The iPad seems like a handy little device – the major complaints I hear tend to be about what a person specifically wanted out of the device. One of those big complaints is whether the iPad can double as the equivalent of a Cintiq – the thing to keep in mind is that that simply isn’t the market Apple is going for. Like the iPhone and the iPod before it, they’re going for the broadest possible demographic, and they’re aiming to create a general platform rather than a task-specific device like a Kindle or a Cintiq. It’s up to companies like Adobe to adapt to the device now that it’s on the market. That’s just how Apple rolls.
I will say one thing – comics are coming to the iPad! UNDOUBTEDLY. And this is really exciting. Comics have been gaining popularity for the last couple of years, especially because of Hollywood – it’s cool to read comics these days, partially because they’ve been brought to the mainstream with an appeal that eluded them in the past. The iPad is just another way to make comics more palatable for a larger audience, and unlike the iPhone, the iPad doesn’t force a comic to conform to a particular device. This makes it EASY. Someone definitely saw the iPad coming, and they’ve got all those publishers lined up and ready to go. Or – crossing my fingers – comics will be in the new iBook store! I can only hope comics find their digital home in a book store like they found their physical home in Barnes & Noble and Borders.
I hope someone can adapt the iPad to work as a Cintiq, because that would be amazing – and I’m willing to wait to see it happen. But in the meantime, exciting things are still afoot.
