SmartCompany writes about the iPad and jTribe's thoughts

We at jTribe could not wait until Apple releases the iPad in Australia. We did buy the smallest iPad model with 16GB/Wifi for AUD $950 on eBay and could hold it in our hands pretty much one week after the official iPad launch.

Finally, we could test the iPad apps Touch Boards and Split Reader we developed.

One thing we did not really expect was that many of our clients asked us to demonstrate the iPad to them. Compared to when the iPhone came out the demand and interest in the iPad seems to be huge.

We met several of Melbourne's larger Ad Agencies and some of our clients and talked about the pros and cons of the iPad.

Smartcompany.com was another company we showed the iPad and Amanda Gome, founder and publisher of Smartcompany, wrote up an article based on our meeting.

Here is a snipped from the article:

"This morning I held the iPad for the first time. It was not the romantic moment I had hoped for. It felt heavier than I expected and a little smaller. But then I turned it on and after it flipped every which way, I found myself staring at SmartCompany.

It looked so slick! We filled the whole screen, the colours were bright - it looked like SmartCompany in glossy magazine format without the printing costs. In fact, it looked so great, my editor immediately queried why we would develop an iPad app. Suddenly the new phrase 'iPad friendly' that I have been seeing around the traps made sense."

(read the full article at smartcompany.com)

We also love one of the comments that was left by "Amra, April 20, 2010". Here is a snippet of the spot-on comment:

"...I have a MacBook pro. In 6 days of having my iPad, I have rarely used it - normally it's in constant use - web browsing, email checking and replying is all done via the iPad. Magazines and newspapers ( either app or web) are all on the iPad and can be read anywhere. I have downloaded books and having them with me they get read.

I have done 12 hours of presenting to professionals, all on Keynote (but all PowerPoint slides that simply converted). I have also put together a 20 page keynote on the iPad in about 40 minutes!!

With the citric app, I have full access to my desktop which is huge and with apps like good reader (connected to drop box), I can read all my work related files and work on them.

The keyboard weakness is overstated. A wee bit of practice and it's fine and certainly hugely better than an iPhone - which many have been using for business tasks for a while now. The keyboard comment actually sounded like the sort of lame comment I would expert from a blackberry user who was 50+ and was weak with technology.

You can use the iPad for 80% of what most people use a laptop for. It's more portable, easier to use and the battery lasts forever (easily 10 hours in constant use).

For those of whose who travel it will be our business, communications and entertainment device. For heavy business use, it has limitations but in reality, it's not that limited.

I typed this on my iPad.

It's bloody brilliant.

Yeah, Amra, we can't agree more. It's bloody brilliant!