When I was asked to submit my thoughts about the release of the mutant iPhone tablet, otherwise known as iPad, I thought to myself: 

 “Self, how far we earthlings have come…”   

I say this because I am both excited by the promise of this new computing revolution and fearful for my Laptop/Blackberry/iPod/Kindle existence.  Who would have thought the media debate would have changed so quickly from “hard copy vs. digital” or even “online vs. installed” to a mere question of, “One web-enabled device or many?”  We have long ago abandoned the merits of physical media and all its real-world mechanics for their virtual counterparts.  The only question that remains is:

 “Do you want the king-size super combo or not?” 

In my mind, the iPad is not in competition with your eReader, smartphone, laptop or even the iPod itself.  No…the iPad is, in fact, in competition with all of them and, very fairly, losing most of those individual battles today.  But as an aggregate platform, it will most likely win the war.  There are big holes in the iPad across all these areas, some more frustrating than others.  But you will deal with them because the sum of the parts is far greater in value.  At its very best,  the iPad can become a self-sufficient universal remote for the portable consumption of any media you can dream up.  At its worst, the iPad is nothing more than a very limited netbook tablet – too weak to replace your laptop, yet too large to eliminate your single-purpose handhelds.  Here’s the blow-by-blow as I see it:

·         Not quite as comfortable as a one-handed eReader, but an incomparable full-color user experience. (Kindle draws)

·         Not quite as powerful as a laptop and no multi-tasking, but simple to use apps and fun, yet Flash-free (?!?) browsing. (Laptop wins)

·         And sorry…but just too big to replace my smartphone or iPod.  (2 points for the home team!)

In summary…yes, I believe the iPad represents a new and exciting wave of mobile personal computing, but I also think it’s mostly an unnecessary new device that is not yet complete enough to replace all the devices it must supplant to find its way into your budget.  Presently, I think the iPad is best suited to early adopters, who can justify the luxury cost for business purposes or just plain fun, and computer novices, who value simplicity over computing power.  The iPad is a great start, but may only find its true place in the computing mainstream after a second generation and some strong competition from Google and Microsoft.  While you may decide to wait for Round 2, we can all certainly appreciate the change this latest innovation will usher in. 

The digital world is upon us… Be damned you paper products, DVDs, CDs and videotapes.  You’re not even in the discussion anymore…