iPad

Do I want an iPad? Yes. Do I need an iPad? No. Would I use an iPad if I had one? Probably for about a day.

Here's why I love my iPhone. Because I can carry one device on an airplane. When you travel as much as I do, you learn to pack as light as possible. The iPhone made it so I didn't need to carry a phone, an organizer, an iPod, and as many books & magazines as I used to. I'm all about downsizing. Less stuff.

The Kindle was intriguing. But it's heavy. A lot heavier than you think it's going to be when you look at it online or when you see someone holding it in their hands. I have to take my laptop on most trips so if I add a Kindle, it's too much. But I love the concept. I love the idea that all of my books and magazines can fit on one device and I don't have to carry the weight associated with all the individual literature. So, give me a laptop with 10 hours of life that can hold my books and magazines. Make it super light. Make it affordable. Under $1,000.

Thus the iPad doesn't quite win me over yet. That said, I'd probably prefer one over a Kindle (though I'll admit I'm not 100% up to speed on the offerings of one vs. the other) because it's an Apple product and the oohs and ahhs that I'd get by being one of the first on my block to own it are appealing. But it doesn't replace anything vital. It doesn't replace my phone and it doesn't replace my laptop.

But I'm not down on this device. I love it conceptually, it's just not quite right for what I need right now. My guess is that within 2 years we'll have something closer to what I want. This is just the start. Once again, Apple takes something that already exists (MP3 player, laptop computer, cell phone)and makes it sexier. Makes us want one. There's not a single company in the world that can do that.

That is inspirational. I want to be the Apple of my industry.