Apple once again had the collective tech community holding their breath waiting for the announcement of the mythical Tablet.
The general impression following the event seemed to be fairly negative, as was my own. Mostly people were expecting much more from the iPad, all due to tremendous amount of hype and all the rumors that have been circulating for years now. Speculations were from, OLED screens, a front and back camera, touch capacitive case, to even facial recognition software. Most of these speculations were crazy and far fetched, but that didn't stop people from wanting them and more important being disappointed when they didn't get them. I have to admit I was one of the initial people that was immediately disappointing, my own expectation were artificially inflated from all the hype.
After all the buzz wore off and I had time to reflect about the announcement and see video and pictures of the iPad, I have changed my tune. What I wanted initially from the Tablet was a touch Mac computer, basically a touch MacBook if you will. What made me change my mind was clearing my head of all the preconceptions I had going into the press brief. It was then that I realized how useful this device was going to be in my life. If you read the blog then you know I've recently hacked a netbook (Making A Hackint0sh) and been using it by running OSX. Although it works great, it is far from perfect. The iPad is a perfect alternative to those looking for a computer in the 'netbook' catagory, it's small, lightweight, inexpensive, has a great battery life, and does pictures, music, movies, email, and the web. Another bonus, for those that want it (options are good) is being able to buy a model with AT&T 3G networking built-in, with no contract mind you, just pay-as-you-go. So unlike a typical netbook you could virtually have internet anywhere you want on a 10" touch-screen tablet that also has your entire media collection on it.
So will I be buying one? You bet ya. I can see uses for this in the living room, at work, on vacation, in classrooms, etc... Still not convinced? Watch Apple's own video introducing the iPad and a few of it's features.
Head over to www.Apple.com/ipad to get a full list of specs and info on the new iPad.
