iPad - First Impressions

So the iPad has finally arrived and my wife informed me that the TNT delivery man was warmed by all the eager recipients and floods of warmth and appreciation he received in delivering the Apple parcels yesterday.  Out of the box, as you would expect from Apple, it all seemed to unravel in a way that only Apple products do, peel strips, little parcels and thankfully not too much packaging. 

Once its umbilical cord was connected to mother ship, iTunes, all seemed to be fine and my music synchronised without too much trouble.  I won't comment further as numerous articles discuss its features, their pros and cons in detail, but just say that it seems to me to be just the start of what is possible for tablets. 

The AppStore has some interesting initial apps for the iPad, Wired magazine have offered a version of their magazine, FT have a reader etc. etc.  So far though it's Penultimate that has got most of my attention, a free-hand notebook app that can email squiggles with a just a few select touches on the iPad.

From here on I think the social media, content navigation and location based possibilities will  evolve, as the AppStore, with its access to a Crowd of developers, will drive, experiment and promote innovation in all directions as to the art of the possible for the iPad.  Currently there seems to be a lot of switching between apps, where I think given the open standards of the web RSS, XML single aggregators will in my view gain more attention and therefore may become slicker and more easy to use.  Social Reader is good start in aggregating Facebook and Twitter feeds but I think users will seek far more integration of social media and social networking over time. 

Browsing the internet is a real pleasure and the device sits very nicely on the lap, yes it is a little heavier than I would have expected. but Moore's law should start to drive up specification, down costs and reduce weight.  The big breakthrough for me is that the iPad, extending the iPhone, liberates the web community from PC's and Laptops.  It's certainly more casual than a netbook using touch screen technology.  Given the ability to always be connected the iPad may start to challenge the way behave as emergent behaviour arises... who knows, it is early days, more here soon.