Will it be the next iPod or the new Newton? If there were an app for foreseeing truly revolutionary technology, Apple could have made a bundle in the weeks preceding last week’s unveiling of its new, tablet-size portable computer dubbed the iPad.
Though no one knew exactly what it would be called or do, techno-pundits gushed that it could “change everything,” starting with newspapers, books and television.
One writer called it, only partly tongue-in-cheek, “the most eagerly awaited tablet since Moses.”
Wednesday, Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs came down from the mountain with a device that surprised on some counts – such as its price, starting at $499 – but that fell shy of the hype on others.
“I don’t know if it’s going to save publishing,” said Lance Ulanoff, editor in chief of PC Magazine, after attending the iPad’s San Francisco debut. “I think it’s too soon to tell whether or not this thing is going to be successful. But I don’t think people were disappointed.”
Ulanoff and others said the iPad’s greatest strength may lie in its versatility. Rather than simply appeal to consumers who want a new way to read, he said, the iPad “could have a significant impact on how we enjoy content of all types: newspapers, TV, music, books.”
– Philadelphia Inquirer
Images: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Charlton Heston from the movie “The Ten Commandments”/Paramount; Steve Jobs’ face AP/Paul Sakuma