Thoughts on the iPad

Imagine that the iPhone didn't exist.

Now imagine that Apple held a press event and announced that they were coming out with a totally new computing platform that would do to the Mac and Windows what those platforms did to the Apple II and DOS.

This platform would be dramatically simpler and human in design compared to the mouse, file, and folder-based systems of the past. It would seamlessly provide instant access to all of the forms of online information and digital entertainment that typical consumers have come to use personal computers for in the decades since the earlier platforms were created.

Like any new platform, it would lack much of what its predecessor had- partially by design, and partly due to immaturity. And some of those omissions would seem crippling from certain points of view, for reasons ranging from the functional to the political.

All hallmarks of a generational shift.

The iPad is Apple's first true next-generation computer, pure and simple. And with today's announcement, it is now clear that Apple's vision for its next-generation computer platform has been plainly on display since we first met the iPhone three Januaries hence.

PS:

The fact that it supports external keyboards is the ultimate signifier that the iPad is a next-generation computer replacement. Without the ability to use a real keyboard, I'm not sure a platform would be able to generate quite enough momentum to escape the gravitational pull of what came before.