The Week of the Tablet

By Eric Murrell Monday January 25, 2010

Even if you only have a drop of geek-blood coursing through your veins, you’re probably aware that Apple is supposedly announcing their quasi-mythical tablet computing device this Wednesday. Being a huge Apple fan, I’ve spent the last few months daydreaming about the stuff the new iPad/iSlate/iPod Grande could potentially bring to the table. As I mentioned last August, here are four things Apple could do to lure me into buying a new device…

Make it a dock-able nightstand device. I’m imaging a charging station/dock on my nightstand that would turn the device into a souped up internet-enabled alarm clock, complete with weather widgets, RSS feeds, etc. Even more tempting if it can wake me up with music from my iTunes library.
Give it a killer screen. If it has a gorgeous pixel-rich screen, I can reasonably see it taking the place of my beloved Kindle for eBooks. Plus, who’s not tempted by a gorgeous screen?
Give it a custom OS. I don’t won’t a huge version of Mobile OS X; I want a scaled down version of Snow Leopard with a custom, candy-coated UI to call it’s own.
Don’t make me buy a data plan. I’m fine with this having 3G built-in as an optional feature, but I drool over this as a WiFi device through and through. A monthly data fee is a deal breaker for my inner Dave Ramsey.

As much as I enjoy playing with a fresh new piece of technology, the thing that excites me more is figuring out a way to repurpose some of our ministry efforts here to engage a new audience. Whenever something new and useful comes out, I try to ensure that our church is one of the first content producers for the new medium; it gives us a unique opportunity to build interest and engage an audience of young professionals that may not check us out on Sunday morning, but would give us a shot through technology just to see what we’re all about.

Do you see any obvious ministry opportunities through this new content form-factor? Let us know in the comments below.

[Image © Gizmodo]