Is the iPad going to be another classic example of disruptive innovation for the PC in the same way that the PC disrupted the mainframe and mini computer market? It sure seems to be on the right track. The iPad doesn’t offer all the power and functionality of the PC but what it does offer is enough to make people want to use the device in similar yet different ways than the PC. You have the incumbent market leaders (Microsoft, HP, Dell etc.) downplaying the significance of the iPad yet at the same time trying to compete by offering inferior products that don’t really match the power and uniqueness of the iPad.
The PC disruption took many years to really change the landscape of computing but we didn’t have the Internet, social networking and social media that we have today so the accelerated pace that we are seeing with the iPad disruption should not be a surprise. The accelerated pace of disruptive innovation will continue to grow because we are moving from a push to a pull economy. When you consider the millions of apps in the App Store, Apples continued exploitation of the mobile market that it grew with the iPhone, mobility and the mobile market place that Apple created is poised to knock off more than just the likes of Microsoft.
