Thoughts on the iPad

A few weeks ago, I made some predictions on what might be announced with the Apple tablet device. I tried to include a mix of new technologies, new usage models, and new business opportunities for both Apple and consumers. To a decent extent, I was in the ballpark on most of my predictions, with some of them still being possibilities at a later date.

Like many people, I read the comments from journalists and "experts" after the launch party. I made a mental checklist of items that appeared to be "missing", and features that appeared to be unique. The technologist in me was driving my evaluation. But then I went and watched the keynote by Steve Jobs. As he sat in the chair, surfing the web, it dawned on me that this would actually be the "Internet & media consumption" model of the future. While it was obviously staged, the experience of watching Jobs lose himself while he experienced the world offered a glimpse of the future. The experience appears to be a preview (or 1st generation) of the experience where the activity and the computing device begin to blur, and the computer no longer gets in the way. Marc Cuban seems to agree.

It doesn't do everything that previous devices do, but it does appear to do certain things uniquely well. The definition of a disruptive technology. It will get significantly better over time, just as the iPhone did between the 2G and 3GS models.

Sitting on my couch, typing this blog on my MacBook laptop, I wish I was using an iPad instead. My legs are too warm from the laptop, and the power cord keeps getting in my way. Yes in deed, it's time for a new device and a new paradigm.

Some Excellent Entrepreneur Blogs

Here's a few of my favorites. Some business starters, and some business investors:

Fred Wilson (Union Square Ventures) - A VC

Marc Cuban - Blog Maverick

Seth Godin - Blog

Mike Hirshland (Polaris Ventures) - VC Mike

Marc Andreessan - pmarca

Jeff Pulver - Blog

Tim Ferris - Four Hour Work Week

Phil McKinney - Killer Innovations

Andrew Warner - Mixergy

Mark Suster - (GPR Partners) Both Sides of the Table

Interesting Business Models & Selling Techniques

While classroom studies are interesting, the real value comes in the translation to real world activities. I periodically go through my list of interesting business models or sales techniques to see how they leverage learnings from the classroom, or break the traditional rules to create new opportunities.

Here's a few that I recently found interesting:

Tats for Tees - Interesting approach to reducing the concerns that people have about spending too much on a "want" (not a need) in a challenging economy.

3/50 Project - Powerful concept; Shared concern for 1000s of people; Explained in a simple way that many people can understand and take action.

Threadless - Redefining how a basic product (T-Shirts) is designed, forecasted, and manufactured. Embracing community on a whole new level.

Etsy - Leveraging the long-tail of the market for hand-made goods. A simple way for companies to get access to a huge market, that previously would have been expensive and cluttered.