I’m writing this on the day the Apple iPad was announced. Meaning that I’ve probably come back to this post a few times to clarify and to rethink sections – and at the same time, it might just stay very raw.

First off, a blanket opinion – this is a device purely for affluent audiences. Its not addressing a need to anyone except those who’ve already got mobile solutions, and the wallets to enable them. That’s not to say its a bad thing. In light of my first thoughts to any device or service – does it meet a need or a want – its clearly something in the want category for many, and therefore illusions about what it would enable have to be filtered accordingly.*

That being said, its a good idea, and one that has been talked about here before. The tablet does present itself as an interesting, albeit more content-laden solution for those who would like a reader-style device, but would like some measure of productivity with it. The included iWork and iTunes suites make sense here, especially since its meant to consume and lightly annotate, content. The need for adapters hearkens back to the age of PDAs and accessories as the driver for specialized needs – this could have been handled better, but Apple is making a play for a broad range of profit generation here.

I mentioned to one person that this would be a great device for preachers (being semantically specific with the term here). Paired with a wireless network, the preacher would essentially have the slides, notes, text, and ability to control what is on-screen right in front of them. Yes, this can be done with any PDA/smartphone/netbook/laptop (and as been) – the form factor of a slate/tablet device works well here. And the size is nearly that of an A4 envelope which keeps it mobile for preachers who move much.

The other neat audience is of course education. And while Apple specifically spoke towards this area in its announcement, the price is a big bite. A student in the market would have to choose the tablet, and the dock-keyboard accessory in order to make this work. That says nothing for the lack of an expansion card to backup papers/content (hello online services). The prepaid aspect works very well here as an incentive towards working in order to be connected – though WiFi use would most likely reign in this setting.

Thinking from my own point of view: well, I use a smartphone. My N97 plugs into my TV (w/Apple Wireless keyboard) for major tasks at home. On the road, I plug it into projectors for presentations (hint, hint), write a few articles, listen to music, etc. In other words, aside from the larger screen – which would be helpful for the amount of books I read – its not worth the cost to me as I’d need to purchase several accessories in order to meet the basic functionality (and I lose the voice calling aspect). Its a nice device, and similar to many. I would have preferred to see an interface like the Mag+ Concept or 10/GUI Concept, or further ahead like the hardware+interface of the Microsoft Courier Concept. The iPad isn’t far enough in the user interface design to significantly enhance/change how I do computing. It may be different for others, and I’d love to hear how as that perspective is needed.

I am looking forward to seeing what Bible publishers will do with iPhone apps that use the larger user interface. Ideally, they would not just copy what a 3.5in screen is doing on this 9.7in one. It would be good to see some richer interactions with content, as well as finger-based interactions that are physically not as efficient on the iPhone/iPod Touch.

But, that’s just my thoughts on things. What about you? What are your thoughts? Is it going to be a purchase for you or a friend/family member. What areas do you see as great, and what needs work? And lastly, how did you manage covetousness before/during/after the announcement?