Apple iPad [First Impressions]

It’s official, we can now buy magic.  Bottled by our very own magician of presenting Steve Jobs Esq.  Well maybe.  Since it’s announcement I’ve been putting some thought as to why I might buy one and what I might use it for – where does it fit into my life?

Right now my digital landscape (did I just say that?) looks a little like this:  At home I have a powerful desktop with as big a monitor as I was prepared to spend money on at the time.  I have a Netbook (with 3G) which I generally carry round with me any place I go with a bag (commuting, visiting friends, holiday etc) and I have an iPhone which is always with me.

Between those 3 devices I’m generally covered for all the connectivity and functionality I desire (at the moment).  So if I did buy an iPad where does it fit or what does it replace?

The obvious answer would appear to be that the iPad is Apples Netbook in all but name.  If we take that as being the case (for the moment) and I think about how and where I use my Netbook – the iPad looks rather unappealing.  The majority of netbooking is done whilst travelling on the train.  I pull down the table in front of me sit my netbook down and write some emails, tweets, blogs – maybe have some IM conversations.  Maybe I sit back and catch up on some missed TV.  If I replace my netbook with the iPad – what’s wrong with this picture?  It’s flat.  I have to hold it up with a hand, or lay it flat on the table or pull up my knees and rest it on my lap.  If it had a stylus so I could write on it, I could buy that the issue of typing on a flat device that big goes away, but it doesn’t.

Maybe it’s not a Netbook, maybe it’s going to create a category all of it’s own and change the way we behave.  The iPhone was a game changer, but you’d hardly say it created it’s own category.  It entered a market that already existed; mobile phones with installable apps that could play music.  It just did it way better than anyone else and had the benefit of combining it with an already successful product in the iPod.

I am by no means an Apple hater (I love my iPhone) and will watch the iPad’s release with interest – but at the moment I’m having trouble coming up with an excuse to buy one.

dwynne