PANEL: What iPad Means For The Future of Mobility

On the eve of attending adTech in San Francisco, I attended a local panel discussion for app developers organized by Noah Kravitz of PhoneDog, a mobile blog that's part of the NetShelter Technology Media network that includes IntoMobile and, my personal favorite, AllShadow.com. Panelists included:

• Will Park, Editor-in-Chief, IntoMobile.com
• Damon Brown, Daily Media/Tech Blogger, Bnet.com; Author of “Damon Brown’s Simple iPad Guide”
• Aaron Watkins, President, Appency Press
• Jesse Lindeman, Director of Product and Technical Marketing, Mobile Iron
• Anthony Ha, Assistant Editor, VentureBeat
• Nitin Chitkara, VP, Business Development, Mobclix

As is often the case in these intimate sessions with this many panelists, the evening took a while to take shape. But Noah did a stand-up job managing his moderator duties - talking to the live streaming audience and tweeting fans on his iPad and juggling a panel that was insightful, if not articulate. After a bumpy beginning talking about whether iPads legitimize "man-bags" and rambling panelist self-introductions, Noah steered the discussion to elicit a few interesting comments and insights.

On the topic of app pricing: "$4.99 is the new $.99". Panelists were divided about if and how the iPad will normalize pricing for paid apps on the large screen iPad versus the iPhone. One panelist remarked that the extra screen real estate will not be enough to justify a higher price for an iPad app than the same app on an iPhone/iPod. IntoMobile's Will Park noted simply, "Crappy apps will only look crappier on a bigger screen."  However, there was little consensus about how developers should consider setting prices for iPad apps to harmonize costs and volume.

A New User Experience: Developers should re-think their iPhone app strategy for the bigger form factor to increase a consumer's engagement with their app's content. The panel seemed to agree the iPad was an immersive experience that could be leveraged for monetizable value. And there was clear consensus from the bloggers on the panel that they weren't prepared yet to ditch their laptops for the sleek tablet. "It's not that cool yet." Park was balancing his teetering iPad on his knee in its case, allowing him to tip the screen so he could (I'm guessing) type during the session.

Early Adopters Sharing: There was only a brief mention of developing apps for other tablets than the iPad, although the topic was merchandised more broadly than simply the iPad. About half of the audience indicated they owned iPads, and 90% of those seemed to have been expensed. Panelists stood in line the first day, they streamed to their blogs from the lines, and they even admitted they take their iPads into the bathroom to read. A few confessed to cuddling their iPad in bed, an experience they claimed they never had with their laptop, which gets overheated. "It's the last thing I see before I go to bed."

Apps, Books, and Stores: The most popular app among the panel was Netflix, although one panelist, Damon Brown, pointed out that Alice for the iPad was really an app, not a book. I thought that was an odd distinction. So I went to iTunes and noticed "books" appear on the App Store, and books appear in the iBook Store. There are apps that are sold to read electronics books you can read on an iPod that doesn't have the iBook store yet.  Confused yet?

As panelists summarized their final thoughts, one common theme emerged: the iPad is important to this group not because of what it does, but because of what it enables for designer,s developers, advertisers and consumers.