One year ago, the iPad was announced.  

A little over two months later, on April 3, 2010, a bunch of knuckle head friends all convened at some crazy early hour in the morning to make the trek to the Apple Store LaCantera in San Antonio so we could stand in line to buy an iPad.

SalesBy5’s Chief Inspiration Officer, Nan Palmero joined in, as did Wes Wilson, CEO of Upstack and Brandstack, who bought one to do presentations for potential investors and partners.  Ryan Kelly, CEO of Pear Analytics bought one because his company has an app for the iPhone and wanted to explore the idea of replicating it for the iPad.  Rackspace’s Robert Taylor, bought one for his personal use.  He is an Apple fan and thought it was important buy one and be an early adapter.  (note how Mr. Taylor and I are wearing the same Apple Mothership T-Shirt.)

Almost one year later.. I still love my iPad.  

I'm using mine primarily as a content platform to read and keep on my desk to watch my social stream while I work.  I also like it for trade shows and conferences, so I don't have to lug my regular MacBook Pro to the show.  It's great for movies when I am up in the air.

Very Interesting InfoGraphic from OnSwipe

So, how about you?  

Did you buy an iPad?  Waiting for the refresh model?  Maybe getting or got a Samsung or other brand?  Waiting for Honeycomb?

Chime in and leave a comment.  

Before you go out and buy a bunch of apps for your iPad, my suggestion is download as many free apps as you can, and use them.  You’ll get the hang of the interface, learn to use the very cool Multi-Touch technology and then decide which apps you may want to buy.

Initially, I suggest using your iPad as a media reader from sources like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, USA Today

Here’s what I recommend form the iPad Apps Store:

-ABC Player – the future of broadcast TV on tablets

-Amazon Kindle – a great way to buy books

-BBC News – terrific presentation and organization of world news

-Bloomberg – also a terrific presentation

-Epicurious – well done cook book

-EverNote – a great place to store notes, photos and much more

-GAP – this is the future of online retailing

-Kayak – shop for travel

-Netflix – a great alternative to getting your videos from the Apple online store

-NPR – aside from The New York Times, the absolute best presentation of online, multimedia content

-TweetDeck – my personal fave for managing your Twitter feeds and of course, Tweeting Up.

-TWitPad – a different approach than what ABC Player has done because it’s all geared for online TV as opposed to broadcast TV modified for the iPad.

-Urban Spoon – same as on the iPhone or your desktop, but better view and interface on the iPad

-Yahoo Entertainment – set up your own online TV guide.  Makes your being a couch potato

Other locals in San Antonio who bought an iPad because...

SalesBy5’s Chief Inspiration Officer, Nan Palmero was with his wife, Ashley who is a wedding photographer.  He was buying one for her so she could make presentations to prospective and do photo previews on a tablet like platform.  Wes Wilson, CEO of Upstack and Brandstack, bought one to do presentations for potential investors and partners.  Ryan Kelly, CEO of Pear Analytics bought one because his company has an app for the iPhone and they are presently working on an iPad specific app that will ship in the next 90 days.  Rackspace’s Robert Taylor, bought one for his personal use.  He is an Apple fan and thought it was important buy one and be an early adapter.  

Articles / Insights You Can Use to Learn More About Why The iPad Matters

 GigaOM:  How iAd and the iPad Will Change Mobile Marketing

Computerworld:  Mike Elgan - Why iPad is the “Children’s Toy of the Year.”

Media Bistro’s Mobile Content Today – Why the iPad Matters

The New York Times’s David Pogue – Apple iPad FAQ

The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg – Apple iPad Review: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close

Did you buy an iPad?  What apps are you using - and why? Chime in and leave a comment.