The biggest news this week (and probably next week and the following weeks) is, of course, the iPad. Apple’s much talked about tablet computer. Back in January, before the iPad was announced, I posed the question of whether or not we have enough room in our technology-filled lives for a tablet device. Between our smartphones that keep getting more features and our laptops where we do the bulk of our work, the answer was an overwhelming “no.”

Steve Jobs revealed the iPad to be what many concluded -  just a large iPod touch. Despite quickly demonstrating three stripped down versions of iWorks, the iPad was abruptly dismissed as a device for productivity. Many found fault with being able to touch-type with the iPad’s on-screen keyboard. No one wanted to have to pay $70 for an iPad keyboard. Our opinions were based solely on those who had actually seen the device and played with. Apple had also been tightly guarding the few iPads they let developers look into.

On Saturday, April 3, 2010, Apple’s revolutionary “magical” iPad started to arrive via UPS to customers who pre-ordered it. I stopped by the Meatpacking District’s Apple Store in NYC to check out the mythical device. Queuing up in line, Apple staff handed out complimentary bottles of Smart Water for waiting so patiently. I got there around 1pm and was in the store in less than five minutes. No long lines, nothing. I imagined that the real buzz was happening at Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue store and perhaps even the SoHo store. I got up to the second floor and waited a few minutes before the person in front of me finished playing with the iPad so I could get a nice go at it. Now that I’ve actually held and played with an iPad, I have to say that this device emits “BUY ME” almost immediately. No kidding. Even my friend, a skeptic on it’s capabilities, was immediately in love.

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For all you Apple aficionados, we’re down to the last few hours. Thus begins the hardest part, waiting the less than 24 hours away from the  ”big release.” To some of you, it’s like following the Dead on tour; you’ve done it enough to know the ins-and-outs. For others, this may be your first time.  A word of wisdom – always assume the product is going to be bad so that you don’t get shocked into unconsciousness. Plus, if it’s not that bad, you’ll have something to feel good about. If you have an iPhone, assume it will be the same but much more intense; Apple isn’t releasing a new product, but feels they’ve found the missing link. Remember that you can always walk away.

The iPad is a curious gadget; while it’s not really a tablet PC, it’s not an e-reader, iPhone, or iPod, either. Wait! I’ve got it. The iPad is the bridge between your phone and your computer.  The iPad is really a new species – a hybrid, if you will – integrating much of the activities for which we use phone or computer.  I think that it started off as an iPod but didn’t want to become a full fledged laptop.  In a way, the iPad is like a utility baseball player; they can play every position, but their not focused on one particular position.  In case you were wondering, Apple refers to the iPad as an “Internet Tablet.”

Before rushing to the store, or getting irritated by yet another gadget, the iPad does have some impressive standard features. Off the shelf (if it even makes it to the shelf), the iPad will be decked out with the following features:

• iPod and iTunes Store. iPad will sync just like an iPod
• Safari (web browser) and E-mail
• Photo and video storage
• YouTube Application
• The App Store (of course) as well as Apple’s new iBooks and iBookstore
• Maps, Notes, Calendar, Contacts, and Spotlight (desktop search)

The iPad was not created to replace your phone, but it can if necessary by using a Bluetooth headset to place calls over WiFi or 3G using VoIp protocols. Everything is touch-pad sensitive, just like the iPhone.

I’d tend to think that with the speed of technology, waiting might be the best gambit, although I do have to admit that “having it first” is a narcissistic pleasure that somehow defies logic. Yet, first isn’t always best. There are bound to be software bugs mixed in a with healthy dose of user stupidity. Lets not forget all of the other sordid details a new product release brings, like arguments, pushing, fights, disgruntled customers and similar crap. We’re buying iPads to make our lives easier, but we’ll take a couple of shots at our neighbor to do so – all our work towards civility, kindness, love thy brother, and peace all goes down the drain when you’re between me, and what I want. I will fricking kill you if you get in the way of making my life more fluid and urbane. That’s right. I will kill you. (If you happen to meet this person, let them have the iPad. People have been robbed at gun point for a Tickle Me Elmo.) Read the rest of this entry »

At 1PM PST on January 27th, Steve Jobs took the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts theater. After years of anticipation and a year of daily speculation that kept every techie on their toes, Jobs was set to change the world again in the same way he did with the iPod and iPhone. He wasted no time in telling us that the device would be called iPad.

The iPad reveal fell short. Nearly every feature and rumor that the internet spread about the iPad didn’t pan out. Steve Jobs asked himself whether or not there was a market between a smartphone and a notebook computer and if there wasn’t, the device need not exist. Jobs said that in order for that device to exist, it needed to do certain tasks better than a netbook. Clearly he wasn’t listening to himself because most would agree that the iPad doesn’t do any task much better than a netbook.

Take a few steps back and you will see that the iPad offers nothing “magical.” Like all devices, it has its shortcomings; there’s no front-facing camera for video chats, no USB ports, and no any card readers. The iPad is no more revolutionary than the iPhone or iPod touch.

This is because the iPad is a disruptor, not a revolutionizer. The goal isn’t simply to kill the Kindle – Apple wants to put Amazon out of the distribution game. That’s right, a new sheriff’s in town and it’s headed by Steve Jobs.

Look no further for evidence than the events of last week when Amazon had a falling out with mammoth publisher, MacMillan. Instead of having the iPad face Amazon’s Kindle head on (the Kindle stands no chance feature wise), Apple is breaking Amazon down, publisher by publisher. Read the rest of this entry »