So a few months back, Steve Jobs (Apple) announced their new product, the Apple iPad. A 10” tablet computer running a modified iPhone OS & starting at $499. A decent price in the US (probably not so much here in the UK) and it’s launched in the US tomorrow.
A lot of people are bitching about the fact that it is just an iPod Touch with a 10” screen, and in theory, they’re right – but in reality it’s much more than that. Yes it will use iPhone Apps from the App store. Yes it can run these apps at native size or enlarged (double pixel) to fill the full 10” screen, and yes it does look like a large iPod Touch… but it will become the ‘couch gadget’ that so many families will find so very useful.
Let’s face it, for the most part, it’ll sit on your coffee table for you & your family to casually use. You may want to check your email or the TV-listings, your partner may want to check some events happening & schedule them into the calendar and your kids may want to play some games.
It’s not designed for heavy users of the web, it’s not designed to replace your desktop or laptop. It’s there for casual use.
And that’s why I want one. I dont need one, i have a laptop & an iPod touch. My wife has a netbook. Why would we need an iPad?
Ladies, and gentlemen, let me introduce my son.
He is almost 8 months old and is a very happy boy. I get home from work, and we play with toys for a couple of hours before dinner & his bath. And then we go & read a book. He stares at the pages as I read to him and he enjoys it…
But can you imagine that very same book, on the iPad? Last night, I read ‘The Very Ticklish Tiger’. Lovely pop up book so more advanced than other books, but imagine that book for the iPad.
Instead of the tiger popping up as your turned a page, it rolled onto the screen, regularly blinking & the odd purr. My son could tap the tiger on the screen and it would then roar, or meow (more child friendly). So that book has immediately become interactive.
And it’s not just books. It can be used for drawing (obviously), a whacking great big calculator, typing out homework, research on wikipedia and of course, staying in contact with friends.
So that’s why I want an iPad; it’s for my son… honest.
Previously: CoffeeApp