Computerworld: Apple’s iPad is computing’s next leap forward

“If we look at the history of computers, it’s easy to chart their evolution: as time passes, they get smaller and more powerful — and their design changes to keep up with the advance of technology. It’s been nearly two decades since the laptop’s invention, and in that time we’ve moved into an era where portability is as necessary as a constant connection. In this new era, the laptop form factor has become increasingly unwieldy,” Michael DeAgonia reports for Computerworld. “Unless you’re sitting down, using one is an awkward balancing act; it’s not exactly the best fit for an increasingly mobile world.”

“For years, PC manufacturers fought the inherent awkwardness of their products by building smaller and smaller laptops,” DeAgonia reports. “But a small netbook or laptop still relies on the same, increasingly outdated design: flip-up screen and computer/keyboard base.”

“Then, in 2007, Apple changed the mobile game with the iPhone. The screen (and one main button) pretty much are the device. With the iPhone, the keyboard became virtual,” DeAgonia reports. “The iPhone form factor and software combination created an immersive, yet mobile, experience — and it showed what mobile computing really is. Suddenly, people everywhere realized they no longer had to have laptops to get work done on the go; they could do it on their iPhones.”

DeAgonia reports, “With the release of the iPad on April 3, Apple is moving to the logical next step: Portable, focused computing is getting a bigger screen… I believe the iPad will usher in an age of computing for people who, until now, have eschewed computers as too complicated to understand and use. It will be the delivery on the promise Apple CEO Steve Jobs made with the introduction of the first Macintosh in 1984… Apple abstracted the concept of computing with the iPhone. And with the iPad, it seems to be abstracting the computer itself, which was always Jobs’ goal.”

DeAgonia reports, “When we look back a few years from now, we may see that Apple again steered the course of computing in a new direction.”

Full article – recommended – here.

MacDailyNews Take: Correctamundo!

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dow C.” for the heads up.]