Who Needs The Apple iPad?

So Steve Jobs finally unveiled the mysterious Apple Tablet, officially called the iPad (I like the Apple Tablet name better but that’s just me). You can read a good write-up of the new device here.

There was nothing terribly surprising about the announcement or the device itself, in fact it’s designed with all the bells and whistles I’d hoped for. The New York Times Bits blog gives it an insightful assessment except when they write that it’s basically a big iPod. I think there’s something to that but the difference is, well, large. The one obstacle the iPhone has from becoming the only portable device that anyone will ever need is that it’s hard to read long texts on it, at least for me. Something about the little screen makes it a hassle. By contrast I —and others— never have a problem reading a New Yorker article on our computers. That’s where I think the Tablet iPad’s strength is. We’ll see though.

I’ve got to admit, I was hoping the iPad would have some kind of revolutionary feature that I couldn’t even imagine but alas, it seems pretty standard, which is actually not good for Jobs or Apple. I just don’t see people buying a “bigger iPod” in droves. Why would they? Personally, I bet that I will stick to the print version of my magazines till the next tablet iteration comes out.

–Daniel Strauss