It must have been one of the most hyped press launches ever, but today we have confirmation of something that has been rumoured for a long time. Apple now has a tablet device under its belt.
We won't be seeing the iPad in the UK for a couple of months, and this morning it is not even featured at the front of the UK Apple web site, though if you click through to news you'll find the press release. Apple's US web site offers more detail, including video of the launch event.
News web sites abound with images of Steve Jobs holding what looks, to all intents and purposes, like a giant iPhone. I find it quite cartoonish. On a more serious note, I am not convinced yet that the iPad offers anything particularly special or new in and of itself.
What it does do, though, is bring together lots of features that ought to make it easy for users to access a lot of media, both locally and over the internet, through a very compelling user interface.
I have long been a proponent of what I like to call 'comfort computing'. I define this as being able to lounge on my sofa and 'do stuff' with a computer. Increasingly, for me, that means doing stuff live online such as streaming media, checking web sites, doing email and tweeting. But it can also mean reading things I've downloaded and looking at content I've saved.
Currently my needs are met by a netbook. Would an iPad do the job better, or even open up new possibilities? Maybe. Except for those times when I need to type, of course. The iPad's virtual keyboard is probably no match for a real one.
Pending a hands-on session with the iPad I am reserving judgement. In the mean time I'll have to take the word of Stephen Fry in a tweet last night, that "Nothing you can say about the iPad matches the experience of using it." And he meant that in a good way.