To speak nothing of the tremendous opportunity for industry vertical development.

We will see teachers far better able to manage class and curriculum based on new apps probably written by BlackBoard.

Medical professionals will have a great tablet to improve care.

But most of all, we can all now clearly visualize Captain Kirk acknowledging the Enterprise’s status on a tablet handed to him by a gorgeous and capable ensign.

I’d say this tablet phenomenon may take on biblical proportions.

Brent, appreciate the dialogue on Twitter, great piece here and attention-getting photo above.

Nice photo. Where’d you get it.

Forrester’s points are well taken on the coming “Splinternet” age and it seems as if the iPad is confirming that reality — the fact that AT&T is the only network available and Jobs’ decision to compete in markets where he could opt to partner (i.e., Amazon) is going to have impact beyond whether or not you are the owner of an Apple product. You really need to think about your choice from all angles.

I think it’s AWESOME that our technology is amping up and we are on the verge of bringing life-changing technologies like augmented reality down to earth for us to actually put into play.

Before we get to that vision, though, I’m curious to see how the bumpy ride plays out. I won’t buy an iPad right now because it won’t replace the other devices I already cling to and I’m not ready to add another device to my collection because, for me, I’m not an early adopter. I’m kind of a “pre-teen” adopter. I have to NEED that device in order to purchase it, not just want it to play with it.

So, here’s my question: if we are in the Splinternet age where the web is creating monopolies and silos, are we also going to cause an even bigger gap with those who are not yet ready to make the leap to bigger technologies? I think there needs to be greater communication to the masses about why the tablets are revolutionary — for the reasons you all have been citing (medical, education, etc.).

In other words, let’s take the technology out of geek land! Give everyone a reason to care so that when they decide to make a choice on technology it’s not just because it’s an Apple or Sony brand. If Daddy Warbucks is going to force us to choose, it’s up to us to push back and make that choice a real choice with as few comprises as possible. We can’t do that without all the information at our hands, so I charge you early adopters: talk about the iPad and augmented reality and all that cool stuff with people who you think may not care. I guarantee you it’s because they just don’t know why to care.

[...] an excerpt (full post here): So why all the buzz now? What has changed? And what does this onslaught of tablet PC’s [...]

Well I do not typically comment on blogs but I discovered yours while I was doing a bit of job researching in Google today therefore i decided I would leave a simple note. I must admit that I’ve gotten a bit distracted going through and reading a few of your posts… I ought to probably be doing work. You have some good insights here, so I’ll add you to my personal Google Reader for the future. Cheers!