Hello 21st Century

I’m a graphic designer. So, I’m biased.  I love Apple^®.

In fact, if Apple were a man, I would have married him.
(Sorry, honey!)

That’s why when the iPad was introduced in January, I was both excited and nervous. I really wanted it to be good.

When Steve Jobs took the stage, I was tuned in.  In the first hour of its introduction, tweets went through the roof (177,000). Many of them asking the same questions that were on my mind.

• Am I really going to use this?
• How much money am I going to have to shell out?
• No camera?
• No Flash media?

Now the Wi-Fi only version of the tablet computer is due out in stores this month and let me speak for my demographic when I say for those of us who live and breathe design you had us at hello. With its sleek, seductive design, invisible usability, entertaining interface, apps galore, try as I may, I can’t quit Apple.

Now that the frenzy has died down from the big announcement, there was a lot to think about. It’s already expected to be capable of revolutionizing the news, publishing and handheld gaming industries. But the real genius lies in the future. It has potential to take U.S. industries out of the 20^th Century and to set their feet firmly in the 21^st. I see iPads in:

• my doctor’s hand, accessing my medical files in an instant,
• in my car bridging the divide between my work and home life (at stoplights only, of course), or
• in the mall tracking my purchases.

I have visions of Minority Report in my head.

So apparently, right now, it’s really just a huge iTouch.  But honestly, who cares. I can’t wait to get my fingertips on that screen.