Since the unveiling of the device last week, it seems like everyone is praising or criticizing Apple’s upcoming iPad as a pure media consumption machine. That, or bemoaning the absence of Flash.

As first impressions go, that’s not far off the mark. The iPad’s larger form factor is ideal for consuming and sharing iTune’s vast media library and it appears to be made for that singular purpose.

However, I believe we are all underestimating the productivity potential of the iPad. Here are 5 reasons why I think the iPad is ideal for productivity and not just for media consumption:

1) The IPS LCD panel tech
This allows for a viewing angle of 178 degrees and a ridiculously good image quality. That means any images, diagrams, or documents can be easily readable for anyone near the iPad holder.

2) 1024×768 resolution
This means you can fit a lot more detailed information on the screen. I predict you will see native iPad productivity apps that will take advantage of this additional screen real estate in new and innovative ways. More space means less full page transitions and a better user experience for manipulating complex documents.

3) The 0.5″ thick and 1.5lbs form factor
Big deal, you say, it’s just lighter and smaller, nothing game changing here. Well, think about it this way: when was the last time you tried to pass a laptop around the boardroom/meeting room? If you tried it, you’d find it was bulky, heavy, and unwieldy. Well the iPad’s form factor makes it easy to pass around and the bigger, wide angle viewing screen just makes sharing that much easier.

It’s perfect for collaborative work and small groups without a need for a projector. Better than a laptop because you can’t just lay a laptop screen flat on a table.

4) Multi-touch
Yes, this is not new and it already exists on the iPhone. However, since the iPad is more like a desktop/laptop platform, we will be seeing some really unique user experiences due to the combination of multi-touch with single page app designs (unlike the hierarchical, multipage iPhone apps). In combination with the larger screen, this will allow for productivity apps that are built for collaboration among multiple people on the same device.

5) The blazing fast A4 processor 
This processor runs circles around the iPhone and the current crop of netbooks. Heavy processor dependent apps that weren’t possible on the iPhone will now see the light of day on the iPad because of the A4.

Bonus Reason: Apple says so 
They’re not releasing the iWork suite of apps for the iPad on a whim. This is to showcase how productive you can be on the iPad. There’s a good reason why they didn’t even attempt to bring these apps over to the iPhone; they were saving them for the platform that will make them shine, the iPad.

Conclusion
As an iPhone developer, I’m obviously going to buy an iPad on day one but the hardware doesn’t nearly excite me as much as the potential of new iPad-only apps. I’m certain there will be some truly innovative productivity tools that may change your life and mine.

We at Endloop are already working on some awesome ideas for iPad apps, so keep your eyes peeled to this blog. 

It was an amazing show, but they didn't play 'Dirty Epic', one of my favourite songs.  :(

(download)

Click here to download:

iPhone_photos_from_Underworld_.zip (1.63 MB)

**UPDATE: TweetCapz is out!  Available on the iTunes App Store now! **

Here are some sample pictures showing the type of captions you can create using our upcoming iPhone app TweetCapz.  TweetCapz also features Facebook Connect and Twitter integration to allow for quick and easy sharing of captioned photos. 

As you can tell, we're really excited about our app.  We've submitted it to the App Store already so now we're just waiting for Apple to approve it.  Visit TweetCapz.com for more info :)

(download)

Click here to download:

Things_you_can_do_with_our_upc.zip (398 KB)

At Endloop, we're always asked a lot of basic but very important questions on the whole process of iPhone app development so we started this series of blog posts to hopefully deconstruct the whole process in a very straightforward fashion.

Please Stumble/Digg if you find it useful:  http://su.pr/7rzIGV

At Endloop, we're always asked a lot of basic but very important questions on the whole process of iPhone app development so we started this series of blog posts to hopefully deconstruct the whole process in a very straightforward fashion.

Please Stumble/Digg if you find it useful:  http://su.pr/4HQuUi

This photo may be a familiar sight for quite a few of you.  It's a sampling of the many reusable bags we've picked up the last little while.

I'm not even sure if that's really all of them since I only looked in one spot.  I'm sure we have a few more hiding elsewhere.

Every store seems to be either selling these or giving them away.  Ditto for events.

I like the concept of these reusable bags but we're going to see a lot more of them.  Especially here in Toronto where the city councillors just laid down a policy where every store must charge customers $0.05 for every plastic bag.

I already have a probem since I have a ton of these bags and there's no way I need more than 2 max.

I honestly don't know if this is going to be a big problem or not.  I hope the material used to make these bags are recyclable.

The one solution I did find was ChicoBag.  It's a company that will actually take your unwanted reusable bags and distribute them to fixed and low income families ready to start a reusable bag habit or recycle them into new useful products like rugs.

Here's the link to their Zero Waste program:  http://www.chicobag.com/t-partnerships.aspx

Feel free to leave comments if you know of any other solutions to reusable bag spam or have links to other programs like Zero Waste.  I will update this post with those links as I get them.

At Endloop, we're always asked a lot of basic but very important questions on the whole process of iPhone app development so we started this series of blog posts to hopefully deconstruct the whole process in a very straightforward fashion.

Please Digg if you find it useful:  http://su.pr/5ZBcs3

As the afterglow of the WWDC iPhone 3GS and iPhone OS 3.0 announcements faded, I started to feel a little disappointed upon reflecting on what we were actually getting in these updates.

Perhaps I've been eyeing the Palm Pre's WebOS with more than a little bit of OS envy.  I was really hoping Apple would step up and bring some more overall UI enhancements to the iPhone OS 3.0 update.

Don't get me wrong, I love the new camera, compass, voice control, cut & paste (ZOMG!) and all the other fancy new features but I still couldn't help but feel that, ultimately, 3.0 is just a few addons, not a true update to the iPhone OS.

Couple these feelings with the fine print I found on Apple.com's site here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/buy/ and I was quite disappointed.

For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB).

I think AT&T will get quite the earful from their customers on this one.  I've transcribed some of my Twitter exchanges regarding this pricing policy and the 3GS in general:

I tweeted my initial disappointment and here are some of the reactions:

kenseto: I'm a bit disappointed by the iPhone 3GS& 3.0 OS.  The update is cool but both could've been a lot more.  E3 had more exciting stuff.  :P

kenseto: Perhaps it's the sticker-shock I'm anticipating if I want an iPhone 3GS from Rogers.  I'm barely 1yr into in my 3yr indenture.

AdamSchwabe@kenseto The 3GS is just a stepping stone to what's next. Push notification apps + compass + voice control + autofocus photo/video.

alkerton@kenseto Usually off contract-prices are $300-$400 higher, so I'd start saving...

alkerton@kenseto annual updates combined with increasingly advanced apps just means "planned obsolesence" in a much shorter time than your contract.

jonfingas@kenseto Thank goodness I can stomach the price hike if necessary (preferably with help from my employer).

BlueGromit@kenseto my thoughts exactly. Left me wanting for more. Maybe I got my hopes up too high.

Then I tweeted the pricing info I found:

kenseto: On Apple.com "to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new 2yr agreemnt is $499-8GB, $599-16GB, or $699-32GB"

JasonPegg@kenseto damn! 500 bucks? Can't be that much better!

JasonPegg@kenseto probably cheaper to cancel and get a new ATT contract!

bmore0fme@kenseto whoa...699

nickyp@kenseto at those prices, getting an unlocked phone imported from Belgium seems more interesting!

jkbc@kenseto Not only is it not subsidized, you have to eat a new contract. This is a signal, to me, that AT&T is on the way out as US carrier.

bmore0fme@kenseto how the gonna just make new model and screw us over... I'm calling the company cause I'm not payin 699

jkbc@kenseto It makes sense. Apple creates dissent for AT&T, AT&T gets at Apple for the supposed Verizon rumors. No 3GS for me, how about you?

Naim@kenseto Yeah, that has me holding off.

bkelley@kenseto total BS from ATT

This is probably my 3rd or 4th attempt at maintaining a blog.  It's become especially more challenging since I've been on Twitter.

Ever since retiring my old blog, I've come across a few occasions where I felt the need to post something a little longer than 140 characters.

I'll be mostly focusing on my usual batch of favourite topics like iPhone and iPhone development, user experience, gadgets, video games, movies, food/drink and travel.  As you can see, focus isn't my strong point.