The Apple iPad

We're thinking ... Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

The iPad is probably the one piece of technology i have most looked forward to. Apple have a history of bringing out devices that both capture the imagination and change the shape of how things are done.

When the Apple #Newton first came out I couldn't justify the expense of buying one, however 10 years later while browsing the Vintage Computing section on ebay i came across one. Even 10 years later the device was still exciting to look at and use.

So with the background of Newton, iPod, iTouch, and iPhone you can imagine my excitement when I realised that a new device was being released. And all indications were that it was going to be an "iSlate". 

The scheduled release date dragged around, but finally 27th arrived. I  was on the #engadget website watching them post what was happening. Steve popped up on stage and the announcements from there on came thick and fast.

Here's the headlines: 9.7" LED multi-touch display; 1024x728; 16gb, 32gb, 64gb flash drive; 1GHz custom Apple processor; WIFI, Bluetooth; GPS; 3G (selected model)

More interesting than the raw specifications were the presentation video clips. Here we see how the device may work in the wild. We're basically looking at a super-sized iTouch/iPhone with the benefit of the Apple App Store with over 150,00 applications available.

I love using my paper based note pads but being a bit of a tech guy i've tried to switch to ultra-small computers (HP LX95, Psion 3/3a/3c/5, Panasonic C5) but I never managed to get any of these to work. The iPad brings together a lot of the best features of the earlier devices as well as adding a whole new set. It remains to be seen if it can beat paper with it's simple, intuitive and enjoyable interface!

20th May - Having had time to reflect on the iPad announcement I'm now seeing the  iPads as being the personal computer that people carry around to access their email, facebook and music/video where ever they are. They could be at work updating their todo's for home, coordinating calenders etc. It just remains to be seen if the form factor is one that actually works?