Earlier this year I wrote an article about the launch of the iPad (Apple iPad – Game Changer for Online Marketers?).  At the time, the iPad had just been released and was garnering plenty of attention from media pundits and, more importantly, consumers.  So, here we are about eight months later and I thought it would be a good time to take another look at the iPad, its popularity with consumers, and whether it will indeed be a game changer for online marketers.

When I wrote the first article earlier this year, I had only been able to read about the iPad specs and play with one in the Apple store for a few minutes.  But, thanks to some good fortune in spinning the prize wheel at the Rev Engine booth at Affiliate Summit East last month I became the proud owner of an iPad of my very own.  (This is two shows in a row with someone from the affiliate.com crew winning an iPad.  What are the odds we can make it happen again at ad:tech New York in November?)

So, what do I think of the iPad from a user standpoint?  Quite simply – it rocks.  In the month that I have had it, I have found that my casual web surfing from home has moved almost completely from my laptop or desktop to the iPad.  Getting on the internet is faster and easier than any laptop can match.  Because, like it’s little brother the iPhone, you don’t have to boot up the iPad.  Just bring the screen to life and you’re online in seconds.  The large touch screen is also a huge plus in web browsing.  Hitting the web from your iPhone can be an annoying experience unless the site you visit is optimized for mobile users.  The smaller screen becomes a challenge when trying to view or navigate around on a standard website.  But, the iPad handles regular websites like a charm.  My only complaint about the iPad from an internet user standpoint is that with Safari as your browser, sites that utilize Flash don’t work properly.  This can be a pretty big annoyance, but is something you just have to live with if you use the iPad.

Of course, the iPad is more than just a touch screen internet browser.  It is also provides access to a large and steadily growing lineup of applications that can dramatically change the capabilities of each person’s tablet to meet their individual needs.  This is another huge advantage over even the best laptop or netbook.  Sure, you can put different software on those devices to provide you with various functionality, but the iPad picks up the complete simplicity and speed of downloading apps over a wireless or 3G network and putting them right on your screen.  Read about a cool new app while you’re on some website?  You can grab the app from the App Store and be checking it out yourself in less than a minute.  It is nearly seamless integration and almost instant gratification.

Now, if you want to use the iPad for some of the more productivity or work-related functions (word processing, spreadsheets, etc.) you are probably going to want to add the wireless keyboard rather than using the virtual keyboard.  The virtual keyboard is much easier to use than the one on the iPhone because of larger keys, but I still don’t really like using it to type longer emails or documents.  I haven’t done much serious writing with the iPad yet, but imagine that with a physical keyboard it will probably work very smoothly.  But, this is an area where a good notebook computer may still outperform the iPad if you are using it for this purpose on a regular basis.

Based on recent sales figures, it seems likely many consumers have decided that the iPad can serve as a better alternative to a notebook computer.  Notebook sales seem to have peaked just before the iPad was released and have shown a fairly steady decline ever since (Morgan Stanley Research Report).  At the same time, iPad sales have flourished, beginning with a huge number sold on launch day (300,000) and the sales don’t show any signs of slowing down.  In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Best Buy’s CEO recently suggested that the iPad has cannibalized notebook sales at the retail giant by as much as 50%.

From an online marketing standpoint the iPad and its future rivals (Samsung’s upcoming tablet looks like the first serious competitor on the horizon) are likely going to become the go-to device for web browsing and a host of other functions, replacing the home PC/laptop for many people.  One big plus is that they offer many of the advantages of the smart phone (portability, mobile web access, etc.) without the drawback of a very tiny screen.  Still, the tablet market is in its infancy and predicting how consumers will change their online surfing or purchasing behavior with the new devices is still just a guessing game.  But the day of the tablet computer seems to finally be in sight and online marketers need to be ready to leverage the features of the new devices to better connect with users.

I have yet to travel with the iPad, but definitely plan on bringing it to ad:tech New York in November and probably leaving my laptop at home.  That will be a great test of how well it works beyond just casual home use and whether it can actually replace the laptop for the average traveler.  Stay tuned.