Anything Apple. That’s what usually tops my Santa list every year. And, it’s not necessarily because Apple’s iconic iPhone and iPod dramatically changed the ways in ways brands communicated with consumers – but because Apple anything for me is way cool.

So, is the iPad going to be a new must have for us ad people? Sure there are some really cool iPhone apps that will surely be re-engineered for the iPad. There’s a Photoshop app, a Brushes app that’s part gallery, part painting tool, and the built in Sketch Pad feature should be a great one for impromptu ‘napkin ideating’ – jotting down, doodling ideas, sketching a rough layout, planning a site map and who knows what else.
  
 Have wi-fi, will present. Easy on the mulberry manbag, light weight and nearly as impressive as pull it out of the brown paper bag and project (as in the Mac Air) that winner creds, the iPad will probably become a great presentation tool. But sans the power of changing the last moment slide, adding the numbers, or editing down the photoshop. Great tool if you have everything ready ahead of time. Oh, and no Flash. So, as someone who dabbles in creative, I can’t quite see me dumping my Mac Air just yet. But tempting.
  
 But what about Joe on the street? The iPad totally demystifies the computer interface. It’s bound to catch on as a great media interaction device – rather than a creative or office tool. It defines the space between the smartphone and the laptop – killing off the boring notebook. It’s perfect for gaming, awesome to trawl the web, and a pretty sharp alternative for content e-publishing a la kindle.

The large, touch driven interface, the ability to thumb through web content, pinch up and down visuals – all these aspire to usher in a new generation of digital consumer interaction. But, as of launch there’s no camera, no HDMI port, no real multitasking, so, you’ll have to be an early adapter (yes, I mean adapt, not adopt for many reasons) to get one. But, I suspect we’ll see a lot of progress on what you can do on it as new versions and upgrades roll out – just as all Apple products evolve every few months.
  
 And, while you were waiting, I’ve gone ahead and done one on Jobs. Got myself the iPad nano. It’s a smaller, fits-in-pocket, makes-phone-calls version of the iPad. And just as cool. Apple calls it the iPhone.

Tom Roychoudhury
written for Campaign Middle East
http://www.innovationsdigital.com