The iPad First Look: Underwhelming But Not For the Reasons You Might Think

I'm a Mac fan but I'm not particularly impressed with the iPad. Not because it wasn't what was expected, but because it was exactly what was expected. There is no wow factor in the iPad. Just a 's'aright' factor.

The So-so and So what

It's essentially a giant iPhone/iTouch, which is what most people surmised it would be carrying all the iPhone apps, iWork (with applications custom designed for the iPad). It does everything an iPhone does but make phone calls and worst of all there seems to be NO CAMERA, which makes no sense for a communications product. No mention was made of iChat or instant messaging and with no camera, Skype is out of the question. Doesn't seem to be able to run MS Office - though if it can run iWork - why not? Also, no magazines available. The more you want, the more you will have to pay.

The Up

All the usual stuff: iTunes, movies and yes, books, newspapers - and the exciting addition of iBooks bookstore. It's the addition of the print material that makes it exciting, but not exciting enough to say, 'supercalifragelisticexpialidoshous'.  It'll make lots of money for Apple. It does have a 10 hour battery life - but under what circumstances?

It will be unlocked and free to use with the AT&T contract flexible and can be dropped anytime. Oh, and the screen is 9.7" on the diagonal.

The price makes it fairly accessible starting at $499 US and going up to $829 US depending on the AT&T download quota you buy and whether it's a 3G model. All models come with Wi-Fi.

What I'm hoping is that it can do more than was said. Apple does have a habit of including plusses without mentioning them. But in the end, it's disappointing because it didn't live above expectations - and that's what we're used to with Apple. I will happily wait for the next gen model to see if it has a camera, will be ever-so-slightly bigger and can run OS X along with other apps like GarageBand.

The one possible salvation is the exponential effect of APPS. The SDK kit is already available for developers to start on the new stuff for the iPad. I can imagine writing apps that might require a stylus and maybe even design apps for the artists. Who knows. I think Apple may have been banking on the as yet unknown apps to bolster the iPad in the way they have the iPhone.

The wait is over, and so is the revolution...at least for now.

Check this link for more details. This link is for the first hands on test.

It's to reach stores in 60 days and the 3G models 30 days later. International markets will see it in June.