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Doritos are running a competition at the moment called “Make an Ad. Make a Fortune.” The challenge is to create a 30 second television commercial advertising Doritos. Their judges will pick the top 3, and Australia will then vote for their favourite.
We decided to enter it for a bit of fun. And the chance to make a fortune too, of course.
Around 5 packets of Doritos (and a chunk of post production and editing) later, we had our final ad! You can watch (and vote for) it here. However, if you want to see Craig gagging on milk-sopped Doritos, you'll have to watch the bloopers below :)
We couldn’t have done it without the filming assistance of James Field Photography and the music kindly provided by Nathan Leigh Jones. So a big thank you to you both.
Anyway, it's not guaranteed we’ll make a fortune. But we're pretty sure it was worth it just to make Craig eat soggy doritos.
If Craig's face appears next to an iPad one more time, people might start to think that he comes as part of the iPad package!
Or not.
Here he is in The Advertiser once again though.
(click on the above image to view it at a reasonable size)
While Craig doesn't want everyone to think he's permanently attached to the iPad, we are hoping that people are starting to recognise Enabled as an iPad Developer in little old Adelaide.
Anyway, what about you? Is the iPad the apple of your eye?
Well it seems that the not-so-humble iPad is a popular subject at the moment. Enabled have featured in The Advertiser three times in the last few weeks.
In case you missed us, we've replicated the articles here :)
Number One
The first one was about how we're partnering with Youthlink to use the iPad to assist youth battling mental difficulties:
Number Two
The second time we got quite a bit more space... perhaps as we were nearing the imminent arrival of the iPad in Australian stores?
(click on the above image to see it at a readable size)
Number Three
And last, but definitely not least, this picture made it on to the third page (in fact, Craig's hands even made it onto the first page)!
(click on the above image to see it at a readable size)
After a few weeks of holding the iPad in our hot little hands, I went around the office asking everyone for their thoughts and impressions. Then I compiled the most interesting of them here to save you reading the not-so-interesting ones.
In A Sentence
“If you compare it to an iPod Touch, it looks like a giant iPod Touch... but if you compare it to a Kindle, you’ll get an iPad.” - James
I think that’s the best summary of the iPad I’ve heard (having said that, we haven’t been able to read any books on it yet because the book app hasn’t been made available in Australia).
Pleasant Surprises
The screen is beautiful and clear, which isn’t surprising, but we were all amazed by how well it upscales iPhone apps and YouTube videos. Having been blown up to around four times their original size, they really look better than they have any right to.
The iPad is also impressively fast, and Grant commented that it actually does offer the best web browsing experience he’s ever had. Navigating the page with a sweep of your fingers is so much nicer than using the scroll bar of a mouse, and it’s also far easier to navigate sideways and zoom in and out. Coupled with the bigger screen, the whole experience becomes a lot more pleasurable and intimate, and as silly as it seems, it really does make you feel closer to the action.
After a little persistence, the keyboard is surprisingly usable, especially with it’s clever auto-correction system. Not having the tactile feedback of the keys depressing under your fingertips can take some getting used to, but if you persevere, you’ll be rewarded by being able to comfortably touch type on your iPad.
The Annoying Bits
If you’re starting to whimper because you don’t have an iPad yet, take heart, we did find some room for improvement.
A small, but rather irritating thing is that the unlocking slider repositions itself according to the orientation of the iPad (portrait, landscape both ways, and even upside down). This means you have to chase the slider around, when really it should always be right next to the home button - like the iPhone’s slider is.
While the speaker is very good, it’s still a mono speaker. The device is big enough to have speakers on both ends, so we’re voting for stereo speakers.
The iPad also allows you to bar specified apps from being used, which is a handy feature if you’re giving it to your kids to play with, and I’m sure educational institutions will be pleased about it too. However, once you’ve barred an app, it disappears from the desktop. You can of course go back into your settings and unlock it so that you can use it again, but it can become a bit of an arduous process. Ideally, the barred apps would stay on the desktop, but ask for a password when selected.
The last annoying thing we found, is that so far we’ve been so busy developing apps for the iPad, that we haven’t had as much time to play with it as we’d like.
Carrying it Around
The iPad is heavier than it looks, but still comfortable to handle. It is nicely shaped, with a matte finish to make it less slippery than iPhones and iPod Touches.
Having said that, it is still a little scary to carry around unprotected, so we’d recommend getting a folder to keep it in.
One thing we noticed is that the screen gets quite dirty, and it’s a lot more noticeable on the larger screen of the iPad. So keep your soft cloth handy.
Finally, while the WiFi version is great on the coffee table at home, or in the office, if you’re wanting to use it on the road, or for meetings etc, you really need to get the 3G. Otherwise you’re going to find yourself very frustrated when you lose half of it’s capabilities as soon as you leave the home or office.
Is It Really Magical and Revolutionary?
So overall, we’ve been pretty impressed with the iPad, but is it really ‘magical and revolutionary’?
It’s an interesting question, because at the moment the iPad is still trying to figure out where it fits in. However, we believe that the most exciting and interesting uses of the iPad are those that haven’t been invented yet.
For example, one of the apps we’re working on now is going to assist mental health workers to connect with youth battling mental difficulties (you can read more about it here). The workers are really excited about it, but it’s likely to be just the first innovative step of many. We suspect the way iPad ends up being used will be a far throw from the uses that first come to mind.
So think bigger than entertainment, business and networking, consider health, education and more. And don’t be too surprised if, 6 months from now, you find yourself buying an iPad (even after vowing not to!) to access that new killer app.
Well, to be honest, we’re not entirely sure if this beautiful iPad is the first in Australia or not. But it’s definitely the first iPad to be hand-delivered by the Los Angeles based Australian film and television composer, Robert J Kral, best known for his work on the TV series Angel...
It’s common knowledge that our Director, Grant Hull, has a flair for the dramatic, which lends itself handily to the video work we do, but the fact we were about to get an iPad was completely uncommon knowledge for the rest of the Enabled team. Until we got the following MMS that is.
“See what you make of this...”
Robert Kral is on the left and, our director, Grant Hull is on the right.
They kind of look like all their Christmases have come at once.
Turns out Grant had manufactured a fake enquiry and ‘business meeting’ to catchup with Robert when he arrived in Adelaide to visit family.
So excuse me while we go drink celebratory wine and play with the iPad, and hopefully not spill the celebratory wine on the iPad! At least you can simply wipe off the keyboard...
We’ll touch back with our initial impressions soon. In the meantime... we might actually get to play with some of the iPad apps we’re developing. We’ll let you know how that goes too :)
Grant Hull, Director of Enabled, was asked to be interviewed by Ita Buttrose for Qantas' "Talking Business" segment of their inflight entertainment.
Topics included real business solutions, a strategy for businesses to stay abreast of rapidly changing technology, and the possible future of technology.
Listen to it inflight next time you’re flying with Qantas, or now on Qantas’ website.