Four Screens Media

Image via CrunchBase

We’ve been trying out the iPad since April 3 and instead of figuring out how it compares to a netbook or what the killer app is, we found those questions to be irrelevant.  There are three main reasons – it’s a true blank slate platform, it’s instant gratification, it’s always ready to transform into a new device.

First, the iPad is a blank slate that allows a touch screen to turn into any interface.  A netbook is also blank but is keyboard centric.  That means products are are keyboard driven – you know you’re always using a computer.  I’ve used Windows Tablet computers and while I enjoyed them, the GUI was a constant reminder that it was meant for a keyboard.

Second, the app store means in about 30 seconds your blank slate becomes a new product.  Now, it’s an e-reader, in 5 minutes, it’s a music mixer, after that, it’s a TV, get bored, it’s a video game and so no.  I can pretty much do all that in ten minutes or less.

Third, who cares what kind of processor it uses.  It lasts ten hours between charges and when I need it, it turns on instantly.  Checking the weather on it in the kitchen takes half the time of doing so on a laptop (which often has to wake up, fire up a browser in a longer period of time etc.  This means I use it a lot more for quick requests.

So what is the iPad really about?  For us, not about being a netbook but a media gateway.  I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years iPad and imitators are just cheap commodity hardware as the real win is getting them everywhere so that we all have this gateway to instant media.

So stop fighting, for now, true tablets like the iPad and Netbooks can all get along.

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