The Apple iPad was launched on April 3^rd this year. It is described by many as the product launch of the decade. This article takes a detailed look at the strategic and product development dimensions pertaining to this unique innovation. It also unfolds a logical argument through systematic analysis based on strategic management concepts, that leadership rather than industry, company or strategic move, should be the unit of analysis for gauging future profitability.

Kim & Mauborgne (2005) have suggested that the stra- tegic move, not the company, be used as a unit of analy sis for determining future profitability, and they have recommended a framework for ensuring sustained profitability through the creation of uncontested market space. However, analyzing strategic moves is essentially a post facto exercise and is therefore of historical rather than prescriptive significance. This article suggests that since strategic moves are made by the company's leaders, it would be more appropriate to consider leadership and not the company or the strategic move as an indicator of sustained competitive advantage. This is because a strategic move is a conscious decision of the leadership, whatever framework they use (or do not use) for making that decision. Even though the choice of a particular leader does not guarantee the right strategic move all the time, it does provide cues to the future profitability of a company.

This article analyzes the strategies of Apple under the leadership of Steve Jobs, and discusses the latest announcement of the company - the Apple iPad. The article concludes that it would be erroneous to compare the iPad with existing mobile computing devices and pronounce it as deficient. It is not a laptop equivalent, but a device aimed at cloud computing - the future shape of computing. It also suggests that although "content", in the form of supporting software, is very important for the high-tech industry, there is another dimension to content - creativity.

With increased internet penetration and the widespread use of computers for non-business purposes, a creative dimension enters into the picture so that an MP3 file or an online game is not just a computer code, but music or entertainment. As the industry moves towards convergence, this dimension assumes greater complexity, and with it, greater differentiative significance. Apple, under Steve Jobs, has repeatedly demonstrated superiority over others in this dimension, as evidenced by the success of products like iPod and iPhone. Rivals such as Microsoft and Sony, though giants in their respective fields, have struggled lately on this dimension. As a result, their products have not been able to effectively compete with those of Apple.

Marketing Mastermind Magazine, Strategic Dimensions, Apple iPad, Product Development, Strategic Management, Mobile Computing Devices, Computer Industry, Microsoft Operating System, Blue Ocean Strategy, Internet Companies, Innovative Marketing Techniques, iTunes, Information Technology Industry.