Opening Statement: Steve Jobs is my personal hero. Apple is one of the greatest companies in the world, BUT I think the challenge with the Apple Tablet is that it really doesn't replace anything for the consumer. I do see opportunities in the B2B professional space, as a mentioned above, especially in field legal services, education, health, manufacturing, inventory management etc and we at Networks, are going to spend time looking for opportunities to build Apple iPad Apps along with our Mobile app efforts. This will be a good business. For the consumer, unless you are a news Junkie or consume a good amount of Printed material, the Apple iPad is just one more thing you have to carry around. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about e-reader devices and it goes without saying, that the digitally frustrated newspapers or magazines will be the biggest supporters of this Apple iPad and any e-reader devices in the future. They have to be. Newspapers and magazines that have gone digital to stay relevant in our digital-obsessed culture have seen print advertising revenue evaporate as citizen media is freely indexed and shared online. (Kind of like this little blurb) E-reading devices have become popular. Its important to note that Kindle sales are expected in 2010 to be better than ever, and Amazon sees Kindle unit sales hitting 2 million, up from previous estimates of 1.5 million! That little Kindle device and book sales will total $1.6 billion for 2010. That's 5% of Amazon's total sales! I do love the notion of printed media and information on a tablet but for me, only when I travel. Then again, I like to watch movies when I travel. I suppose I could do that on the ipad…might be cool..nah..well? If it had my personal flight app on it, maps of my itinerary..subscription to USA today, Fly, Rod and Reel and Cowboy magazine and my latest PPT deck for meetings or Airplane Seat pitches..I guess Id like it! Would fit nicely in my carry on of course, my phone fits in my pocket and does everythign and more...?! Arghhh...what to do!? A personal note to Steve Jobs to say God speed with the iPad and continued success and innovation at Apple. Thank you for everything you have done for the world and while the iPad may not be a killer device yet, once again, you have certainly pointed the way for good things to come in the future for us all!
Comments