It’s been interesting to hear all the negative press and comments from the media about the iPad. Many people have been looking at the iPad and saying “What’s the big deal? It’s just a big iPod touch.” Others have gone so far as to criticize Apple and Steve Jobs directly, expressing their high expectations of innovation and then reveling in their disappointment at the lack of innovation they see in the iPad. What is clearly missed by the critics in industry and media is that the iPad represents much more of a vision of the future than people realize. The iPad ushers us into the era of Touch Computing.
I was fortunate enough to be at the unveiling of the Palm Pilot by Jeff Hawkins in 1996. I recall getting a sense of real innovation from that product, a sense that computing was entering a new era. I have also had the privilege of being at every major Apple product release, from the first iPod, to the iPhone, and now the iPad. As revolutionary as the iPod and the iPhone were, I didn’t have the feeling like I did with the Palm Pilot release. However, with the iPad event and the time I have had with the product so far, it is clear to me that we are entering a new era of computing.