iPad Domestic Revolution

Some of you may have read my earlier critique of the Apple iPad, where I might have come across overly critical of this revolutionary new device. Regardless of the shortcomings I listed, the new device will quickly infiltrate many households and become a regular feature at the coffee and breakfast table, in the lounge, study and even bathroom. It combination of eBooks, casual browsing, photo albums, video playback, games and email should see the iPad as a ready substitute for many existing household routines and rituals ...

Breakfast Table

Many people like to read a morning newspaper while they partake of breakfast, some even like to scan the web for the latest headlines. In one neat form factor, the iPad covers both - fitting tidily to the right of your cereal bowl and occupying far less space than a typical morning paper.

Coffee Table / Lounge

Most lounges have coffee tables scattered with magazines, or possibly an adjoining magazine rack; more and more publishers are moving their daily, weekly and monthly issues across to interactive electronic formats - instead of a pile of paper-based magazines and periodicals, you will access all these electronically via your iPad.

Fancy a more prolonged read? Then your iPad allows you to delve into the bookshelf also and switch over to your favourite novel/s. When this becomes too intense you can switch back to magazines or light browsing.

Then there’s the monthly arrival of Auntie and Uncle ’B’; instead of pouring over a number of different family albums, relatives can witness the family’s photographic history via the many photo albums on the iPad. The photos can even be interspersed with home movies / video - via the iPad video player.

Already featuring electronic versions of Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly et al, the iPad can also replace many of the parlour games and boardgames which occupy much cupboard space and frequently result in a house-wide hunt to recover some lost counter or playing piece from one or more boardgame. With the iPad you have access to a large compendium of such games - all minus the usually required tidy-up at game end.

Study

The iPad will never replace the Laptop or PC for serious studying, but as a replacement for dozens of course books, for making study / revision notes and cross-referencing source materials, the iPad should come in very handy. I see several educational apps targetting younger students appearing on this device. The iPad will be used for homework for several types of projects, and more straight-forward multiple choice and short answer tests.

Playroom

Many parents are aware of the ’baby-sitting’ abilities of the iPod Touch / iPhone - as regards games and videos, particularly for young and adolescent boys. Girls can also find much amusement with these devices - not just with targeted games and videos, but also now with books and teen magazines. My 4 year old nephew has been playing with his Dad’s iPhone since he was 2 and a bit - and he’s a total wizz with it, often monopolising the device for hours on end until it is drained of charge. There are already numerous educational / puzzle games for iPod Touch and iPhone, and these will evolve and become more substantial on the larger device.

Kitchen

Jamie Oliver’s 20 minute recipes are already a resounding success on the iPhone / iPod Touch; how much better to have a large format ’live’ and interactive recipe and cook book which intuitively guides you through food preparation. The iPad will sync with grocery lists and refrigerators and freezers, along with your favourite home-delivery store - to co-ordinate food consumption based on a weekly schedule of recipes / meals.

Bathroom

This is more for the male readers who like to make use of ’sitting’ time when occupied in the bathroom. In our family, all male members are accustomed to read whilst ’occupied’; I often also make use of the iPhone in situ - to scan headlines etc. Much like the lounge, magazines and newspapers often end up in little piles in the bathroom - now to be replaced by one universal device.

Accessories!

I see one of the most immediate requirements for the iPad as a clear, transparent silicon / plastic cover - which shields the device from breakfast milk, coffee, recipe ingredients and dirty kids mits! Also required is a more robust stand to sit the device on - when reading, viewing videos etc. All these accessories should materialise quite quickly near or shortly after launch.

Market Penetration

Within year one of launch, something like 10-20% of households will have 1 or 2 devices in their homes; within a few years, one would expect to see one device per each of the key locations of the house, or even one per family member - as most like to read something while eating breakfast ...