Yet another reaction to the iPad

Convergence is the Next Big Thing - at least I think it is. Having a true all-in-one device will be super-cool and super-useful, but the first-gen iPad isn't quite there.

Based on what I've seen following the launch announcement, the LCD screen won't be as good as the Kindle's E-ink, it can't multi-task like a laptop, and you won't have 3G until 30 days after the initial launch and after dropping another $130 + data service (but at least that should be a net-zero proposition if the iPad is replacing a data-enabled phone). Until then, it's not really something you'll be able to use as a phone in the car.

Sure, you'll be able to carry around a ton of music, movies, games and apps with 16-64GB, but that makes the iPad v1 essentially an oversized iPod Touch from what I can tell.

On top of all that, Apple's at least somewhat admirable commitment to an idiot-proof user experience through a tightly controlled architecture is (mostly) great for iPods and iPhones, but is also probably the biggest reason why many in the target audience for a device like an iPad won't get one. For example, video conferencing should be a core capability, but there's no onboard camera or USB ports to drop one on. Maybe through the docking station... but now you're basically back on a desktop.

Don't get me wrong, Apple won't be able to ship these things fast enough to keep up with initial demand. But this just isn't going to have anywhere near the disruptive impact the iPhone had when it launched a couple years ago. Tablets have been around for more than a decade anyway.

The Real Next Big Thing probably won't arrive until the 3rd or 4th generation devices start rolling out, by which time some other disruptive technological marvel will have emerged. Maybe from Google, but more likely from Apple. Almost certainly from somewhere in Northern California, anyway.

• Chris "Ebby" Ebbesen's [p]reaction to the world-altering possibilities of The Tablet and new media in general: "Apple Tablet – How it begins" (ebbynezer.com)
  

   

• Robert Scoble's informal Twitter survey of the bang-to-hype ratio of the iPad launch: http://twitter.com/scobleizer/favorites
  

   

• Forward thinking marketing idea from the brilliant creative minds of the imc² FemCare team, circa 2007:
  

After arriving at the office each morning, before I get out of the car, I take my Sirius Stiletto S100 portable satellite radio receiver out of its dock, plug my headphones into it so I can keep listening to Howard on the way upstairs - assuming I have enough of a recorded buffer built up, otherwise it's mp3 or other previously recorded content - grab my BlackBerry, making sure to put my Bluetooth headset somewhere secure so I don't lose another one, sling my laptop bag over my shoulder and head inside, often with a cup of coffee in hand.

If I were 25, I'd look totally hip. At 41, it's just sort of sad.

Anyway, what would be really kick-ass is a seamless transition from car to office with a single device that streams a live satellite radio feed to my car stereo via Bluetooth that I can also use to take and make phone calls. Then all I have to do is pop on a Bluetooth headset/stereo headphones when I get out of the car and when I get up to the office, I drop that single device into a docking station and get my productivity on, carrying it around with me to meetings throughout the day.

As it stands, I have the following covered when I get out of the car:
- OS and software applications (laptop, BlackBerry [sort of])
- Mobile telephone (BlackBerry + Bluetooth headset)
- Internet and email anywhere (laptop, BlackBerry)
- Music (sat. receiver/MP3 player, BlackBerry, laptop + headphones/speakers)
- Movies (BlackBerry, Laptop)
- Books (BlackBerry; B&N eReader; Kindle app coming soon)

Including the Bluetooth headset and wired headphones, that's five things I'm carrying around, which isn't really that big a hassle, but Less Is More when you're as forgetful as I can be. The day that can be reduced to one main device and one component piece; a tablet PC/phone/media center + Bluetooth headset/headphones that truly replace (or do more) than what I've already got (i.e., e-Ink instead of LCD, an OS that can multi-task, full web browsing experience, expandable memory, USB, etc.) is the day I'll be standing in line to get me one.

Bonus points if the name of this mythical device does not remind me of the year I spent working on the Always/Tampax account.