10 Ways the Apple IPad Will Change Our Lives

For most consumers, Apple is just another hardware manufacturer, but for technologists Apple products and services are very polarizing. On one side, Apple fanboys will consider any product released by Apple as revolutionary. Amongst Apple haters, any product released by Apple as over priced. What both sides will agree is that the iPad, like the iPhone before it, will change people's behavior and online usage patterns. For example, it was reported late 2009 that iPhone and iPod Touch users used, downloaded, streamed, and surfed more data than other smart phone users (Mashable, 2009). The iPad is not an oversize iPhone or a keyboardless netbook, the iPad is one of the first generally available products in a new mobile device category. The iPad will not cannibalize iPhone or iPod Touch sales, it will not compete with netbooks, and it is not even comparable with laptops. The iPad is truly a revolutionary product, not because of it's specs but because of its form and function and it will change how we plan, learn, and do business.

The iPad, and similar future mobile devices, will change education, health, people with disabilities, senior citizens, casual online users, casual gamers, communication, augmented reality, and more. Ask any iPhone users with kids what apps they have on their phone and you will find them listing several educational apps. The iPhone, and in particular the iPod Touch, are a great device for children, even toddlers. The simple multi-touch interface of the iPhone is easy to master for any person at any age. Devices like the iPad will be the preferred educational tool, replacing heavy, bulky, general purpose laptops.

When Apple announced the iPad, they also announced the iBooks store (Engadget, 2010). The iBooks store, and similar applications on the iPad for the Amazon Kindle book format, will make the iPad a great reading device. Where the current line of Kindles fail, the iPad will shine. An electronic book on the iPad will be read in color, enhanced with video, and decorated with animation where a book on the Kindle is slow to turn pages.

In addition to being a great device to read ebooks, browse blogs, and update your status on your favorite social networking site, the iPad will great mobile device for watch movies and stream videos. The iPad's 9.7 inch display, 10 hour battery life, and up to 64 GB makes it a perfect device for watching movies on long trips.

No one ever expected the iPhone and iPod Touch to compete with the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation PSP. The user interface, app store, and number of developers makes the iPhone, iPod Touch, and in turn the iPad into one of the best hand held gaming devices. Just like the Wii innovated gaming, not just by adding better graphics chips into the console, but by innovating the user controls with the Wii Remote the iPad has made available a whole slew of games to casual gamers that don't want to master a series of key combinations.

It is important to note that it is hard to compare the iPad with a laptop, it is like comparing apple and beige oranges. The iPad is not an oversize iPod or a keyboardless netbook, it is in a category of its own. The iPad will change users' behavior in the following 10 applications and industries including education, health, business, travel, browsing, communication, gaming, people with disabilities, senior citizens, and augmented reality.