I remember hearing Steve Jobs announce the iPhone in 2007.  I instantly wanted one.  I knew that it would change everything and I was right.  Look at most of the smart phones today.  They’re all large screens that have few buttons and if they have a keyboard, it’s hidden.

Now, I’m watching Steve announce something that I think will change everything again.  I’ve often sat with my laptop (in this case an old 13″ powerbook) and been dismayed by some of it’s limitations.  I’m still navigating with a mouse–a device that is little changed since it’s wide adoption in the early ’80’s.  I can’t interact directly with the screen in an intuitive way.  I’m often using a keyboard to enter text.

When I got my iPhone, I started taking notes on it exclusively.  The problem is that I’m typing with my two thumbs instead of my ten fingers, which is naturally faster.  Expose and spaces on my Mac is great, but I’d love to be able to just intuitively flick around on the desktop.

I love the idea of having something the size of a notebook (the paper kind, not the laptop kind) and interacting with it like I would a notebook.  This kind of reminds me of the books in the Harry Potter universe, with pictures and video, instantly changing.

I know some people are dismayed that it’s just a large iPod touch.  I’m not.  I have a 8.4″ touchscreen that runs Windows that I can use at work, but this is different.  I don’t need a stylus, but just the ten fingers that God gave me.

It’s just better.  I can’t wait.  I think it will facilitate the paperless office (you can carry it with you like a piece of paper and email like a computer).  These are just first impressions, but I bet you’ll see it’s utility as you use it.

Paul