My wife just got an iPad. Haven’t seen much of her for two days. The thing is much more than a big iPod Touch, even though that’s what it essentially is. There is more to its interface, and just the increased size of the screen and the beauty of interacting with it makes for an engaging, enticing experience.

Add a real keyboard and it’s a dream to write on too. The virtual keyboard will work fine in a pinch, but it’s not for real typing; you can’t even rest your fingers on it without it entering keystrokes.

All that aside, the device provides a sweet experience and is likely to be a big hit eventually. Or maybe one of its competitors will.

The iPad reportedly has about 50 competitors coming up to try to steal the thunder, and some of them look pretty cool. No matter who prevails in that tussle, publishers will have to figure this out. And small publishers can’t spend more in development than their enterprise grosses in half a year.

Blanda’s ideas provide a good starting point, expanded on by Joe Boydston . One big hurdle neither of them predict: getting publishers to come together.
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