Apple Inc. has announced its new multi-touch iPad will be available for sale in March of 2010. The tablet-style computer will have print, video, photo, multimedia and Internet browsing capabilities, and can also run most iPhone apps.

At just 1.5 pounds, it’s more portable than a laptop, and the 10-hour battery far exceeds the typical laptop experience, which drains after a couple or three hours. It’s even thinner than the super-thin Macbook  Air.

CEO Steve Jobs is touting the iPad as a fantastic web browsing device. “iPad offers the best web browsing experience there is-way better than laptops,” Jobs says. Yet, it didn’t take long after the oohing and aahing for the criticisms to roll in, and most of them are focused on what the iPad can’t do: can’t take pictures, no video chat, no Flas, etc.

Why are some people downright giddy with excitement over the iPad while some are saying “pish-posh?” Because it’s not for everyone, and therein lies the genius of the iPad. Apple has had the forethought to make a product specifically for the group of people who need it, tapping a niche market in the process.

Sure, there are things an iPad can’t do –things a computer already does. A large number of people around the world daily are using a piece of equipment that is expensive, complicated and cumbersome, and they’re using it to check their Facebook status and watch YouTube videos.

It’s like using a bazooka to kill a gnat.

Consider toast. If all you want is toasted bread, it would be silly to buy a toaster oven. It would be a waste of money to be talked into a wide-slot bagel toaster. You just want toast; you just need a toaster. Period.

Car manufacturers are doing the same thing when they target specific audiences with specific features, and its a brilliant way to market. Lately, you’ve probably noticed a lot of car commercials touting innovative stereos. You may have even thought, “Hey, that looks handy.” At the same time, some folks are sitting on the couch grumbling that they don’t care about the stereo when they’re buying a car.

When a company markets specifically to a niche group, it’s naturally going to alienate those who don’t fit in.

Apple itself is focusing on the iPad’s use for emails, browsing and photos, and for a lot of consumers, that’s exactly what they need and want. Do you think that doesn’t sound like enough? Then the iPad isn’t for you. Move on.

For those who just want toast, though, this is one helluva toaster.

By Elizabeth Kelly

At year’s end, a flurry of articles surface with predictions about the hottest trends for the upcoming year, and the cusp of 2009/2010 is no exception. These are some of the well-spotted trends we can expect to impact our lives in 2010, chosen by those who have their finger on the pulse.

Embedded Generosity

The minds at trendwatching.com recently released their list of “10 Crucial Trends for 2010,” including the concept of embedded generosity. Noting that it was huge in 2009, they predict an even bigger boom in 2010, as consumers look for painless ways of making a difference. Examples inlclude Tom’s Shoes, the company that donates a pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair sold, or Pampers diapers, who donate the cost of a vaccine for each package purchased.

Local Pride

Also on the list at trendwatching.com is what they call “urbany”: city-specific products and services that are already cropping up in bigger cities across the country. Its already been tapped by companies like Absolut Vodka, who launched a mango and black pepper-flavored vodka inspired by the city of New Orleans (and later a flavor custom-made for Boston), and Guerlain perfumes, who sell city-themed scents at Harrod’s. In London, some bank ATMs have an option to receive your instructions in Cockney rhyming slang.

Real Time

Pete Cashmore, the founder and CEO of Mashable’s social media blog, wrote at CNN that “the real-time trend has been to the latter part of 2009 what “Web 2.0″ was to 2007.” Facebook and Twitter updates are just the beginning of a burgeoning public desire for immediacy. Consumers can expect a tidal flow of applications that only increase the ability to share now. (And don’t forget real-time collaboration, either. The Google Wave phenomenon is just beginning.)

Cloud Computing

2009 made cloud computing a buzzword, but expect to see it around even more in 2010. The ability to use virtual servers available over the Internet to make data accessible from anywhere will continue to fuel collaborative projects around the world. Cashmore says we can also expect the cloud trend to see “a major leap forward in the first half of 2010 with the launch of “Office Web Apps,” free online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote released in tandem with Microsoft Office 2010.”

Social Networking, Marketing Edition

Sure, social networking isn’t just coming, it’s here. But, Stuart Parkinson of VCCP  says that 2010 will be the “the year that people get to grips with marketing on social networks.” This past year, we’ve seen companies using Facebook and Twitter campaigns to enormous success (and also several that are completely fumbling with it.) Expect businesses to start mastering social media –for better or worse– in the upcoming year.

The new trends in 2010 haven’t just appeared out of nowhere; they’ve been building over time. Have you seen it all coming? If you’re the kind of person who keeps their eyes in the future, welcome to Oozil. We’re going to get along just fine.

What trends do you see making an impact in 2010? Share your ideas in the comment section.

by Elizabeth Kelly

At Oozil, our philosophy of collaboration, creativity, and commerce means we love gadgets –especially gadgets that help us collaborate better, create more inventively, and earn more. After all, that’s why Oozil was created in the first place.

The iPhone is not just a toy for techies. With the right apps, it can also be a tool in your arsenal of creativity. We’re not talking about virtual lighters here, but real tools to organize you and inspire you. These are some of the best:

Print & Share

Our favorite part of this iPhone app is the “share” part.  With this handy tool, users can easily print out information from their iPhone to a printer. Anything from your phone contact numbers to web pages and photos can be printed out straight from your phone itself, to get it into the hands of potential clients ASAP.

Photogene

The iPhone can be tricky to shoot with, so if there’s anything a photographer needs it’s a photo-editing application. Photogene has a huge range of editing tools, and it scores points for being easy to use, so even if photos are your sideline, you can edit like a pro.

Brushes

If you doubt that anyone can do any real, serious creative work on an iPhone, you need to read about Jorge Colombo. Colombo created a cover for the highly-selective New Yorker earlier this year using the Brushes app, while waiting in line at Madame Tussaud’s.

TED

Those familiar with TED already know the level of inspiration at the conference that features lectures by “the world’s leading thinkers and doers.” This app lets you view high quality video of the entire TED archive of geniuses in technology, entertainment, science, business and global issues.

Reel Director

The brilliant geeks at Gizmodo say “This is as close as you’re going to get to iMovie on your iPhone.” The  video editing app lets you stitch together clips, add opening and closing credits, search within video clips, and preview your work with new editing applied, all while you’re waiting in line for movie tickets.

Read it Later

Anyone who works in a creative world knows the importance of keeping up with reading, whether it’s news about your field, insightful tips from a successful competitor, or an inspiring novel. Read it Later allows you to save pages to read anytime, and it works even without an Internet connection. You’ll never lack for airplane reading material.

Shozu

Social connections are important to creative workers more than ever. Shozu makes networking a one-step process, allowing you to transfer content from your phone directly to 30 different sites, including YouTube,Flickr and Facebook. It saves money too: you’re only charged for sending one message.

Cleartune

Even musicians can benefit from the technology of the iPhone with an app that’s beautiful in its simplicity. This chromatic instrument tuner and pitch pipe uses your phone’s built-in mic to fine-tune just about any instrument that sustains a tone: guitars, strings, brass, woodwinds and pianos, for starters.

You’ve got an Internet connection on that phone –why not bookmark Oozil today? We’ll keep our eye on what’s happening while you keep creating your best work.

By Elizabeth Kelly

What’s new in the world of technology is the same thing as what’s new in the world of Oozil. When a new company is on the cutting edge of creativity and communication like Oozil is, it all ties together. Here’s what I mean:

Google Previews Google Wave

Search engine titan Google premiered an invitation-only beta version of its new Wave application recently, introducing a new service designed for collaborative work that the company believes represents the next generation of Internet communication. The web-based product will merge emails, IMs, wikis and social networking into one, allowing for real time communication and collaboration.

How is Google’s news big news for Oozil? Because, as Oozil guru Lee Epstein can’t help noticing, it’s “exactly one of the premises Oozil is being designed around.” Oozil’s tools for creating revenue streams will include cloud applications, video conferencing, advanced IM and email, and that’s just the beginning of the list of services Oozil will offer its members.

Oozil is proof that new ideas in collaborative communication aren’t exclusive to that other company with the funny name.

R.I.P. Email

Is email dead? That’s what the Wall Street Journal thinks. A recent column by writer Jessica E. Vascellaro called “Why Email No Longer Rules” says that email’s reign as the king of communication is now over. She cites networking sites like Twitter and Facebook as more relevant to the way we use technology now: “…Email was better suited to the way we used to use the Internet—logging off and on, checking our messages in bursts. Now, we are always connected, whether we are sitting at a desk or on a mobile phone.

M. Siegler, writing for the weblog Tech Crunch , agrees, but he believes Vascellero shortchanges Google Wave in her praise of other new communication technologies like Twitter, saying that we “want the option to communicate in real-time at will, but also the ability to communicate at our leisure at times.” In other words, we desire a new, more flexible method of communication, such as Google Wave.

Siegler’s most interesting assessment comes at the end of his essay, when he says: “Whether Google Wave succeeds is really irrelevant. More important is if the idea of Wave does.”

Oozil already knows that the ideas behind the new app are the way of the future, and we’re ready to let people use and benefit from creative collaboration in our own unique way. Is email dead? Oozil doesn’t care, because we know it hardly matters. The new wave is here.

Are you ready to ride the wave of the next generation of communication? Or will you be left behind? Join the Oozil community, and be part of the revolution.

By Elizabeth Kelly