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Steve Jobs and the iPad of hope, The Economist...   >>>

Steve Jobs and the iPad of hope, The Economist



“HEROES and heroics” is one of the central themes of the current season at the Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts in San Francisco, which prides itself on showcasing contemporary artists who challenge conventional ways of doing things. On Wednesday January 27th the centre played host to one of the heroes of the computing industry: Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple, who launched the company’s latest creation, the iPad. Mr Jobs also has a record of showcasing the unconventional. He did not disappoint.



The iPad, which looks like an oversized Apple iPhone and boasts a ten-inch (25cm) colour screen, promises to change the landscape of the computing world. It is just half an inch thick and weighs 1.5 pounds (680 grams). “It’s so much more intimate than a laptop, and it’s so much more capable than a smartphone,” Mr Jobs said of the device, which will be available in late March. With a host of other touchscreen “tablet” computers that are expected to reach shops over the next year or so, it could also revolutionise the way in which digital media are consumed in homes, schools and offices. The flood of devices is likely to have a profound impact on parts of the media business that are already being turned upside-down by the internet.