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 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

No one buys sight unseen. Customers want to thump the melon, smell the coffee, and squeeze the Charmin before they put it into their shopping cart. The same holds true for your creative clients. Before hiring you for advertising, design, copywriting, web development –or any kind of work– they want to see what you can do. Sometimes that’s trickier than it sounds.

That’s where Oozil comes to the rescue. Part of the long list of creative tools Oozil is providing to its members is a virtual portfolio. With practically limitless memory, this space is invaluable: not just as a portfolio, but also a gallery and resume in one that makes your work available for the whole world, without the cost normally associated with hosting your own.

If you don’t have a webpage of your own, you might want a quick lesson in what that entails outisde of Oozil. A simple Google search for “artist webpage” turns up a long list of ads posted by companies that want to relieve creative people of their hard-earned money, charging monthly fees for the design, the space, and the web hosting, with extra charges if you exceed their limits. The cost is often more than you would stand to make by selling your work.

Those aren’t the only fees you would incur if you try to host your own webpage. The domain name costs money too. How much money depends on how good the name is, and you could end up shelling out hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars if you want a catchy one. You can go cheap and purchase a site name like dog-carrots-art23.net (all you’ll get for a budget price) and cross your fingers that anyone will ever find you.

But you don’t have to do any of that. Oozil has done the work for you. They’ve secured the space, the tools, and a catchy name that everyone will remember. You’ll have no need to pound the pavement in your own town with a bulging briefcase full of sample work. You can tell anyone, anywhere: “I’m on Oozil.”

For Oozil members who are clients, this collection of portfolios will be a one-stop shop for finding the people to fulfill your creative needs. Why spend hours flipping through resumes or doing online searches that yield nothing, when you could stop by Oozil and actually see what your potential hiree can do for you?

Oozil is all about connection. You could have the swankiest portfolio in town, but what if no one ever calls to see it? You could be offering a plum advertising assignment, but what if no applicants fit your needs? The virtual portfolio eliminates the hassle as well as the worry, and connects creatives to clients in a way that requires less work for both of them.

Imagine if you had an agent that worked for you, finding the right jobs (or hirees, if you’re a client) for you while you went about your everyday business.

Now stop imagining, because you have one already. Meet Oozil.

by Elizabeth Kelly

The other day I was chatting with Lee Epstein, one of the Oozil gurus, about some of the incredible tools Oozil will be providing for its members: cloud applications, large memory allocation, a super-high-tech email and IM system, and a virtual portfolio, among other features. One of the tools that stood out to me was the mention of “video conferencing.” As a longtime writer, I’m always giddy about anything that can improve my work options (which translates into more money.)

I’ve grown accustomed to needing little more than a laptop, a printer, and an Internet connection, though. What could someone like me, or any other creative person, do with video conferencing? I’ve done some sleuthing, and now I can’t wait to use it. These are just some of the things you can do:

1) Brainstorm in real time. The biggest downside to email is the time lag. Even though we’ve come to think of it as instant, it’s far from it. A brainstorming session thrives on spontaneity, and one idea generating another before there is time to pause. With video conferencing, brainstorming can work like it’s meant to, with a quick, free exchange of ideas.

2) Collaborate. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the magic that can happen when creative masterminds collaborate the right way . Video conferencing makes it possible for great minds from anywhere in the world to come together on one project, regardless of their other commitments and without the travel expense.

3) Be crystal clear. Frequent message board and email users are all familiar with the perception of “tone.” It’s easy for someone reading your message to misunderstand your intention, simply because they can’t read your emotions correctly. With video conferencing, clients or collaborators will know when you have a sense of urgency, or you’ll know when they seem confused. If there’s a sense of excitement about a project, that will be communicated too, and the result will be infectious.

4) Share documents. Sure, you could always use a fax machine, but that’s like using stone age equipment when you’re working on a collaborative creative project. For example, with video conferencing, let’ s say you’re working on a logo design, and your client /partner doesn’t like the style. You could actually re-sketch it on the spot and display it for instant feedback, without waiting for the clunky fax to do its work. We’re talking about mere seconds.

5) Learn. Need a tutorial on how to use a new high-tech piece of equipment? Wish you had someone to show you a certain art technique? You don’t need to attend a class or even leave your house. Video conferencing can be used as a way for one person to share their know-how with anyone, and they can actually demonstrate their expertise right in front of you.

Are you sold yet? I am. Video conferencing is yet one more way the world is getting smaller, and the best of minds from all over the world can meet together. Who knows what the result will be? I can’t wait to find out.

by Elizabeth Kelly

Do you have any experience with video conferencing? How has it changed the way you work? Or, how do you plan to use it once Oozil puts the tools in your hands?