Say hello to iPad. Today was the long awaited day that the Apple “tablet” device was unveiled. It’s being touted as magical and revolutionary. The jury is out on those statements but I have to say that with exception of one big glaring omission, I like it. It has the potential to be a bit of game changer due to the new iBook online bookstore and the fact that an SDK for applications will open up some cool mobile applications. I plan on one day owning an e-reader for books. I have not been impressed with offerings from Amazon, Sony or B&N yet.

Primary Features (Check out Apple.com/ipad for more information):

• Safari Web Browser
• Mac Mail E-Mail
• Calendar (not i-cal but a very cool planner style calendar)
• Contacts (looks like a traditional contact book, nifty)
• Photos (very elegant way of handling photos and albums)
• iPod
• iTunes (interface is different than standard OSX)
• iBooks (new Apple bookstore. Can you say Ouch Amazon, Sony and B&N?)
• Height: 9.56 inches (242.8 mm)
• Width: 7.47 inches (189.7 mm)
• Depth: 0.5 inch (13.4 mm)
• Weight:
• 1.5 pounds (.68 kg) Wi-Fi model
• 1.6 pounds (.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

You can purchase an iPad starting at $499 for a Wi-Fi only model, or you can combine 3G and larger capacity models that run as high as $829. AT&T is offering data plans with no contract starting at $14,99 per month with free access to any AT&T wireless hotspot. The tablet is powered by custom silicon A4 chipset (aka proprietary). Apple touts 10 hour battery life, which in Apple battery hours is probably more like 4 or 5 (just my opinion).

The Ultimate Presentation Tool
Should real estate professionals rush out and by an iPad? The smart business professionals will. Apple has developed a mobile specific version of it’s popular iWork software suite. The suite includes Keynote for creating slide presentations, Pages for word processing and desktop publishing and Numbers for Spread Sheets. Listing presentations never looked so good and the learning curve for creating stunning documents using these tools will have you using your MS Office tools for the mundane business communication that everyone else does. Before you allow someone to tell you that your MLS won’t work on Safari, check it first, that’s usually a myth.

Stunning Visuals / Teeny Learning Curve
Presenting photos, videos, virtual tours and listing presentations take on a whole new dimension of quality with the iPad. There really isn’t much of a learning curve with a device like this and since most of the content real estate professionals present exist in the cloud, opening Safari or using a finger to flip through content is about all it takes. Apple has already taken that into consideration with accessories: a keyboard dock that holds the iPad upright and a nifty notebook style holder that flips over to hold the iPad at a presentation angle. If your video is in iTunes or an HD version on YouTube, you’ll be able to present it in all of it’s Hi Def, full screen glory.

This device and its interfaces were designed to look and be used like traditional tools. Just look at the appointment planner and address books. Otherwise it includes the tools that most people use computers for. E-Mail, web access, solitaire, facebook, twitter, foursquare, farmville, episodes of lost and the occasional romance novel. What else could a super busy professional ask for in a computer?

Looking Further Into The Future
Kidding aside. I think there exists the potential to use this device and the Apple developer platform to bring together self published information in a very meaningful way. In fact, self publishing provider Lulu is already promoting their service as “iPad ready”.

The gates of broadcasting have been crashed by video and audio podcasters that are creating and distributing top notch content without the convoluted, old guard processes of the past. Authors may see the rise of new publishing platforms in which to expose their content to the world via App store like outlets. Take it a step further and you could see really creative folks mashing up video podcasting content along with publishing content using some sort of development tool. Then it becomes a matter of distribution via outlets like Lulu and Vook.

Sin of Omission
O.K. – I’m a Mac sucker, I have been for 15 years. I know the routine. Release a whip ass new product that everyone has to have and leave out one big feature so that the folks that resisted the urge to be early adopters will rush out for the next gen version and those that have the 1st gen just won’t be able to live without it either. The fact that the iPad held out on a built-in web cam is just ludicrous. Web cams are embedded in everything but the kitchen sink these days. Apple, if you wanted to grab a big slice of the advanced market of gadget people, you would have included it. I was speaking to David Gibbons about the iPad shortly after the event. “Until they add a camera the iPad will remain scratched off of my wish list. I use Skype too much” I’m sure someone will have a 3rd party solution to this problem before they even ship, but that’s not the elegant solution. I want something to give my parents to keep up with the Grand Kids. Close but no cigar.