The first thing I thought about after seeing the new Apple iPad is what a great interface it could be for music creation. It’s large enough that it could be a perfect virtual mixing board, drum machine or remote control over MIDI/OSC. I could see a Apple producing an iPad Logic application to allow for some automation or remote control. The initial reaction by the tech blogs have been lackluster, but I don’t think they’re thinking big enough about this product. Everyone is thinking of it in terms of the iPhone because it’s an easy reference point for what is possible. When you really think about all the types of applications available for the iPhone and the creativeness that has driven, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we see some game-changing applications on iPad.

I’m looking forward to trying one out at the local Apple store.

Major Apple Product Announcement Set for Wednesday, Jan. 27

The Wall Street Journal offers some details – it cites people “briefed by the company” who say Apple plans to ship the tablet in March, and that it will feature either a 10 or 11-inch touch screen. The paper also cites analysts who “currently believe” the machine will cost $1,000, which may include a Kindle-like built-in wireless plan.

Amazon’s original Kindle was released in November of 2007 and people were impressed. Those people were rightly impressed because it was an innovative piece of technology at the time. Shortly after the Kindle, a number of competing e-book reader products were released only barely to be acknowledged to even exist. I won’t mention any of them either. Netbooks flood the market, and their owners are typically underwhelmed by their performance. I’ve come to the realization that these are pieces of single-serving technology. What does the Kindle do without books? What does a netbook do without a network? Not much.

All the while Apple was building and perfecting a method for the distribution of digital goods. The iPhone changed the way people think about cellular phones and what they expect out of technology. The technology that Apple has brought to the market has created an expectation. All reports indicate that Apple is stepping up to the plate with a tablet computing device that could change things in the same way the iPhone changed cellular phones. iPhone wasn’t just a step ahead it was miles ahead, and the expectation is that anything Apple does must be similarly groundbreaking.

Apple now has a mountain of paying customers who are now quite invested in music and movies and are also overwhelmingly satisfied with their iPhone. Who can blame them? They’ve got a great user interface, a speedy mobile browser and an excellent content distribution system. To create the ultimate device in this ultra-mobile space all it would take is the addition of print-style media, books and magazines to fill the gap that exists in the content they offer. I have no idea if that’s what they’re going to attempt, but it seems reasonable.

I’m not sure anyone really knows what is going to be released, the usual Apple secrecy has people making wild predictions. The only thing I can count on is to expect the unexpected.

^{As an aside; if you are in the business of printing stuff on paper on a daily basis take the deal. Whatever it is, take it before they stop doing you the courtesy of even offering.}

Apple is set to announce some new products tomorrow at WWDC. The keynote is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. PDT. The general consensus is that iPhone will receive an operating system upgrade, and perhaps, though less certainly, some new hardware. Since this is a developers conference, there is also an expectation that Snow Leopard will be discussed.

As an iPhone owner I hope 3.0 lives up to the hype. I’m looking forward to push notifications, cut and paste and in-app commerce.