Apple launched their much awaited iPad today.  While we’ll leave it to the tech sites to figure out what this means for the computer industry, I’m considering what this new device can do for photographers.

iPad offers an IPS screen (9.7” diagonal) with 1024 x 768 resolution, 132ppi.  IPS technology isn’t new, but it’s still pricey, and offers near-180-degree viewing angles in any direction.  What this means is that there’s no shift in brightness corner-to-corner if you’re looking at it head-on, but that’s only useful if you’re sitting in front of a large monitor; on a smaller screen like this, it means that more people can crowd around it and see it clearly.  Okay, so it might be useful as a portable, small kiosk.

Can you use it for processing photos?  Well, first you need to get the photos on the device.  If you need to sync it via USB, then you still need a laptop with you, which kinda defeats the purpose.  However, Apple will be offering dock connectors that either provide SD card-reader functionality (not very useful for pro-level cameras, which typically use Compact Flash cards), or a USB port for direct connection to your camera.  So that’s a start.

But what about software?  Adobe’s Photoshop.com Mobile iPhone app already offers some fairly useful photo editing but no Raw support.  Perhaps an iPad-specific version is in the works that takes advantage of the more powerful processor.

So… it’s a solid maybe.  You don’t have enough horsepower to deal with plugins and filters like Noise Ninja or Lens Correction, but for some quick-and-dirty shoot-and-show type work, it could be a compact, lightweight solution.  Whether that’s worth USD$500 to USD$830 to you is another story.

iPad goes on sale in about two months time.