The iPad

Steve Jobs, Apple Computers Chief Executive, has done it once again by launching the iPad, a touch-screen tablet computer. The iPad is a magical device with features that allow users to browse the web, check email, work with spreadsheets and charts, play videogames, read books, listen to music or simply watch videos. It remains to be seen how well the iPad will do in the market-- whether it will receive the same level of response from consumers as the iPhone did. Some reviewers have given the iPad just the kind of rave reviews that Jobs could have asked for, but others have been less enthusiastic. Some argue that e-readers will find Amazon´s Kindle more handy compared to the iPad, and there are better and better notebooks for those who are looking for smart laptops. But one thing is true: There is no other product in the market that has packaged so many things in a less than 10-inch device. Jobs has strategically carved out a place between the laptop computer and smart phones. And therein lies the trick.



There are also divergent views as to what impact the iPad will have on the reading culture, on the future of books, and on overall journalism. When the iPad was launched on Thursday, The New York Times, Time magazine and National Geographic were among partners whose contents were displayed on the new device. What does this mean? Time’s Digital Operations Vice President Martin Nisenholtz put it succinctly: We are incredibly psyched to pioneer the next stage in digital journalism. The iPad will expedite the readership shift from paper books and newspapers towards the digital format. It may, over a period of time, bring an existential threat to books and the print media; however, it doesn´t mean the end of reading culture itself. Ironically, it may in fact spur the habit of reading, which is on the wane due to the increasing dominance of electronic media, especially television.



When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007 some skeptics doubted its performance and market success. But iPhone hit the market with a bang, gave Apple a much needed turnaround and redefined the mobile phone industry. It actually marked the onset of touch-screen mobile phones, with almost every mobile company scurrying to go touch-screen. Only a genius like Jobs’ can turn around an otherwise sinking company and redefine an entire industry. But with the iPad something even more far-reaching is likely to happen -- it´s likely to become a culture-changing device, significantly altering how people read and how journalism is done.

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