iPad As A Communal Device

First, we must think of the computer (PC). It may not be very personal, but it is made for the individual. Same goes for the laptop. Same for a netbook. Same for a smartphone. The iPad, however, is *communal*. Actually, more than that. The iPad is at once both personal and communal. This has never before existed in computing and it is the combination of price and form factor that makes it so. The iPad is another Apple trebuchet that will destroy barriers, gates, walls and re-make the current state of computing.

Brian makes several good points in his piece. The iPad is meant for a new era of computing based on collaboration, open workspaces and apps. The “other tablets”, the seven inchers, are meant for personal use.

I don’t know about the Playbook (a very few people have actually tested it so far), but I do know the iPad is great for “local collaboration”. Great for games, meetings, sketches, and so forth.

As for built-in online collaboration, we’re all waiting.