iPad… Netbook killer or keyboard killer?

The launch of Apple’s iPad has already come under scrutiny for everything from it’s name to lack of certain features. Steve Jobs said in his keynote (below) that netbooks don’t do anything better than a laptop or smartphone, but the iPad does and fills the gap between the two.

I will go one step further. I will say this fills the gap between keyboards and Minority Report, the sci-fi flick that employed futurists to imagine how people will interact with computers. So between keyboards of today, and fully interactive heads up motion displays of tomorrow, I see the iPad. The iWork portion of the iPad keynote (below) was the coolest part for me… intuitive creation of simple content for sharing with others. That covers the needs of 90%+ of the computer users out there. And it looked COOL. and FUN. and SIMPLE.

And that last bit made me realize… Had the iPad been around a year ago, my sister, mom, and nephew would all have them instead of their Acer Aspires (mom, sister) and Eee PC (nephew). That is why I think the iPad is creating a bridge in interface technology… it could easily become the entry level option of choice among first time computer owners. What will they demand when going to college or doing some computing heavy lifting? Why would they revert to the rigid nature of keyboard and mouse? I don’t think they will have to; I can’t wait for the iPadPro that will surely be called for (and bought by) the masses in a few years…