The Coming Of The iPAD

iPad Official Website

Okay, this is a "Keith does a post that is finally not about sports" day. Today, a new gadget was released to the public that (they say) will revolutionize reading. It's called the iPAD. In the past few weeks, I've seen demonstrations for the Kindle, the Nook, and the Sony Reader. So now, I breathlessly await this new gadget but, I'm not alarmed.

One day soon, my friends will be reading "Keith's Space", "Escapades", and maybe my first novel on one of these new items. I may be sitting in my living room reading the next Walter Mosley novel on it, while navigating back and forth to my Facebook page. Who knows?

While every other attempt to make a popular flat computer has fallen (eh, flat), even conservative estimates predict millions of iPads will be sold this year alone. But, because there are few precedents with tablets, almost no one has any experience with how everyday consumers will use a thin slab of glass and aluminum that happens to be a blisteringly fast computer. After seeing demonstrations of the iPad for the last week or so, I'm clear that one area that will be transformed is reading.

The Amazon Kindle, as Steve Jobs acknowledged when announcing the iPad, began the revolution of electronic books. But, where Amazon went to great lengths to replicate the best of the traditional print reading experience, Apple has opted for a device that more closely resembles a small, flat-panel TV. When reading a novel or "Keith's Space" (shameless plug). the differences aren't dramatic. The Kindle is lighter and easier to hold with one hand. The iPad, on the other hand, has beautiful visual effects for turning pages. Books with illustrations, like Dr. Seuss (for instance), shine on the iPad's stunning color screen, but still only hint at the full potential of marrying a high-powered microchip with the oldest mass medium.

Am I excited? Well, uh...YEAH! I love new technology that actually makes life easier and interesting. This may even inspire more kids to read and check out great literature. Okay, probably not, unless Shakesphere and Chaucer can be illustrated and animated (which I see no reason, why they can't be).

Look what Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter have already done! This is one future I can look into with excitement and positivity, rather than dread.