I know. I may still be riding on the crest of this iPaD hype but seriously, this baby had stirred a lot of interest in the younger generation. Well, never mind that the price tag on it isn’t exactly something the kids could get off of their allowance but, hey.. it’s being eyed as the potential …tada dah dah…..Toy of the Year! And the winner is … the Apple iPad.

I think that’s a pretty reasonable assumption for this time next year, especially when the kids start dabbling at iPad’s puddle of interactivity. Here’s why Apple may have created the ultimate plaything:

* Young children think with their fingers. If they see something, they jab at it. Steer left? Lean left. Flip it, and the screen flips, too. If iPad delivers as promised, it will have evaporated the abstract link between a child’s hand and the more abstract screen images, so no game controller or mouse is needed. The screen is the controller and it sits in their lap, which works for children (and their grandparents, too, by the way).

* There’s a good supply of affordable software. We all know that hardware is only as good as its software, and iPad’s existing 140,000 titles include some tried-and-true children’s options.

* A new outlet for storytellers. Anyone over 18 has fond memories of The Living Books. These interactive experiences cleverly wove stories from Mercer Mayer or Dr. Seuss with hidden surprises. The iPad’s clear, page-sized screen could breathe new life into this genre, now that fingers are back in style.

* A place to make a mess. Anyone who has tried to sketch on the now tiny-seeming iPod or iPhone screen knows what drawing on a postage stamp is like. Perhaps that’s w, an app that has been adapted for the iPad to lets children do what comes naturally — splatter paint.

* That answer to the age-old question — “Are we there yet?” If iPad lives up to its promise of 10 hours of battery life, I could make it from Manila to Baguio on a single charge; a life-saver for any restless long drive traveler.

* A fair price. I researched that back in 1972, Alan Kay outlined the specs for dream hand-held computer of the future, with rechargeable batteries a touch screen and the ability to deliver books. In describing his Dynabook, he wrote “such a device is possible that a target price of $500 is not totally outrageous.” That’s iPad’s starting cost.

Even though Apple didn’t intend to make a toy, I believe it just did. But still the numerous speculations. Will it be a useful book reader? An iPod Touch/iPhone on steroids? We will find out very quickly here, and then we can all envision how we could use the device. Will it help you at work?

Will it be the perfect commuting partner? Will you use it as the mother of all television remotes? Consider this, though. How will it affect our children? How will they use this big Iphone? I asked my Keoni what he thought about it and his reply was…”It’s a giant Iphone/Ipod and digital book/media player!” Geesh.

Knowing Keoni, he would probably play with it the moment it comes out of the box. Like most tech savvy kids, he will be amazed at how large his favorite iPod Touch apps look on the larger screen.
And the screen will be large enough that they can both play with it at once. But as long as I can keep it together and continue practicing my e gadgets’ house rules, the Apple tablet or iPad will be used a great deal for education. Check out the possibilities.

Tons of story book files and data to use for homeschooling that’s just inconvenient to use on a desktop computer, or even on a laptop. On a tablet, the files could be sitting next to us at the table, just like a text book.

The kids could mark up the pages as if they were writing in a workbook. We could watch videos from the internet or do interactive educational websites without leaving our school table.

When going on trips or long drives, why, we could bring our video collection, much less a whole library!

But of course, if you had more than one child you’d have to have at least two – ouch! (To be continued).

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