Biggest iPad App? Safari, in a Webslide

We’re less than a week away from getting our hands on the much-awaited Apple iPad.  As iPaday approaches, more and more details about the iPad experience are emerging.  Many are speculating on what apps will be the most useful.

I already know.  Safari, which will return us to that most useful jungle: the world wild web.

Yes, I love my iPhone.  But let’s be honest.  Surfing the web on the iPhone sucks.  Epicly.  That’s why good developers are making a fortune (99 cents at a time) writing apps that use the network to deliver content in a more accessible and manageable form.  By that, I mean as far away from Safari as possible.

I estimate my success rate when trying to accomplish anything substantial on an iPhone via the native web (i.e., in a browser on a regular web site) at around 10%.  Most of the time, I either find another way to access what I’m looking for (such as a dedicated app or a laptop), or I just give up.  I have talked to many others who admit to similar experiences.

The biggest difference between our iPhones and our iPads will be that the larger screen size will allow us to actually use the web.

Need an example?  Here’s one of many: corporate email.  I have expressed frustration for years about the insane degree to which my company’s IT department hobbles (my word) my iPhone experience in the name of security (their word).  I actually considered making Outlook Web Access my default method of reading email on my iPhone, but the screen is just too small.

That won’t be a problem on an iPad.  Yes, I think it is important and good that the iPad will support Microsoft Exchange.  But I think it’s even better that I will have another option should I find my iPad excessively hobbled in the name of security.

April 3, 2010 is not just iPaday- it’s the day the web becomes useful again.

I can’t wait.