It will take a couple of iterations, but the iPad will open new frontiers for "e-transactions".

What I believe Apple really started yesterday with the introduction of the iPad is "iCommerce". Granted, Apple's announcement, given the amount of hype and anticipation was not overwhelming. In short we can say that the iPad is a big iTouch. Great! Nonetheless even for contrarians like me, it would be ridiculous to discount the importance of this introduction, for three reasons: 1) History does tend to repeat itself when the same team plays again; 2) Size does matter when it comes to consumer experience; and 3) Like the iPod, the iPad will morph.

The user experience and ecosystem that the iPad will enable will create very novel opportunities for commerce and transactions. Imagine for a moment: An unbridled Facebook (not the mobile version) augmented with social commerce (thanks to PayPal X) anywhere, any time; shopping at an appliance store with an interactive OEM agent to assist you; digitally signing a commercial contract directly on the screen and triggering in real time the product delivery; or negotiating with a foreign client, assisted with real time audio translation.

For more on this, visit my blog The Commerce Fault Line at http://pymnts.com/the-commerce-fault-line, or click the link on my name to go to my blog post.

Posted by Patrick Gauthier, 30/01/2010 8:50am (1 month ago)