The Potential of the iPad

We'll be honest - we haven't been this excited about the launch of a technical gadget since the iPhone first came out.

Just to be clear here, we're talking about the iPad2 here which was released by Apple a little over a month ago. Now don't get us wrong, the original iPad was something to behold but it merely announced the arrival of a new industry. The new and updated iPad may be the game changer though - it might be the product that convinces an awful lot of people in a wide range of industries to do things entirely differently.

When the original iPad was launched, Steve Jobs described it as as "so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smartphone." He was entirely correct (as he usually is), but the new and updated iPad which was launched a little over 18 months later is an improvement in every way.

It's faster and thinner. The screen is a lot sharper and contains two cameras to allow users to engage in face to face conversations. A revolutionary cover protects the screen and a whole new operating system has got Apple developers salivating at the sort of things that they might be able to do.

Already, we've seen medical organisations farm out iPads (complete with unique apps) to the vast majority of their staff. Molecular scientists are recording all their work on there and businesses are giving them to their sales departments to help with client presentations.

And that's before we get to the games. While the iPhone introduced us to the idea of an 'App Store,' it's the launch of the iPad which has started to persuade people that perhaps Apple is now a serious contender in the lucrative 'console' market too.

One particular area that has been overlooked by the press though is that of online gambling. If every day games like Angry Birds are so popular on the iPad then it only stands to reason that a variety of casino games such as poker could truly benefit from the iPad platform - after all, there can't be too many games which would be as well suited to the tablet's touch screen functionality as the game of poker.

While poker hasn't truly landed on the iPad yet, a small number of casinos have launched specific apps allowing users to play the likes of Blackjack, Roulette and a whole host of slot machines while they're on the move.

Additionally, the lucrative sports betting market has also got in on the action with a number of the larger bookies now allowing players to bet on sports iPad-style. Apps can now be downloaded and installed, allowing players to wager on their favourite sports while they're on the move.

In short, the iPad looks set to revolutionise another industry in a not too distant future, and the way that various developers are already creating all sorts of apps to use on the table would suggest that things will be happening much sooner rather than later.

The potential of the device really is quite extraordinary. Obviously time will tell whether the impact that it has on the gambling market will be similar to what we've already seen in more mainstream areas, but it would take a brave person to play around with an iPad and then state that it won't change the manner of mobile gaming for a long while to come.