the blakslaks blog Thoughts from blakslaks

I Have to Start Somewhere

First blog post - since the iPad was just introduced, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

OK, it looks cool - like some futuristic device out of a low-budget, canceled-after-one-season show on Syfy. For me personally, I won't buy one. For these reasons:

1. I refuse to read ebooks, enewspapers, and emagazines (digital comics could work on this, I admit - but the publishers aren't there yet). I enjoy the comfort of holding a newspaper or book or magazine in my hands and turning pages.

2. I am not a gamer. I can see where the iPad would be a cool device for casual iPhone-style games - something to while away the hours on a long flight. (hmmm, Sudoku, crosswords, etc.)

3. I am an HDTV snob. It seems that Apple is trying to position the device as something to keep in the living room, on the coffee table perhaps, and used to watch TV and movies (purchased from iTunes, no doubt). But I love my 52" 1080P LCD screen with blu-ray and 5.1 Dolby DTS surround sound. I'm not going to HOLD something when I can lounge on the couch in comfort and watch hi-def content.

But, I realize that I'm probably not the target audience of this thing, so I'm curious to see how this sells (and if it affects Kindle/Nook sales). Also, I'm for anything that provides competition to the cable companies for content!