Apple iPad - The New Photographer's Portfolio?

While the iPhone was a better alternative to carrying around a tiny pocket size photo album, the large 9.7" backlit LED display of the iPad will probably mean that you just might not get it back so quickly once you hand it off to your client.

Connectivity
The iPad also features a host of the most sought after connectivity features, such as WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology, and USB (via Dock Connector to USB cable) - so sharing your photos, videos, and music will be a simple task. Apple is also making available a 3G wireless option that will need to be added at the time of purchase. The 3G option adds $130 to the price of each of the three iPad versions (16GB, 32GB, and 64GB) but will allow wireless connectivity anywhere there's 3G coverage.

Optional 3G Model and Service
Instead of forcing you to have to buy into a new wireless contract, those with the 3G versions of the iPad will have the ability to go month to month with AT&T at just $29.95 / month for the unlimited data plan. There is also a less expensive $14.95 / month plan that gets you 250MB of data. While 250MB of data per month is probably fine for some of us, it might be worth the peace of mind to spend the additional $15 just not to have to worry about it.

Features for Photographers
What makes the iPad an exciting device for photographers is not just the large LED backlit display, but also the many features it shares with the iPhone, such as being able to view photos no matter how you orient the iPad, the ability to pinch & zoom to zoom in on a particular portion of a photo or to slide your finger to go forward or back through your collection, and the ability to get photos into the iPad either through the USB cable, downloading from an email, or using the optional Apple Camera Connector kit to download directly from your camera.

Photo albums are laid out as thumbnail ‘stacks’ and a quick pinch & zoom will spread out each a stack, revealing the individual photos within. It’s a great way to get a quick peek into each stack before opening up the album. The iPad also includes a beautiful slideshow player that makes showing off your images that much more professional and the wide 178-degree angle of view means that your images will still look dynamic even for onlookers.

The iPad’s ability to play high resolution videos adds additional functionality to those shooting both stills and video and your videos will come alive on the large, high resolution display.

Web Surfing
While the iPhone’s web surfing capabilities are tops in the Smartphone category, the ability to see a full page view on the iPad will make it that much better of an experience. And for photographers, that means having the ability to access your online portfolio and blog. Unfortunately, it still looks like Apple isn’t giving in to the idea of adding flash compatibility so many flash-based web sites will still be inaccessible to the iPad.

Books
The iPad isn’t just a photo, video and music player. With the introduction of the iPad comes the introduction of the new Apple iBook store. The built-in iBook store will allow you to download books, magazines, PDF files and more. Unlike other book readers, the large, bright LED backlit display will make viewing pages easy, especially indoors, while a quick pivot of the tablet will provide a wide, 2-page view. Turning a page also looks to be much more fluid and ‘natural’ as compared to the typical eBook readers from Amazon and Barnes and Nobles. So now you can keep your photography books and camera manuals close at hand. I actually see the day when camera manufacturers will create a separate iPhone / iPad app for each camera that produce, making it simple to keep the manual close by.

The downside of the iPad as a book reader will be the battery life, the backlit display which will be more difficult to read outdoors, and the added cost of adding 3G and a monthly wireless charge. I am not sure that having wireless anytime, anywhere just for the sake of download a new book is all that critical and the feature benefits of the iPad seem to far outweigh any of the disadvantages.

Music
The iPad, like the iPod Touch and iPhone, has iTunes built right in, making it easy to download music, videos, applications, and podcasts. The iPad includes a built-in speaker as well as a headphone jack.

From what I could tell it does look like the integrated photo slideshow will allow you to integrated music as well, though I am not 100% sure of this as of this writing.

Business
As photographers, we need to conduct business while out in the field, and the iPad doesn’t disappoint. The mail application provides access to all of your email accounts, the maps applications will allow you to scout out possible photo locations while on your trip, the calendar app will keep you from forgetting about the wedding you booked 11 months ago, the contacts application will be your personal secretary - providing names, addresses, and phone number to your clients, and the built-in “spotlight search” will make it easy to find any of this information no matter where it’s located within the iPad.

Besides the normal suite of included applications, the iPad will help you ditch your notebook once and for all by providing access to the iWork family of productivity applications – all completely redesigned for the iPad interface. Each application (Keynote, Pages, and Numbers) will be available to download for $9.99 each and will provide the ability to create presentations, spreadsheets, and full color documents while on the go.

Accessories Add Additional Functionality
While the iPad will have a pretty useful keyboard built right in, Apple will be making available the iPad Keyboard Dock for those that want to be more productive.  The Keyboard Dock features a full-size keyboard, built-in dock & charging, and a rear 30-pin connector. The dock keeps your screen in portrait position for easy page viewing while typing.    Apple will also sell a thin folder style case that will double as a presentation or typing stand.

Pricing
The biggest surprise of the day was actually the pricing.  Expected to sell for $699 - $999, Apple undercut all expectations by introducing a 16GB version for just $499.  There will also be 32GB ($599) and 64GB versions available ($699).   The entry $499 price is the same that Amazon charges for the 9.7" monochrome Kindle2, so it will be interesting to see what happens to the current pricing of traditional eBook readers.   These standard versions will include WiFi (b/g/n) as well as bluetooth wireless connectivity.

For those that want access anytime, anywhere - Apple will make available 3G versions of each of the three models listed above for an extra $130 at the time of purchase.   You will then need a data plan, which AT&T will offer at either $14.95 / month for 250MB of data download or $29.95 / month for unlimited data download.   As mentioned previously, this is a month to month price and no contract is required.

Summary
The long awaited tablet was definitely not a surprise to anyone and truthfully it's really just a bigger version of the iPhone, without the phone.  But let's think about it for a second.  Is a 50" enlargement just a bigger version of a small 8x10"?  Yes, but the size difference dramatically changes the viewing experience, and the iPad will provide a dramatically different experience for users - who may ultimately decide that maybe all they need a phone to be is a phone - while they have their iPad nearby to do everything else.

Ultimately, the iPad could ultimately kill off the netbook, as most users who buy netbooks typically use it for basic computing tasks (web surfing, replying to emails, chatting, etc.).  The iPad will offer a much improved user experience in virtually every way, without costing all that much more. For the first time, Apple has made an Apple product that is actually affordable to own.