The Apple iPad has arrived

1. A cheaper way to surf the web, check email and watch videos
iPad is not the touchscreen version of the Macbook laptop computer. Some observers see this as a missed opportunity. I look at it as a very strategic Apple move. Exactly because it doesn't have all the features a laptop computer offers you, the iPad comes at a reasonable price. Starting at $AUS 555 for the basic model. The iPad is built for consumers and not for geeks. Basic consumers don't need complicated software. They need safe browsers, email apps, games and video applications. And now they want to read ebooks. That's the iPad. There might be some stuff missing ( no camera, no USB,...) but that's the Apple business model. Remember the first iPhones ? No video options, while most of the other mobiles at the time had the feature. What a buzz back then. No one remembers the fuss now and the ones who wrote most about it now proudly buy their third iPhone. With video.

2. It's all about apps
Back in the 90s we bought cd-roms carrying software. Today we buy Apps on iPods, iPhones and iPads. Apps allow us to read a book, play a game, connect through Facebook, listen to music, read the paper, watch tv and so much more. We mostly pay for Apps. But there's a lot for free out there. Facebook, the BBC, ...there's many apps you can download, sync and carry with you anywhere. On the iPad reading a book or a magazine will get close to the paper experience...But it will add video and changing content. We live in an App economy now. Content makers have to think the app way now. With the iPad on its way, newsrooms better hunt down the nearest iPad developer to join their team.

3. A computer for fun
As a web designer and a video producer I often hear customers sighing. Their computer does not allow them to watch video. Virus warnings give them stress. Explorer 6 can't be upgraded. And so on. Computers, in their universe, represent Work. And they come with sighing . Apple has been able to get rid of that frustration a long time ago, combining its proprietary operating system and its own hardware. With the iPad, Apple is determined to have more people making the switch. It's about switching to a user friendly computer that allows them to have fun without the fuss.
And when computers are more like your buddy for fun...The computer is about to conquer things we didn't associate with them. Like reading a book, watching tv, reading the paper or play a game...