Jobs’ iPad, the new newspaper?

The wait is finally over. Earlier this week Steve Jobs announced the release of Apple’s newest creation, the iPad.

Rumors of the touch-screen tablet device surfaced on the internet over a year ago, causing the imagination of techies to run rampant with anticipation.

In typical Apple fashion, nothing was said about the device until the official keynote address was made last Wednesday (Jan. 27). Unfortunately, the hype and internet chatter surrounding the new product was insurmountable.

Since the announcement, throngs of feminine hygiene jokes have permeated the blogosphere, and reactions to the iPad have been less than enthusiastic. It’s just a big iPhone … minus the phone part, right?

Maybe. Maybe not. But the technical specs of the gadget itself aren’t its most promising feature; it’s the way that content is delivered to the device.

The iPad has the ability to do for the print industry what the iPod did for the music industry. It could make paying for news media cool again. Why? Because Steve Jobs said so.

If Apple can leverage its brand name and massive legion of die-hard fans to adapt the iPad into their gadget arsenal, it will open up a huge opportunity for print publications that have been struggling to find an audience. Especially one willing to pay for content.

The iPad-ready version of the New York Times that Jobs proudly showed off at his keynote presentation was less than spectacular (to say the least … what’s with the headlines?), but the potential is there.