Ever since Jobs and Co. created the iPhone, there has been intense speculation that Apple were going to re-invent the Newton, with all kind of rumours about what the device would be and what it would be capable of.

For those of you that have been living in a bunker, the iPad is what Apple describes as a bridge between the world of the smartphone and the laptop — a third ‘mobile’ space that sits between the two. Indeed, at first glance, the iPad looks nothing more than a giant iPhone — it features the same glass multi-touch display (albeit a huge one at 9 1/2 inches), the same buttons – it can even run the same applications.

So many are wondering, well, what’s the difference; “Why do I need one of these shiny new toys when I have an iPhone and a laptop?… I was expecting an all-singing and dancing device that could read my thoughts and intiate command for me on the impulse of a brain wave! …This isn’t the JesusPad I wanted!” Yes, many of these points are true. But what people are forgetting to remember is that content is king, and just like the iPhone and the iPod before it, if the content is good, (in the case of the iPod; huge libaries of mp3′s versus a cd, and the iPhone with the app store full of entertainment and usefulness), then it will be a must-have product.

So let’s look at the killer app, and with a screen this size, it has to be publishing — anything from books to newspapers and magazines. Both Sony and Amazon (with the Kindle) have made significant inroads in to this new area with eBook readers: devices that are like carrying whole libaries in the space of a paperback. But these devices look a generation old compared to the user experience of the iPad – gimicky it may look, but simply turning and flicking a page on the iPad instantly feels more real. The printed book is all good and well, but it’s in the magazine and newspaper area where this product will excel. Take a look at this digital version of the Sports Illustrated magazine and try to say to yourself that you’d rather have a traditional magazine:

It’s been forecast for many years that the ‘death of print’ cometh. Maybe with the iPad and devices like it, we’re at the beginning to this new era. This fuzing of new-media and traditional print publishing into a new and interactive form is going to be exciting for both consumers and designers alike, hopefully reigniting what is a shrinking industry. Take a look at this concept video for a product called Mag+ by Bonnier R&D and their digital design partners BERG – it shows off the potential experience for what a product like the iPad can deliver:

No doubt the iPad will open the flood gates to millions of copycat tablet computers, all hoping to do the same thing. Will I be getting one? Well, I’ve always said; never buy the first gen of any Apple product; but if content as rich as this comes out, I might have to change my mind.

Check out these natty little speakers — or should that be Speak-er’s for your mac or pc (or any MP3 player). Only 1000 will be going on sale in for $120. Find out more info and other cool stuff at  www.thinkofthe.com. We think that they are ace – Now if only they’d make some larger ones that we can hook up in the studio…

Paul Johnson writes about how the Western car industry suffered because of the designers’ need to over-engineer, compared to the Japanese way of designing things from the user’s point of view.

Lovely quote from Schumacher (EF not Michael): “Any intelligent fool can invent further complications but it takes genius to retain, or recapture, simplicity.”

Read some more at here.

Hot on the heels of Helvetica the movie, comes a new feature length documentary from Gary Hustwit entitled: Objectified – a film about industrial design. It explores everything from the toothbrush to the latest tech gadgets and generally “cool” objects. The film investigates our relationship with form & function and those that are constantly trying to reinvent the way that we use things to make them better. The film features a bevy of  the world’s leading designers, including Jonathan Ive: Senior vice president of industrial design at Apple, who you can blame for such objects as the iMac, iPod and my favourite: the iPhone.

The film is due for release in the early half of 2009, but in the meantime, check out this trailer. You can find out more about the film here: www.objectifiedfilm.com