[ Photo courtesy of Juhalhalainen via creative commons license. ]
The iPad has changed my life radically over the past 17 months, and I’m so enamored with it that I’m going to host a one-day event on October 21 in Mountain View dedicated to tablet revolution.
What’s Changed in My Life?
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1. Over 50% of content I consume is now on my iPad.
2. I watch an equal amount of video on my iPad as I do on my television set.
3. On business trips I use the iPad as often as I use my laptop.
4. My 20-month old daughter and I use my old iPad one to read interactive books together, to learn her A-B-Cs and 1-2-3s -- literally!
5. When away from my desktop, I use my iPad to read email more often than I use my Blackberry.
6. I download five to 10 apps a month -- most of which are paid (in other words, I spend $25 a month on apps, or $300 a year).
7. My father has never used a computer before, but he now uses an iPad.
8. While on vacation in Paris and Venice this year, my wife and I used the stunning Zagat iPad app to quickly find two of the best meals of our lives.
In my opinion, tablet computing will be a greater revolution than the smart phone or laptop were.
If you have an iPad, you are nodding your head right now.
If you don’t own an iPad right now you’re saying “Yeah, whatever, Jason’s just an apex geek.” You couldn’t be more wrong if you’re doubting the tablet revolution.
The agenda for the one-day event:
a) See demos from the 20 most important startups/products in the tablet space. This will be rapid fire, five-minute demos followed by insightful Q&A and debate.
b) Figure out the impact these devices will have on television, movies, education, news, books, health and entertainment.
c) Figure out what products will succeed on which platforms, and why.
d) Discuss the coming Android-based Kindle that blew MG Siegler away, what the iPad 3 will be like, Sony’s tablet which Walt Mossberg said was "no iPad wannabe" and that Microsoft's Windows 8 could be the competition in the tablet space that pushes Apple.
f) Have lunch at 20 tables of 12 (or so) with one or two of the founders from each of the 20 companies presenting.
We’ve secured 275 seats for this event at Microsoft’s awesome conference facility. I’m going to give 225 tickets to my friends (developers, angel investors and bloggers working in the tablet/mobile space). There are 50 seats available to the public. Buy your ticket here.
This is part of my event “disruption” plan: make these events awesome by bringing the actual developers and builders of apps for free. This way it’s not a room full of senior executives and marketers.
I need your help with four things:
1. Who are the 20 most important tablet companies, and which person should I have demo their product at the event?
2. Which developers/product managers/UX folks who actually make sh@#$% should I invite? You know, folks who can actually add value as participants and that you would like to sit with at lunch? If you’re a developer/UX/product person and want a free ticket, apply here.
3. What questions/issues should be on the agenda?
4. If your startup needs developers and you want to be a total mensch and sponsor breakfast, lunch or the cocktail hour, please ping partners@launch.is.
The event will be called LAUNCH 'PAD
Note: The event will be about all tablets--not just the iPad. Android tablets and Microsoft’s offering are nascent, certainly, but they should not be discounted.
All the best,
Jason
PS - I’m going to do another one-day event on November 29 called LAUNCH Social, in which the 20 most important social founders/visionaries will show their latest products. Demo or die baby! Same deal, ~200 developers/product managers invited for free and 50 tickets available to the public.