The iPad Impact…

Image via CrunchBase

At first, I thought “it’s a big iPod Touch, I don’t need that.”

Then, I said “wow, I think I want one.”

After it came out, I read the reviews (of those in my universe, that is) and I felt like “this is all about content consumption, not about creation” (which is what I love).

Then, my brother, Asher, said (essentially), “Idiot! It’s not for you. It’s for your kids.”

He went on to explain that his 3 year old was navigating his and how this was natural technology for her.

No, it wasn’t sibling rivalry, but that swayed me. It was time to take the technophilia of my household to the next level and the next generation.

So, I bought an iPad.

And…I am a believer.

First, let’s talk about what it has meant for me, however.

1. it’s the first “instant on” computer.
2. it has revolutionized my reading (of which I do a lot). Between the blogs I read on Google Reader and a fantastic service called Instapaper (which allows me to create a customized ‘newspaper’ if you will of all the links that I like but want to ‘read later’), I can now lie on my couch in the evening, after a long day, and quickly (MUCH more quickly than at a PC), read through all of them.
3. it’s brought my 12000 photos back to life, since we can look at them in full splendor
4. same for my videos and those I’ve posted on YouTube
5. and a slew of other things (like scanning Facebook or Twitter.)

As for the kids…here’s a sampling of what Tonka did in a 30 minute session the other day.

1. read part of Winnie the Pooh in iBooks (and she knows how to turn the pages)
2. did a series of math drills
3. did some drawings on the “doodle pad’
4. and played a game that involved making an aquarium and caring for the fish
5. find our house using Google Earth and then move around the neighborhood with her fingers, looking for landmarks

The whole thing is 100% natural for her (and Paco as well-who enjoys pulling up and reading the daily weather forecast.)

Seeing them touch, type, and manipulate the screen gives you the feeling that the keyboard/PC/monitor paradigm of the past 30 years is clearly on the way out.