“[They] are using the tablet-style computer for tasks as varied as accessing work e-mail, approving shipping orders, and calling up on-the-spot auto-finance options.”

It takes time to change things, but now that Apple is bigger than Microsoft, one has to wonder how long corporate will continue to cling to the underdog.

“Focus and perspective are our bread and butter. We have to think carefully about problems in multiple fields in the course of a standard workday, and poor quality of thought invariably leads to disproportionately significant repercussions later. There’s almost no limit to what I’ll pay to increase my focus and productivity without a corresponding increase in pain; iPad would be cheap at three times the price.”

“So what’s the difference between a Mac and an iPad? It’s that blank slate thing. No matter what you do on a Mac, the keyboard and mouse and window-based operating system make it impossible to ignore the fact that you’re using a Mac, and it’s often equally impossible to ignore the fact that you’re using a particular program.

In contrast, the iPad becomes the app you’re using. That’s part of the magic. The hardware is so understated – it’s just a screen, really – and because you manipulate objects and interface elements so smoothly and directly on the screen, the fact that you’re using an iPad falls away. You’re using the app, whatever it may be, and while you’re doing so, the iPad is that app. Switch to another app and the iPad becomes that app. If that’s not magic, I don’t know what is.”

Intriguing idea. I’ve never really noticed that the computer didn’t fade away, but now that I think about it, I think he’s right.

Think of it from your spouse’s perspective: they probably lump it all together and says you are “always on the computer”, but in reality, you’re doing a variety of things (tagging photos, researching on wikipedia, reading the news, and writing to your Aunt in Darkest Peru). To anyone but you, it looks like computer time. The iPad may yet be different.

Favorite bit about how saying the iPad is just a big iPod Touch misses the point: “Ken Case of The Omni Group has said, size matters, which is why a swimming pool is not just a big bathtub.”

“if you work in tech, you should spend some time with an iPad. If it doesn’t change the way you think about what you do, you’re either a genius or an idiot.”

“So while [techies] trump up our skills at designing “easy to use” interfaces for our applications, millions of people are still trying to figure out how to get our beautifully designed application out of its zip file or disk image.  Or where in fact the Downloads folder is. Or what, exactly, a folder is. [...] I’ve watched firsthand as people who’ve struggled to do basic computer tasks as long as I’ve known them pick up an iPhone and be cruising around within hours, if not minutes. For people who do not already thoroughly understand computers, New World devices are easier to understand and easier to use.”

“A detail from the iPad keynote: Steve demoes the Mail application and he puts it in horizontal mode. Oh, look, an Inbox list pops in. Neat.

And I think, hmmm I wonder if you can resize that splitter, making the source list wider. Its a tiny target, so it would be hard to grab…

And then I realize: you can’t resize it.

And a bright light did shine upon my liberated face and a voice did whisper a thunder: You’re free. Free of pointless preferences and finger-baiting adjustments.”

[via Minimal Mac]

No camera? How will we do video chat?

Good entry price point of $499, but I’m irritated that I can’t use my $30/month iPhone internet on this thing. You want me to pay for internet per device? Seriously? Where is the Kindle internet model where it comes with free internet for life?

I can totally see myself sitting down to read a nice long book with the iBooks app. But I’m still skeptical I’ll buy many books this way — $15 for a new book, and no re-sell or lending capability? I don’t mind that with music, but I rarely read books more than once and want to be able to pass the book on when I’m done.

I feel bad for Kindle owners. Given the attention this thing is getting, the screen-looks-like-paper feature was an overrated (but necessary?) step to advance the art of eBooks. Sorry Amazon. Thanks for your efforts. Good luck with your ePaper initiatives – the rest of us will be happy with color alternatives.

The new apps look amazing. Especially the calendar program. And the iWorks apps. Can’t wait to try them out.

Interesting that Apple made their own “Apple A4” chip instead of putting an Intel chip into the device. I wonder what this means for the future of other Apple devices.

Oh yea, and the iPad name is horrible. Please Apple, please. Give up on the iEverything name. The original iMac was what? 1998? This is a tired, dull, and not-what-we-expect-from-a-leading-company-like-yourself name. Canvas would have been so much better. Or Slate. Or just “Apple Tablet”. iPad? iPad?!?