I spent this morning writing about the launch event for the Apple iPad and spent much of this afternoon sorting through all the Internet commentary on it from the adoring to the cynical.
Given the attention paid to the announcement, I would not be surprised to see President Obama reading his State of the Union Address off of an iPad tonight.
I found myself quite amused at the number of Tweets that consisted of a long string of words in a foreign language and then the word 'iPad" dropped it. Is iPad a real world-renowned device? Already?
And I realized today that the Fox TV comedy show MadTV left the air after May 16, 2009. I was reminded that the show once existed because a parody ad for the "Apple iPad" has been gaining popularity on You Tube. Many women groaned, understandably, at Apple's choice of name for the new device.
Still, among all the hype and reflexive slams at Apple from all corners of the Internet are a few thoughtful analysis pieces, such as this one from Silicon Valley Watcher scribe Tom Foremski, who posits that the reason why iPad's pricing is lower than expected, starting at $499, is that Apple expects to make its money selling that many more applications, music, video and now books through it's Apple branded online store. Enjoy "iPad is an iDRM Storefront for Apple Ambitions To Dominate All Digital Media Sales."
Another hot topic for discussion has been the impact that the iPad will have on the Amazon Kindle line of ebook readers. Amazon has a hit on its hands with the Kindle, but iPad could swoop in and take that market lead with an ebook reader app on the iPad and the new iBook store -- in the same online mall as iTunes an App Store outlets. Mashable.com does a good job of explaining why KIndle is doomed, or not, at "4 reasons the Kindle is dead, 4 reasons it's not."
Inside the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, all was sweetness and light as Apple fans took Steve Jobs at his word that iPad was "magical." As in past product launches, the crowd swooned, applauded and rose to its feet at every mention of a new feature of capability of the iPad.
Yet, outside the venue, some cooler heads prevailed. Fed up with the hype, Sam Gustin of Daily Finance didn't wait for the launch event to pen "Apple Tablet: Top 10 Things We (Already) Hate About You." My favorite: "Unless you deliver FedEx packages, you probably don't need a giant mobile touch-screen device." My next favorite: "You're just going to break it, anyway."
What lies ahead are 60 to 90 days more of buildup to the actual date the device goes on sale. The iPads where your only connection to the Internet is on wi-fi are to go on sale sometime in late March, while the iPads that connect by wi-fi as well as to AT&T's 3G network go on sale in late April. Will I camp outside an Apple store with Apple faithful the night before or just run the story from last June and just do a "Find" and "Replace" for "iPhone 3GS" with "iPad?" It's tempting.
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