 AM on 04/06/2011

What I don't get about Apple fans is how defensive they get about a company which is really restrictive. There are pros and cons to why you like what you like, but I've heard some really simple questions come out of Apple consumers mouths. Questions like "How do you hook up the ipad?" "Can you change the battery?" and other things like this. If the "It just works" ideology means Apple products are designed for least intelligent among us, then I'd rather not support Apple and it's "Don't think, we'll do the thinking for you mentality".

[666dorado]

02:20 AM on 04/06/2011

the same people would have just as many questions asking "how do you configure an internet connection" in windows 7.

"can you change the battery" is a sales problem, and is different than "how can you change the battery", which like in high tech automobiles, is not meant for the average consumer to do.

the hi tech batterys they use in ipads and macbook airs are not removable because in order to make the machine super light and thin, they have the battery cells fit into whatever available space they can, and they typically don't have the "duracell" easy to change shape.

not to mention a device so tightly packed is not meant for the average person (who probably barely knows how to use it) to open up and damage components and void the warranty.

i don't say this as an apple fan, i say this as someone who worked in retail and for many years sold very intricate equipment, so i understand these things from a manufacturers point of view.

[stopgeorge]

02:27 AM on 04/06/2011

"how can you change the battery", which like in high tech automobile­s, is not meant for the average consumer to do.

-----------------------------------

It takes me 2 seconds to change my battery on my Samsung smartphone. ANYBODY can do it. Apple chose not to give that advantage to the user, however.

The Samsung smartphone is 9.9 mm. The iphone is 9.3 mm. I gladly would sacrifice that 0.6 mm thickness knowing that I can buy another battery for the Samsung for $15.

[Yank in France]

03:06 AM on 04/06/2011

I love it, a guy who calls himself "iron logic" opens begins and opens a text criticizing Apple users for their appreciation of a simpler operating system.

You can call me "fanboy" (why never fangirls?) all you want, but my computer-related life has improved immeasurably since I went Mac. Sorry you don't like it, but at least you have a venue here to vent your frustration against all those "stupid" MDs, lawyers, graphic artists and others who are delighted to use a product that helps them to their main line of work or interest as opposed to being a constant distraction!

[IronLogic]

12:26 PM on 04/06/2011

I don't remember calling anyone a fanboy, I think those are idiotic terms. I'm not frustrated or venting either. If you like what you like go forth with it, it's your money. Utilizing the commentary section to get overly emotional on an opinionated post is trivial because your going to do whatever you want. You just proved my point about how defensive some Apple users get. Not to say that pc people don't either (did I cover all my bases?) Geez.

[Herkybird]

01:37 AM on 04/06/2011

Too bad Bone ers pet project is not about jobs!

[stopgeorge]

12:01 AM on 04/06/2011

You don't have to be a geek to understand the ergonomic advantages of a laptop over a tablet.

Wozniak has got it wrong.

It's not about geek vs. non-geek. It's about marketing, novelty and consumerism triumphing over smart choices.

[foomonkey]

01:07 AM on 04/06/2011

I don't agree... The tablet is an excellent form factor for consuming data. It's not good for long stretches of data entry... Sure. But put it in the hands of a doctor or nurse doing rounds in a hospital. Or a field tech doing an assessment. The tablets would have been perfect for these apps, systems that I helped develop at a previous job.
The consumerism is definitely part of its marketing, targeting music, media and games... But the real potential is still there

[stopgeorge]

01:19 AM on 04/06/2011

I actually designed medical apps for the ipad for doctors to do their rounds around the hospital.

It's good at viewing data. But you can't tell me it's a good content input device with the doctor typing with one hand.

We designed speech to text tools for the app as well -- for business requirements. But that technology is not ready for real-life use as of yet. And I don't think someone like a doctor would like to have everyone hear him as he makes an entry.

Some kind of hybrid device (laptop / tablet) would be the way to go with a doctor, IMO.

I see a lot more potential for hybrid devices than for pure tablet devices.

[therblig]

07:29 AM on 04/06/2011

why aren't doctors using tricorders by now?

[666dorado]

01:24 AM on 04/06/2011

are you kidding? laptops were a novelty at one point. tablets are just an evolution of computing.

by the way, laptop ergonomics are horrible. that's why so many people got carpal tunnel. that's why they sell laptop stands to change viewing and typing angles. and if you actually used them on your lap, the heat is especially bad on male reproductive organs.

google "bad laptop ergonomics" and you will find hundreds of articles, it's been well studied.

woz is not wrong and neither are you, it's just a matter of personal opinion. tablets perform a different function and have a different target market than desktops, smartphones and laptops. there is obviously some crossover. there's no "perfect" machine for everyone.

[stopgeorge]

01:50 AM on 04/06/2011

If you think tablets are OVERALL more ergonomically superior to a laptop, then I can't reason with you.

The keyboard design itself destroys this idea.

Smartphones at least fit in your pocket.

[rotorhead1871]

10:40 PM on 04/05/2011

apple will be just fine...BB will BB..... Google will Google and Microsoft will windows and office........and the world will go on.....

[Grokenspiel]

10:21 PM on 04/05/2011

Whenever Apple is mentioned in a HuffPost article, even tangentially, Apple haters descend like magpies to post smug, arrogant, derogatory comments about Apple. Look, we get it -- you don't like Apple or its products. So what? Apple haters and Apple fans have different mindsets -- like conservatives and progressives, and neither group can understand the other's perspective. Like in politics, computer buyers vote -- with their pocketbooks, as I did by buying an iPad 2. So, Apple haters, enjoy your Windows and Android products and we'll enjoy ours.

[666dorado]

01:13 AM on 04/06/2011

apple haters are like nosey republicans who feel the need to comment on and chastise what other people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms.

[foomonkey]

01:14 AM on 04/06/2011

Yeah, the same goes with microsoft posts. I develop windows apps but I love my iPad and I loved my android phone. It's definitely a battle, A's I just had a discussion with an apple fanboy the other day. It became a religious debate. It's annoying that you can't have a rational discussion about what ismgood about each without having to trash the other

[portabello]

12:19 AM on 04/07/2011

I wonder how common people like you and I are now?

I have windows on my desktop, iOS on my iPad, and Android on my phone.

Maybe there's room for all three. I don't understand why it has to turn into a religious argument either.

I think human beings might just be nuts.

[GhostOfFDR]

09:45 PM on 04/05/2011

I respect Woz's engineering skills, but he's being both a company spokesperson and far too generous to Jobs. I'd like to see one piece of paper from Apple with a drawing or description of a tablet computer dated 1975. Jobs is an idea man and was certainly thinking about computers for everyone, but he was thinking about desktop computers for everyone not handheld touch sensitive tablets.

In fact I'd like to see a description of one from anyone that can be dated prior to the introduction of the PADD on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

[nhfarmer]

10:29 PM on 04/05/2011

And, as we know from the Donald Duck Ping Pong ship-raising patent case:
http://www.iusmentis.com/patents/priorart/donaldduck/
The animators and scifi writers own the future.
I am glad they are not filing patent applications on their content.

[SuperMacGuy]

10:30 PM on 04/05/2011

How about the "pads" that Kirk wrote on, in the 60's original Trek? Some kind of tablet to read some data, he signs it with a pen or something, the yeoman walks off screen.

[GhostOfFDR]

01:00 PM on 04/06/2011

I had always visualized those as a device using a scroll of paper rather than something electronic.

[JohnTheMac]

12:08 PM on 04/08/2011

Of all TV shows, Star Trek had the biggest tech influence. People were even amazed at how the doors opened automatically, which we all take for granted at the grocery store, right?
All the actors got so much fan mail from people who watched as kids, and were influenced to get into science and engineering.
Funny though, there wasn't really an "IT Dept" on Star Trek. It was like everyone knew a bit about programming, or the devices "just worked". (Maybe Apple ends up winning the war? LOL)