iPad Still a Keyboard Away from Post-PC

When the Gorillaz produced and released an entire album using solely an iPad, it got really easy to begin the funeral dirge for the PC.

With the new iPad release, users can lean back and comfortably move on, entirely, with a handheld window into the Cloud. But they can't quite ditch the desk, chair and PC.

What we saw CEO Tim Cook roll out was more than an amazing screen that visibly distances Apple even farther from any competition -- but users still can't type on it. At least, not with any real, comparable speed.

If Apple can tap out a solution to tapping out quick prose, then it really will have built an opportunity for it to kill its own PC business -- along with everyone else's.

They did make some strides in that direction, though. One, succinct example of the capabilities Apple is carving out for itself is the native iPhoto software on this third-gen tablet. (ReadWriteWeb's Dan Frommer drills into how Apple really is in its own green field of opportunity.)

Editing, color correction, auto-recognize -- even pre-set filters (hello, Instagram) -- it all points to a mouse-less, stylus-less, fingers-only world for multitouch editing from anywhere users can haul their 9.7-inch Retina Displays.

Until you get to the caption field. Granted, a few characters is nothing to quibble over. But until I can type out a story on my iPad as fast as I can on this physical keyboard it's still only a somewhat-post-PC world.

The other thing we saw when Cook was on stage was a somewhat creepy mannerism reference to former CEO/visionary Steve Jobs. This product iteration most likely has some of the last fingerprints Jobs put on the product pipeline transformative experience he created.

Cook never mentioned Jobs. He didn't say, even as homage, "One more thing." He did prayerfully put his hands before him, like Jobs would often do. Many people make that gesture, but being on that stage, at this time?

It's a distinction without a difference in the long run: this iPad continues the "changes everything" meme that will continue to drive PCs underground.

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