Tablet Hype Gets Surreal

It’s remarkable to watch the frenzy leading up to an Apple product launch. Speculation and “ink” devoted to the forthcoming media pad/tablet probably reaches new heights as far as that is concerned.

We all know from months of reports that it’s coming; that it’s a real thing. Yet people are going absolutely crazy with expectation. I admit to also being quite curious and interested to see how “good” it is and what its features and capabilities are.

Perhaps the most amazing bit of potential hyperbole comes from TechCrunch this morning. Michael Arrington posts some hearsay comments attributed to Steve Jobs: “This will be the most important thing I’ve ever done.” I would think that this remark would apply more to the original Apple 1 than anything that followed:

But if Jobs actually said that statement then perhaps this device will live up to the unbelievable hype it has to contend with.

According to mobile analytics company Flurry, the tablet will run existing iPhone apps: this is a big deal for both developers and the device itself.

Flurry reported that it “observed approximately 200 different applications in use by testers. Studying category trends provides insight into the kind of user Apple is targeting and how it expects the device to be used. Below is a chart that shows the number of applications in use by category across test devices.” These are current iPhone apps running on the devices being used for testing “in the wild.”

The broader point to keep in mind is that the Kindle and now this Apple device (among others to come) are part of a new wave of computing that will put the Internet everywhere, accessible all the time, on multiple screens. I’ve always talked about the “two device scenario” and now it’s finally here in earnest.

We’ll have to wait and see how this can be used and which publishers will benefit most.

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Update: This is a purported ad for the Apple “iPad” (I think it’s a fake, you decide):