Before the iPhone, computers were boxes on your desk or boxes on your lap.
After the iPhone, the computer — now, just a tiny, pocket-sized pad — became transparent.
I used to say, "I need to get on my computer and Google that." Now, I just say "Hmm. Let me Google that." Instead of focusing on a device, I just focus on what I want to do. Instead of using a computer to Google, or to blog, or to share photos … I just Google, or blog, or share photos … because the iPhone is such an elegant device, it lets me do all these things without seeing the device at all.
The iPhone made computers invisible. The tablet will make a lot of other devices invisible.
Instead of being "the world's best ebook reader," the tablet will make it very, very easy for me to find, buy, download, and read all kinds of things, from newspapers to novels. I won't think, "I'm going to read a novel on my tablet." I'll just read a novel.
Instead of being "the world's biggest media player," the tablet will make it very, very easy for me to watch tv (without being chained to a tv), watch movies (without going to a cinema), and share what I'm watching (and what I think about what I'm watching) with people I care about. I won't think, "I'm going to watch FRINGE on my tablet." I'll just watch FRINGE.
Instead of being "an iPhone on steroids," it's just going to make it easier than ever for me to get in touch with people I care about. I won't think, "I'm going to send an SMS message and make a phone call on my tablet." I'll just connect with you.
Applications will extend the tablet's reach. Goodbye, complicated remote controls. Goodbye, stand-alone GPS systems. Goodbye, laptop keyboards. Goodbye, mouse. Goodbye, Wacom graphic tablet. Hello, magic photo frame. Hello, location-aware tour guide. Hello, maps to anywhere. Hello, fastest way to get my life online. Hello, computer that wakes up when touched and recognizes my face.
All this will be made possible by a very thin, very light, very portable sandwich of polished glass and structured silicon. But the magic of the tablet will not be the hardware or the specs or even in the tablet itself. The magic will be in the tablet's ability to disappear, to get out of the way, to let me do what I want do without worrying about how I'll do it.
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