So after all that, it comes with a relatively simple name, uses the iPhone OS, and looks…well…like an oversized iPod Touch. But before we dismiss Jobs & Co, which so many bloggers and crazed Macheads have rampantly done since Wednesday morning, let’s remember who this device is aimed at – not necessarily those of us with a dozen or so Apple products already in our bags – but perhaps those new to computers, the Web, and especially *apps*.

As an excellent post by Daniel Tenner points out, the “geeks and assorted Macheads constitute a relatively small percentage of the computer-using people around the world. The vast majority of the world is still using Windows PCs. And for them, an iPad may be exactly what they’ve been waiting for…”

Regardless of the moaning we are now hearing from Apple (as well as non-Apple) fans, the iPad is poised to become a *major* platform upon it’s release at the end of March, and Developers are scrambling to be ready. Since Apple was kind enough to put us out of our misery by releasing a new 3.2 Beta SDK (complete with an iPad emulator) within hours of the announcement, many of us have already begun seeing what our iPhone apps actually look like on a 9.7 inch (1024×768 resolution) IPS touchscreen.

In some cases, the results have been excellent – others…well…let’s just say they could use some serious ‘refining’.

One thing is certain, looking at the translation of native apps Apple has already showcased (Mail, Notes, Calendar, App Store, etc), it’s pretty clear that for Developers to truly perform on the new platform, they need to customise and tailor their products specifically for iPad features and perhaps more importantly, its likely user-base. This doesn’t just mean larger pictures, wider screen furniture, expanded logos and ‘split screen’ effects. The new platform demands a unique approach.

Sure your existing iPhone App will function on the iPad, but will it sell?

With Apple already promising to ‘Feature’ and highlight apps designed specifically for the iPad within the the native iPad App Store, can content owners and developers afford to ‘hope for the best’ when their current app – designed and developed for a 480×320 iPhone/iPod Touch screen – is stretched to accomodate the iPad?

As several pundits have rightly pointed out – the key to the iPad’s success will undoubtedly be the strength and custom approach of its apps. By extension, Developers and Content Owners seeking (to use Steve Jobs’ own words) a second app ‘gold rush’, need to approach the iPad on its strengths, not its size. If not, the ‘over-sized iPod Touch’ paradigm will likely sink everyone involved.

This will necessarily be a short blog post – as it will be outdated within a few hours – but just to get us all ready for the action in San Francisco set for 6PM GMT, check out this user-friendly, colour-coded graphic of ‘Apple Rumours’ put together by our friends at Mashable. It can even be used as a ‘tablet’ if you’re scoring at home – green circles for what’s in, red ‘x’s for what’s out.

At the end of the day, how will Apple’s take on an all-in-one Mobile Web browsing, Facebook App using, Twitter Feed Aggregating, Micro-blogging, Video-watching, Game-playing, 10-inch Touchscreen Screen Sporting, iPhone OS Running Device surprise us all? Rest assured, it will do a lot more (or less) than the rumours have intimated.

Of course, the big question still has to be – do we really need a Tablet? What problem(s) will it solve? And what does this mean for other eReading devices like the Nook and Kindle?

No matter what happens at the Yerba Buena Center in just a few hours in San Francisco, I’ll be placing my bets (saving my money) and watching religiously with the rest of you…

Well it was only a matter of time, and given the inevitable arrival of Apple’s iTablet/iPad/iSlate/iCanvas thing next Wednesday 27th – Amazon has quickly (and judging by their frantic one-page announcement) rather loosely announced the arrival of a Kindle Software Development Kit (or KDK) allowing developers to create a number of apps or active content for the Kindle eReader.

So it’s another App Store then…

Leaving the ‘too little too late’ and ‘last gasp’ comments aside, downloadable apps for eReaders and their audiences cannot be ignored – and for many media formats (newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc.) eBooks are a stellar platform for revenue-generating content deployments. Hey – there’s a reason so few magazines have successfully debuted as ‘magazine layout’ iPhone Apps…

Sure Amazon has based this app strategy – brazenly – on the Apple App Store (see: 70/30 revenue split, payment models free/one-time download/subscription) and the timing of the release brings an instant smile to our faces, there is no doubt this is an important early iteration of a new content channel for the now ‘it’ device of 2010 – the tablet.

By this time next week, I’m guessing our collective PowerPoint presentations will be filled with (last page) slides outlining the app and channel opportunities avaialable to content owners on eReaders and tablets. First mover advantage in the Kindle App Store and Apple’s Tablet App Store (which I gamble will launch with at least 10K apps by late March of this year) will no doubt create a massive land grab. After all, what company would miss the chance of becoming the first ‘Labyrinth’ or ‘Tap Tap Revenge’ of the tablet generation…

So well done to Amazon – I do hope they enjoy the press for the next 5 or so days…