Why You Want an iPad Soon

This weekend Apple will launch the next great thing. I recommend you get your hands on an iPad soon.

The iPad will be a game changing device. Here are a few reasons why consultants, coaches, and speakers will want to be on the front end of getting this technology:

You immediately garner attention and look successful by having one. Just as it was cool to have an iPhone, it will be cool to have an iPad. What a great conversation starter that can lead to new business. You never know who you’ll meet.
You can actually use the iPad on an airplane. For most people that are not always in first class, you’ll know that it is nearly impossible to use a laptop of any kind when you’re in your seat…especially if the person in front of you leans back to take a nap. The iPad will lie flat and provide a large keyboard onscreen, making it ideal for creating text-based content, answering e-mails, writing on your blog, etc.

Even though the iPad does not have a camera, a phone, USB ports, or the ability to use Flash, you don’t need those things on this device.

You’d look and feel ridiculous holding up a large device like the iPad to take a photo or video of someone. Have an iPhone in your pocket? That’s perfect for those tasks.
The iPad shouldn’t be a phone. Again, the size prohibits the practicality of it being a phone.
Who needs USB ports? Nearly all files can be transmitted electronically and wirelessly.
Flash isn’t necessary. There are better ways to write apps that fully handle the multi-touch gestures and performance obstacles of the software better than any web browser could today.

So let’s concentrate on what the iPad is. It’s an awesome content delivery tool…in the form of movies, text, images, etc. If you’ve written a book, it needs to be published on the iPad soon…along with more than just text and photos. Think links to web sites, videos, and other content that will make your material a richer experience.

I can imagine taking the iPad in the kitchen to view recipes, having it on the couch to check some quick emails or surf the internet, or simply relaxing to watch a movie or play a game. These are places I might take my laptop today but would prefer not to. I love the thought of always having an awesome book with me wherever I go in a format that is extremely readable.

The iPad is not a laptop, camera, netbook, phone, ebook reader, or anything else you’ve seen before. It’s a whole new category. If you’re thinking outside of the box at all, you’ll start to see some incredible new possibilities.

In addition, this will be the first device of it’s kind to have an awesome suite of productivity tools in Keynote (like PowerPoint), Pages (like Word), and Numbers (like Excel). You can even use it directly to power your projector. Coupled with a Pico Projector, you’d have quite the amazing portable presentation.

Personally, I’m going to wait until the 3G version is available so that I have the option to have internet access where there is no WiFi…but that’s only a few weeks away. : )