This past week I was laying in a hospital bed recovering from surgery and I decided to turn on one of my favorite online apostolic video broadcasts. I have made a habit of watching the services from this particular website for several years and have been very blessed.

However this past week it was different. I tried to tune in as usual but they had decided to change the video format and it just wasn’t as good. The video content was choppy. It kept timing out. A couple of times I had to reboot my computer because it froze the screen, and truthfully I started wondering if I was going to be able to watch them anymore.

The pastor came on and mentioned that they were doing some updates to their website and in trying to keep up with technology they had decided to host their video feeds elsewhere, and were planning to have the services broadcast live for iPhone and iPad. I sent them an email about how degraded their content was, but they never responded back. I am hoping that they can fix it, but I have to say that their tech and design people have made a huge mistake in changing the usual windows media format for their online webcast. And this is the reason why…

Breaking down the iPad

I realize that right now iPads are all the rage. It is the newest ‘cool’ technology. On street corners, in bus terminals, on airplanes, and even in some church pulpits, the usual laptop, paper notes, or other formats have rapidly been changed to those who have this idea that the newest toy is the best. The majority of them are also the same people who have bought each new version of iPhone, Macbook, or other apple product. There is even an ideology that somehow having apple products that you have the best there is and many are willing to pay the high prices multiple times even when the technology hasn’t changed that much. It has become a church-like social group or perhaps even a cult.

Lets break it down though. From a design standpoint the iPad looks cool. It is lightweight, easy to hold in your hands, and already developers have made hundreds of applications to work on it. That is applications, not software, because unknowingly to many, the iPad is not a computer.

I realize some would disagree and they have their reasons, but from a technology standpoint the iPad is missing many of the key elements that would make it a must have for most people.

First, there is no keyboard. Yes, it does have a touch screen keyboard, but the average person needs the feel of the keys in order to type quickly. So, for most it would not be any good for any sort of data entry.

Second, there is no stylus, or even software for drawing available unless you want to use just your finger, and as a designer, that just wouldn’t cut it. You cannot do precise enough edits or touch ups with your fingertip regardless of what videos they show you. There is also no handwriting ability, even without recognition software. You can do a better job on some android phones than you can with an iPad.

Third, there is no video or camera component built it. Almost every computer you buy now has a built in webcam whether you buy a desktop, laptop, or netbook. Even the newer generation of televisions are coming out with built in video capabilities so that you can talk to family, friends, or perhaps do business and do a live video fee. Even most cell phones have built in cameras and video cameras that can take high resolution photos for you to share. Yet, somehow in the design process of the iPad they didn’t think a webcam was necessary.

The list could go on and on from no usb port without a special adapter you have to purchase separately, no hardware to even play a video on the iPad unless you download it online. Simply put, the iPad is just a reader with games, and internet capabilities. Its usability factor is just not there for most people. There will come a time when handheld touchscreen computers will exist and be a part of our everyday lives, but for now, the iPad is just a fad. It isn’t even a beta version of what is coming though, by then we will speak to the computer like they do on science fiction shows.

The souls factor of iPad

If you are still reading you may be wondering what all the tech perspective has to do with whether or not your church website should be available using iPad technologies.

With the way technology and the internet is changing, even the most ugly, poorest designed websites are live online, even on your current cell phone if you have a data plan.

While it seems nearly everyone wants an iPad or iPhone, the truth is not very many people actually have one. Number one, anything apple makes is very expensive for the average person.

Right now the price for even the cheapest iPad is about $500. If you are an apple fan you can get the brand new MacBook Air for around $1250, or you can use a windows based computer and get the same speed, bigger hard drive, bigger screen, and much more software for about $600. If you are not a tech person, you can get other laptops that you can do your emailing, social networking, video watching, etc. for around $350. If you go with a netbook, you can cut about $150 off that price. We are in a recession and most people cannot afford $500 for a reader and another $6-800 for a cell phone.

According to Fortune Magazine last week, there were 8 million iPads sold in 2010. There were 9.5 million iPhones sold. These figured are worldwide, not just U.S.

As for Windows-based computers, there was 240 million Windows 7 computers sold. I am not a fan of Windows 7, I still prefer Vista and XP, but the fact remains that the huge majority of people are still buying Windows-based computers.

If you go into a coffee shop probably one person out of everyone in there will have an iPad, unless you are in a tech region. Most libraries and schools still use Windows computers,and some are open to the general public who may not have a computer.

I have never in my life seen so many people begging for help on the street and I can guarantee you that they do not have an iPad or they would be selling it for food or to pay bills. We are in a hard recession, and the likelihood is that in the next year it will turn into a full blown depression. People are losing their homes, their health, and divorces are on the rise from so much stress in just day to day life. I hardly think that any of them would give up their bed for an iPad.

I know it sounds as if I am jealous of iPad owners. I am not. I have one. I won it in a design contest. I am thinking about selling it though because honestly it really isn’t useful for me. The Peek with its texting and email capabilities is more useful for me than an iPad. And it is much more affordable.

So, back to my point. You shouldn’t let your web designer create your church site, or produce your media on a format that most people do not have. I realize they are just trying to keep current but at what price?

That soul that is homebound doesn’t have an iPhone or iPad to pull out on Sunday and hear the word of God. That saint who used to come but has had a run of bad luck isn’t going to look for his church on an iPad. That missionary in a far off land is not going to grab his iPad when it is time for church in America. That lost junkie in the boroughs of New York is not going to hear the message of God told on an iPad. He may be lucky if he even has any computer.

The bible says to ‘go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ That used to seem like such a monumental task, but now because of computer café’s widespread affordable internet, knock off computers even those in remote areas of Peru, or the Deserts of the Sudan, or perhaps even in the Kremlin or White House have access to the truth. It is our job to tell them, and now we have the ability to do so without having to ‘go.’

It cost less than an airplane ticket to broadcast your service live online. Actually it is probably closer to the cost of what you will have for lunch on Sunday afternoon. The message and technology has made it finally really reachable to the uttermost parts of the world.

Again, according to Fortune Magazine, statistics say that apple computer products; cell phones, laptops, iPads only has a 25% market share of the United States.

But no, lets design for the 8 million using the iPad and forget about the 7.5 billion who don’t. Without a vision the people perish.

Would Jesus have used an iPad? Don’t design for the fad. Use today’s technology to preach the old fashioned gospel.