iPad, take 2 (or 3; they’re small…)

Actually, it’s the headlines that are most entertaining–at least here in Silicon Valley. First there was the Steve Jobs performance at the announcement–speculations about his health; comments on his presentation style; and ultimately, admission by Valley and industry insiders of their own iPad lust.

Act 2: Between the announcement and the delivery, all the comments on what’s missing from the device–multitasking; built-in camera; Flash…

Act 3: Press and commentators love the iPad, gushing over it. But yesterday’s San Jose Mercury-News: “Not clear if consumers will like it.” Oh, yeah? Just let them at it, and we’ll see…

I think it’s a milestone. Yeah, it is a bigger iPhone, without a 2-year contract. But it’s more than that: It’s a gorgeous, light, sexy, powerful thingy that does video and audio, has a decent typing solution, and just makes you want to touch it. It is the Kindle you fantasized about (and the Kindle app is one of the first on the device).

What does it mean to the world of books? It adds acceleration to the ebook phenomenon. It opens up the market for multimedia books, with movies, sound, and links built-in. Personally, that excites me; much as I love print books, and love to write them, being able to include sound, movies, and links in my creations really gets my creative juices flowing.

So, yeah, it’s expensive, and the early adopters will be the gadget-lovers. But if it really can bring the sensuous iPhone experience to more-efficient typing and browsing than you can do on the small iPhone screen, and it sure looks like it can, I think it will quickly capture many hearts and minds and credit cards. Amazon has sold over 1.5 million Kindles at $300-$400, with no color and much less functionality. I don’t think the current exuberant estimate of 6 million iPads by the end of 2010 is unbelievable. (Actually, I just checked–Morgan Stanley is projecting over 10 million!)

And yes, I want one.