How do I see myself using the iPad

The iPad was announced by Apple a week ago and with every new product that Apple announces and produces, there will be a plethora of blog posts and newspaper columns which creates a lot of buzz in the industry. First one I read was when Scott Kelby wrote about the iPad being launched and where he would like to get one for himself and for his wife. This sparked quite a fair bit of debate in his comments section (yes that guy gets loads of comments in his blog! I wonder why no one writes any comments here on my blog :P). Take a slow read at the comments and you would find that there will always be 3 camps. One which is pro-apple, one that is anti-apple and one that is the neutral camp.

Of course, after the heated comment debate, Scott wrote a post to reply all of the questions that have been posted up in his comments section which was rather lengthy and also yet entertaining to read. Then this morning I was greeted with a post by another guy saying that why the iPad is not for him as well.

So being ever so curious, I went about asking questions to some of my colleagues and clients as well as some of my friends about what they thought about the iPad. Of course I got the usual cracks about it being named after a sanitary pad but after the jokes and laughs, most of them decided that they are not going to get it now or when it launches. A lot more of them would prefer to get it when the 2nd generation model is out. I guess this was one of the responses from previous experience when the iPhone was launched (the 1st model wasn't available in Malaysia and only the 3G version was launched much later).

Anyway, I do see myself getting one but of course there are a lot of functionality that most Malaysians can't get with iTunes such as the ability to purchase music, videos and movies online via the iTunes store and with the iBook store going to be limited to the US only, that would just mean that this product is gonna be a large iPod touch.

But I do see myself buying it in the sometime future depending on some of my assumptions below.

1) As a photographer

I can definitely see the usefulness of the iPad as a photographer. This means that when meeting potential clients, we can display our portfolio on a much larger screen as well as show them previously made slideshows which are definitely very useful. The iPad also means that we don't have to carry a large laptop (I am getting tired of the weight of my 15" MacbookPro) out for quick catch-ups and meetings.

2) As a consultant

I love the fact that iWorks is going to be available on the iPad as well as it's ability to read MS Office documents and PDF files. Great to bring into meetings (aside from lugging around a laptop or if you work in an organization that requires you to work on a desktop) without the need to print out documents for reference. This equates to you saving the environment, well sort of, because you are not printing any unwanted documents.

I can also see it being used as I present presentations, that is if there is a way for the iPad to transmit via Wi-Fi to the project, that would be an even bigger advantage.

3) When I am travelling

No doubt that I constantly watch movies on my iPod video and when the battery does run out, I switch over to my iPhone (has not enough memory space!), whenever I travel. The life span of my iPod is about to reach it's end as it has now been relegated to staying in my car, so the iPad would prove to be a good traveling companion. I can easily transfer all of the movies I already converted for my iPod video for the iPad via iTunes.

All in all, these decisions are just some of the factors for me deciding to get one but I guess the biggest factor of all would be the price of the iPad. Hopefully the conversion rate doesn't kill us over here and perhaps be within the range where I can claim the iPad via tax.

Only time can tell.