iPad – Wilbert Baan

Finally, last week I bought myself an iPad. I resisted long enough and was completely out of excuses not to buy a new iPad 2 in Austin :)

I wasn’t really new to the device, Marco (my partner at SOMEHOW) brought the original iPad to the office quite quickly after it was released and I played with it a lot. Owning one is different. Like a mobile phone the device is personal, and the most interesting applications for it are personal as well.

The applications I like most are the ones where my social networks organize and select the content. I don’t need newspaper applications or magazine apps. For now, those applications are still very one dimensional. How weird this might sound, they aren’t very good in filtering, yet.

The most interesting ‘mag’-like applications for now I think are

– The native Twitter application, that handles hyperlinks extremely nice (free)
– Reeder, a great Google Reader application (paid) (you should also try the desktop application)
– Tweetmag, a social wall/magazine (paid)
– Zite, a social magazine (free)
– Flipboard, a social magazine (free)

These apps are all using your social “link” networks (Twitter, Facebook, Google Reader).

If you ask me, this is the future of the magazine.

Why I want to design something for the iPad

I don’t own an iPad, actually I have never seen one in real life. I’m not even sure if I will ever buy one (I probably will).

What I know is that I really would like to design a news application for the device.

Why?
The iPad envisions something that computers or mobile phones don’t. It show us a new platform of interaction.

1. The device is made for consuming instead of producing. Personal computers were never designed for entertainment. The computer was designed for work, it was never designed for fun. People my age will remember how desktop computers invaded our houses. Your dad probably brought one home, because he used it at work.

If you wanted to relax and have fun, game consoles are designed for just that.

The iPad is all about consuming and relaxing. How you hold the device, the weight, the wireless network, the size, everything. It’s the perfect device to enjoy what a connected world has to offer on the couch.

2. No history. This device has no past, the only mistake you can make designing for the iPad is to design for a media carrier from the past, like a magazine or personal computer.

3. Newspapers and magazines love it. They probably do love it for the wrong reasons. I don’t think magazines or books will re-live on the iPad. It’s a new medium and like every new medium this one also comes with its own set of rules.

Why would you want a magazine? It’s a connected device. It’s fully interactive, social and connected. You might like the content, but you probably don’t want the form.

The fact that newspapers and magazines love the device is great though. They are spending money on innovation again and this is a good thing, it will help the platform to develop. Eventually we will find out how to tell or sell a story on the platform.

The device symbolizes hope, revenues and new opportunities. The success of the iPhone makes expectations for the iPad even higher.

This is why I want to design something for the iPad.