Apple’s iPad arrives in ten days. It represents a new form of web consumption and, hopefully, a new form of content, digital media and reading. While the Kindle is able to deliver simple, elegant reading of books, the iPad allows for greater creativity and computing power. The results extend beyond text-based, book-like reading and become something much richer… think applications meet text, rich media, HTML5, and so on.

I initially got very excited about Wired Magazine’s demonstration (see here), and after seeing Penguin’s demo, have begun to think even bigger about the implications for:

- children’s books
- textbooks
- magazines (editions and brands)

Like the iPhone, I think we will see a slower uptake on create content and applications…. but based on consumer demand and developer experience with Apple, my hope is that the iPad app gallery gains depth and strength very quickly. After all, its the apps that ultimately sold the iPhone.

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