Nature abhors a vacuum. Application developers, on the other hand, stand ready to revel in it as the Apple tablet (whatever the trade name) is getting ready for its close-up. Call it what you will, but today it is a leterally a “Tabula Rasa”, a Latin term that often applies to a “fresh mind,” but could equally refer to any item or resource “existing in its pristine state” – i.e. the proverbial “Empty Slate”.

So what are people going to do with this yet-to-be revealed triumph in mobile computing and communications. A survey conducted among over 550 of the 19,000 developers registered with Appcelerator shows great expectations among the folks that will make the device truly useful. Ninety percent of the respondents said that they would have an app out for the Apple tablet within a year. Compared to alternatives, the device rates third behind the iPhone and Android, but ahead of (in order of “Highly Interested”) Blackberry, Palm Pre, Windows Mobile and Symbian.

When thinking of the category of app that respondents would develop, there is (thankfully) a marked shift away from “Games” to place “Busines/Productivity” at the top of the list of apps most likely to be developed. Entertainment ranked second, followed by Social Networking, Educations and (then) Games. Appcelerator compares these aspirational statements with the share represented by iPhone downloads where Games rank first, followed by Entertainment, Books, Education and Travel.

The enthusiasm of the developer cohort reflects the depth of interest in the new device and its capabilities. The elevation of Business/Productivity and Social Networking as major application areas reflects anticipated breadth in the services to be offered. Neither guarantees success for the tablet computer, which is a type of device that has languished since the introduction of the Dynabook by Alan Kay back in 1972. It was a good (and visionary) idea then. It is a great (and totally doable) concept now.

What’s different. Components are less expensive. Communications bandwidth is faster and more readily available (although Apple’s networking strategy has yet to be revealed). The general public’s understanding and acceptance of the touchscreen (with our without multi-touch) is not in question. There is a surfeit of digitized content, applications and capabilities. The developer community stands ready to deliver new applications. The iTunes platform stands ready to distribute and bill for new apps, upgrades and updates. Most importantly, customers on campuses, inside business enterprises and hanging around at home are waiting breathlessly for the next shiny thing from Apple.

This is not going to be John Sculley taking the stage, wielding an unimpressive handheld and saying “The Newton is Here!”, as a few hundred were airdropped onto the desktops of business leaders (who had no clue what they were and what they might be good for). Steve Jobs will be showing off one or more members of a family of devices that the impatient world has been waiting for. And believe me, if Google is able to deliver VoIP over the Web through the locked down iPhone distribution system so that people-in-the-know can read their voice mail, any number of solutions providers are looking forward to getting their goods ‘on the glass’ of Apple’s happy, shiny new object.

Get ready to witness Recombinant Communications at its best as Apple’s ’empty slate’ captures the imagination of developers and end-users alike. They will then take turns defining and assembling new solutions that transform each blank screen into personal portals into better searching, shopping, traveling, gaming and otherwise entertaining themselves.

Categories: Articles

Tags: Tablet Computer, Apple, Recombinant Communications