Social media is abuzz with how Microsoft is (again) derivative and playing the copy cat and how much “cooler” Apple is. In all of this posturing and finger pointing a few familiar photos kept cropping up and it’s sparked a revelation from my Apple days.
In Steve’s Hands
I remember watching the presentation of the first iPad launch and thinking something was odd about the placement of Steve’s hands. Something seemed so unnatural and odd. It wasn’t until I saw photos from Sunday’s presentation that I realized what Steve was up to. Look at the placement of Steve Balmer’s hands underneath the Microsoft Surface tablet. You see it again in Steven Sinofsky’s hands in the Internet explorer demo.
Everything we need to know about these products are communicated in these pictures. Steve Jobs’ iPad seems to float in the air, suspended lightly from either side. While the Surface is light enough to hold with one hand, the weight of the product is communicated in the posture of those who hold it. Those of us with an original iPad know it’s not light as a feather but Steve Job’s posture and position seem to communicate something futuristic and etherial about the iPad. In fact the iPad 1 is heavier than the Microsoft Surface but one wouldn’t know it from Steve Jobs’ posture. If this were any other technology company I wouldn’t think to analyze such a minute detail but knowing what we know about Steve Jobs I’m sure most of us wouldn’t put it past him. Did he really think about how the photos of the iPad would appear in every article published? If so it’s a marvelous coup where Steve’s able to best his competitors even from the grave.
