My iPad has officially replaced my trusty Moleskine notebook. Instead of paper and pen, my iPad comes to my meetings, to Starbucks, and pretty much everywhere I go. There are a lot of wonderful apps for the iPad, and I’ll get into them in good time. But one app really stands out in it’s design, beauty and function — Flipboard.
I first read about Flipboard months before I finally plunked down the cash for an iPad, and it had already captured my attention. It’s remarkable in that Flipboard really doesn’t do anything that I couldn’t do before.
What is Flipboard?
Essentially, Flipboard is a different way of reading and consuming media that I’ve already been reading and consuming via other means. What makes Flipboard remarkable is that it does it so elegantly.
Flipboard transforms Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Google Reader and RSS feeds into a beautiful, magazine-like interface that leverages all the good bits of the iPad. A Twitter stream is noisy and difficult to browse. The same stream through Flipboard is a pleasure. Links, photos and videos show up inline without requiring extra clicks, making browsing your streams not only a pleasure, but making it possible in a new way.
Here are a few screenshots to help tell the Flipboard story. Click any thumbnail to browser the larger images.
I still use Twitter and Facebook, but reading the same streams via Flipboard never fails to surface new and interesting conversations that I might have otherwise overlooked.
If you have an iPad, you must download and use Flipboard. Hell, it’s free.
If you don’t have an iPad, Flipboard might be reason enough to get one.
Unfortunately, I cannot yet afford an Ipad. I am hoping when the Ipad two is released, that I can get a used one for a relatively good price.
I am also considering an Ipad touch as it seems to have many of the same features but is half the price. are you familiar with that at all?