Battle line still are being drawn over the iPad and its impact on everything from ebooks to online video. Earlier this week, rumors that Hulu was reshaping its site to allow it to run on the device, which by choice has left off the Flash player functionality Hulu depends upon to run, began to percolate as demand for the device--which is set to debut in March--continued to heat up.
Today, pundit Om Malik writes on his blog that the iPad will be a game changer in a world of media consumption that has relied heavily upon 30-year-old technology for delivery. The device, says Malik, gives users and developers "a clean slate to reinvent pretty much how we think of media, information and in fact the whole user experience." And, he adds, its promise is limited only by those imagination of developers and users.
Existing technology, like smartphones and personal computers only get half of the user equation right; smartphones are fine for sharing small bits of information, and personal computers aren't personal enough.
Malik isn't alone.
"iPad is an incredible opportunity for developers to re-imagine every single category of desktop and web software there is. Seriously, if you're a developer and you're not thinking about how your app could work better on the iPad and its descendants, you deserve to get left behind," wrote Joe Hewitt, who created the Facebook app for the iPhone.
For more:
- see this GigaOm commentary
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