1.  Are you a musician in the making, then you will want to look at the ultra-compact device that connects any MIDI compatible device to the iPhone®, iPod touch® and iPad®?  Then the iRig MIDI should be on your list. It is a standard Core MIDI interface for iOS and connects MIDI keyboards, drum machines, drum pads, pedal boards and more to an iOS device to control a world of MIDI-compatible apps such as GarageBand®. Included is the SampleTank for FREE* and added to this you can also use iOS apps to control external MIDI equipment such as sound modules, DAWs or lighting systems right from the mobile device.

2. The iPhone 4S or the Samsung Galaxy S2, when you are torn between Apple and Android. When you have all the Apple toys, logic tells you to stay with all the i products for consistency, the problem being that you are then locked into Apple apps. The thought of breaking loose is highly tempting and may just be what sways you when you see all the android apps that are available to download.

3. If you don’t own a tablet, then this is the time to go out there and take the plunge. Once you have one, you will never look back. It is convenient to carry around, has wifi and mobile connectivity, with access to the internet, email and social media accounts, you can get work done quickly and efficiently, never mind all the apps you can download to play games, read books, newspapers and they all come in a variety of sizes. For some tablet comparisons go here.

4. So how about a watch that not only tells the time, but also receives calls, sms’ and emails right to your wrist. Not only that you can surf the net, watch the news and look at your photos via a tool which connects design and technology together. This is like having your smartphone on your wrist. Perhaps a bit bulky for tiny wrists (I am sure they will eventually come up with a better more elegant design) but convenient for sure, i’m smartwatch, the complete interconnection of all digital devices.

5. Apple TV “Now there’s always something good on TV”, blockbuster movies, TV Shows, your music and movies, even news and sport.  You can choose what you want to watch when you want to watch, have a look at Apples TV Instant Entertainment here.

6. Kindle Fire, with 8 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books, thousands of popular apps and games, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Pandora. The Kindle has ultra-fast web browsing with Amazon Silk, free cloud storage for all your Amazon content, vibrant color touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle, a fast, and a powerful dual-core processor to view all your favorite children’s books, graphic novels, and magazines in rich color. Why would this not be on your list?

7. The Aldebaran Robotics Nao Robot

The potential benefits to publishers are obvious: access to the millions of Apple users – yes, those people addicted to their iPhone and iPads. These users are used to having their Apple account tied to a credit card and spontaneously buying the latest, cool app. There’s no reason to think people won’t buy subscriptions to their favorite publications or service this way as well – whether it is a newspaper, magazine and live-streaming service. If it only took one click, I am pretty sure I would have subscriptions to Gourmet Magazine (even though I can barely cook) and Men’s Health (even though I am such a gym-wannabe).

Publishers and content creators that take advantage of the Apple subscription service can still encourage people to subscribe to their publication or service by other means, but Apple does require that the same price and promotions be offered through their store.

You know you want to be on my iPad!

Many publishers and content creators are up in arms about the 30% cut Apple will take (regulators are even taking notice). As some have pointed out, the publishing industry is already in fairly dire financial straits, and suggest that they simply do not have the overhead to lose that 30% on each subscription sold. This may very well be true now, but to me, the bigger point is that more potential subscriptions should equal more money. The trick for publishers will be finding the price point where people will buy their subscription and they still make money. If this is not possible, or you can attract subscribers (Netflix?) without Apple’s help, well then the Apple apps store is probably not for your publication or service. For now, Apple has the best apps store and the best OS, so they can make the rules.

For all of those people decrying Apple as evil, let’s give them some credit for making a system where publishers can potentially increase their subscription base – which is tied directly to ad sales. Also, expect competition in the online app subscription service arena. Yes, Apple has the most popular tablet now (I love you iPad!), but there are tons of new tablets that are being unveiled and many look like they will give the iPad a run for its money. Also, Google is already exploring the subscription service for their apps store and are talking about taking only a 10% cut of each subscription. As Google’s OS rolls out onto more phones and tablets, some publishers may find this to be a better outlet for their publications and content.

I will certainly be watching closely to see how many publishers take advantage of the Apple subscription service and if consumers find subscriptions of value. It’s an interesting model, and one that could help crack the code on how publishers can make money in the digital age. It may also means the end for some players in the publishing industry who can’t absorb the 30% overhead, but I think they should take it on themselves to innovate their existing business model as opposed to crying foul at Apple.

Of course I have already professed my love for the iPad in a previous post, but based on the limited information we have about the Playbook– which is slated for launch in early 2011 – there is a lot to like about it.

To me, the ability to multitask is very important. This is a major shortcoming of the iPad and it certainly makes it less work friendly. I have been doing a good amount of travel lately and just taking my iPad. This has been great for personal trips where I only need to monitor and respond to a few emails. However, if I needed to provide detailed comment on a report, edit a document or take part in a webinar, I would need to bring my laptop. If the Blackberry Playbook can make it easier to work with office oriented software, email your client and still be able to play games or read digital books, I am excited. Blackberry certainly has a sound record in delivering a business friendly – and business ready – product, so I am guessing they will beat Apple in this regard.

Another great thing about the Playbook is of course the camera feature. Everyone with an iPad wishes it had a camera, and not so much to take photos, but more so to have video chats using a service like Skype. This would be great when traveling and wanting to keep in touch with your friends and family, but not wanting to pay high phone bills. Having a camera also opens the door for some cool augmented reality to be realized through Playbook.

Even with these advantages over iPad, Blackberry needs to figure out the application equation for the Playbook to succeed. Let’s face it, iPad (and iPhone) apps are awesome. If the Playbook doesn’t have equally awesome apps it won’t succeed.

Of course, Blackberry introducing a tablet computer (and more rumored to be planning to) will now liven up the competition in this realm and hopefully spur Apple to improve the already cool iPad. Competition is always good for innovation and I am excited to see (and likely buy) the next generation of tablet computer from whoever offers the best product.

First, some research. A recent post on Mashable highlighted the findings of Resolve Market Research on how people are using the iPad and its impact on other technology devices. (I asked Resolve for the actual research, but they said the report costs $1,750 – way over Digital Qatar’s budget!). As most predicted, iPad is a potential killer for e-readers. Of those surveyed, 49% said they would not purchase an e-reader after buying the iPad. The next device least likely to be purchased after owning an iPad was any gaming device, which is a bit surprising.

The study showed that most people still see the iPad as an expensive toy (55%) as opposed to a breakthrough technology (33%), but for a large number of those surveyed (37%) the iPad is their first Apple product. This means it is not just Apple junkies buying the iPad and that it has great potential to bring new people to the Apple world.

One of those new users is my mom. She is actually new to a lot of things. Through the iPad she sent her first email, from her first ever email address. She said she is using the iPad mostly for e-Books, but she has also taken to downloading music, and is now also staying in touch with her kids. She’s not alone, it seems that people in her age bracket (45+) are the second round of adopters for the iPad (after the young professionals) and they are finding it easy to use and accessible.

The email my mom sent from her new iPad!

I tend think the iPad is a bit more than just an expensive toy, but it probably does not qualify as a breakthrough either. It certainly seems to fill a gap though, making digital content available, and more importantly, easily accessible, to a wider range of people.  I doubt that my mom would have set up an email address if it wasn’t so easy to access through the iPad. The cost still remains a bit high in my opinion for mass adoption, but it is certainly less expensive than many laptops and does much more than any e-reader currently on the market. I definitely expect the iPad to stick around and grow in popularity, and ways it can be used.

So what do you think about your iPad? Yes, tell me why you love it!

Apple's new iPad

Like most products Apple introduces these days, I had an initial strong desire to own an iPad. I hate the name (like most of the rest of the world), but love the way it looks and the way Apple talks about it. As a fairly avid reader, I am excited to try Apple’s take on the e-book front (I have never been a huge fan of the Kindle – especially since you can’t download books here in Qatar). And of course I am looking forward to the huge range of web applications that are likely to be developed for it.

The positive aspects and numerous shortcoming of the iPad have been chronicled to death at this point. The most useful, quick recap for me was on the Huffington Post. The lack of multi-tasking seems to be the biggest failure to me, but people should keep in mind Apple is not trying to make this your new PC. I am not that stressed about it not having a camera (it would be a bit awkward to snap a photo with something that size, no?) and we are all pretty used to the battery issues of Apple products.

I’m am not sure the iPad will be a truly life changing device and frankly I expect version 2 to be better (so yes, I may wait to buy one), but with the touch screen interface growing, web designers and developers true need to think about how their site will work and function in this format – it may very well become the preferred format for people. Things like easy navigation will become increasingly important and designers should keep in mind that the iPad doesn’t work with flash (the New York Times did a nice article on how HTML5 may replace flash as the preferred choice). This also has the potential to make the need for an “app” more fundamental. The website simply may not be enough anymore.

End of day, the iPad seems like a cool tool for the consumption of digital content – books, newspapers, magazines, movies, etc – and I could certainly see it catching on. It has the potential to connect more people in a simple way. Web developers and designers take note!