What I was going to do...

I was going to write 'Yet Another Article About The iPad'™ where I would mention things like how book publishing will join games, music and movies as something one individual (or a small group) can now do affordably from creation to publication to distribution and actually, possibly earn a (partial) living. I was going to mention things like how vacationing in Burgundy (with Peter and Lisa), or in Southern France (with Steve, Ted, Dan, and Patrick), or in Gettysburg (with Peter, Myk, Renée, Francis, and Michael) would be nicer with a device where we could write our journals, (and with Steve and Dan draw in their journals), and also look up history, cultural, and driving information. I was going to mention that carrying around a small (iPhone) or large (iPad) screen is the logical progression of the computer/internet and social connection/information and entertainment media. I was going to do that, but then I found this comment to 'Yet Another Article About The iPad'™ and thought I would just quote it instead.

Until you get an iPhone you won't get it.

I have a choice of zillions of pretty good programs, most of which are free. The rest cost peanuts. I can pay for and install them in a couple of clicks.

The programs are a piece of cake to use. They do almost everything I can conceive of, and 10 times more.

Geocaching programs, for gods sake, for less than £2. Which connect very easily to servers where you can share stuff with others.

Music tuning programs for a couple of quid, that are better than professional instruments costing £100. Star programs that know where you are and what direction you are looking at.

Teach yourself cooking. With videos and recipes. And shopping lists. for a couple of quid. Car mpg programs. Electric and Gas metering programs.

I've got access to 25000 books - I've downloaded 50 - for a couple of quid. I can download the Sound of Music for my daughter. We can share stuff we've bought on up to 5 devices in our family.

I can play scrabble with my 9 year old girl - she on her iPod Touch, me on my iPhone. Monopoly with my son.

The entire works of Shakespeare, searchable, for free. Want to read Sonnet 111? The entire works of DH Lawrence for a couple of quid. I have read The Count of Monte Christo - a big book - on my iPhone. The whole bible for free.

I've got a phenomenal Collins Professional French Dictionary - that cost £15 - but worth every penny for my two kids.

I've got every road in Europe in it - in a TomTom version for the iPhone - used it to drive from Nice to Monaco and back a couple of weeks ago.

I've got teach yourself French, Spanish, Greek and Arabic programs on it!

If you can think of it - somebody is writing an app for it. I've read that it is 100 times easier to write an app for the iPhone than for the Blackberry - 20 years of work have gone into the development environment.

I can watch all the Freeview TV on it. with the iPlayer I can watch and listen to all last weeks BBC TV and Radio - I usually listen to Melvin Bragg's "In our time" a couple of days after it has been broadcast. Or I can listen to it again, and pause it and replay bits I want to hear again.

Last week I videoed my daughter in a school play - 35 minutes without a break.

Last week I sold a prewar bike and a 2.4m commercial sink on eBay on it. I bought a couple of books using the free Amazon app.

I've got several thousand notes on it. Email. Yesterday I spoke to my friend in Australia for an hour using Skype while I wandered around my house - I called his landline - it cost me 60p.

This afternoon I showed a 92 year old my iPhone - he asked me if it had a program for him to replan his bedroom. I found one in two minutes, downloaded it it one, and 10 minutes later had figured it out. Drawn the room accurately, and fitted it with customised furniture!

What did I leave out? Gardening programs, weather, movies, restaurants, decibel meter, mini 4 track recording studio, synths, accounts, F1 and football, Audiobooks, Underground, Bus and Rail programs, time trackers, Radio Times, Paypal, Political programs, Sim City, Classical Concert finder - it goes on and on and on ...

Do I think the iPad is going to succeed?

The funny part is I have neither of these devices and no plans to get them (other than possibly for testing software I'm writing). But I am not mobile. I can see, however, that, whether the device is an Apple one or not, a portable screen (device) is where the future is heading.