Last week, Steven P. jobs unveiled the new Apple product called iPad. It is a tablet computer which resemblance a giant iPod Touch or iPhone.  It’s 0.5 in thick, weighs 1.5 lb and has in 9.7 in multi-touch screen. You are able to get one at the end of March, sale price starting at US$499.

However, is iPad the iThing that you have dream of? Some reviewers said that it was a bit of letdown as they are hoping for the something that will surprise them and compel them to stampede to the Apple Store yet again, to recreate the phenomenon that iPhone and Touch has produced.

If you are a typical consumer, this iPad maybe nothing fantastic to you. Since you may have already got your Touch or iPhone, it seems that there is no need to get a giant version of them!  Well, I felt that this time round Apple is not targeting the Touch/iPhone mass of users but people that like to read and in love with their App Store.

Currently, in the eBook market, Amazon Kindle is the king. However, with iPad coming out, this is going to change. When Kindle displays books in grayscale, the iPad makes them look like real. This is a great feature and important in creating a new user browsing experience. Also, with its surprising battery that lasts for 10 hours. Schools may load the textbooks into the iPad and create a brand new learning experience! This is the potential of iPad!

With the success we saw in App Store, iBookstore is just going to be another hit. In addition, Apple is opening a store that allow publishers to set their own prices.

For me, I am not a book lover, but I may buy one for my mum. She likes to play games in the App Store but the screen of iPhone is too small for her. So maybe I can buy it for her birthday?

It has been said that “imitation is the highest form of flattery”, and nothing can be more true then looking at various web services that the Chinese who have a flair for imitation have come up with for their own nation below.

Search Engines

Amidst talks of Google pulling out of China on controversy over it wanting to lift filters on it’s Chinese search engine, an imitation website called “Goojje” which sounds like big sister in Chinese.  Another popular search engine based on Google in China is “Baidu”, more than just a search engine it offers many other services such as Maps, News, Video, MP3 and image searches, social networking and even an encyclopedia.

Instant Messaging

There’s only one way to instant message friends in China, and that’s using QQ!
QQ has over 300 million users with more than half of China’s population using it and is especially popular with the younger generation. Aside from instant messaging, it provides many other functions allowing users to create their own avatars, blog, play games, listen to online radio and even keep desktop pets.
It also has their own form of currency known as Q coin where users can purchase QQ related items to personalize their blogs and avatars.

Video Sharing

Aside from Youku, YouTubecn was just recently set up in mid-January this year to mimic Youtube which was banned in China from onwards of 2008 after videos of Tibetan unrest emerged. Youtubecn is also rather clean by Chinese censorship standards  and has been welcomed by the Chinese online community.

The Chinese market has huge potential in terms of providing internet services being the world’s third largest economy with the highest count of Internet users.  This can also be seen from the rapid growth of companies such as QQ as well as the success of Baidu.

It will be interesting to see what the Chinese will imitate or come up with next. However the key to success for the above services are having an understanding of the Chinese language, the psyche, culture and lifestyle of the Internet users as well as providing an integrated and engaging experience where users can have everything they want at their fingertips as demonstrated by the services provided above.