Yesterday was the big day, and after literally years of anticipation, Apple finally launched it’s tablet computer called the iPad. Garrett and I have been talking about this for years, in fact, he’s been so anxious for a tablet computer from Apple that he’s put off buying a new laptop for several generations of releases now. I’ve been excited too, having used Apple computers for almost 20 years now, I’m a fanboy through and through. I followed the event on my computer as bloggers updated their sites with pictures and details, this was the very first image of the iPad that I saw:
In many ways, it’s just about what I expected it would be. I might have hoped that it would run OS X, but that would have been unlikely. I might have hoped for some incredible way of interacting with it that would blow us all away, such as I felt when the iPhone was announced a three years ago. And as Steve went through all of the features, I found myself certainly filled with desire for the iPad, but not salivating with excitement.
Apple released a video for the iPad that covers all of its features:
And within 24 hours, there was already a “Hitler” take on the iPad, pointing out many of the flaws and being just plain hysterical:
Right. No multitasking. No camera. No phone. Surely each of these will be addressed in the upcoming software and hardware versions, but none of them are deal-breakers for me.
I’ve read a lot of reviews and discussions on the iPad, and while it seems that there are not a lot of people out there that think they can understand where or why they would use this tablet, it makes perfect sense to me, I know exactly how I would use it… I would use it as very, very much like I use my iphone now… mostly as a portable computer for internet connectivity, email, music and video, and occasionally taking notes. Most of the time at home, I don’t sit behind a desktop to surf the web, I usually sit on the couch, curled up with my laptop, surfing. Or in bed. When I’m out, I use my iphone for the same purpose, when sitting at the coffeehouse, or in one of the Oxford libraries, I use my phone to look things up. For me, this is a perfect solution. The iphone is too small, and the lap top is too clumsy and awkward, the iPad is exactly the right size and shape for me.
I was delighted to see that they have a version of Pages as well for the iPad. I stopped using Word years ago, and I love Pages. It is clean, simple, fast, perfect for all my needs when writing essays. I doubt that I’ll do much typing using the onscreen keyboard, I can’t imagine taking the iPad to class instead of my laptop, but who knows, maybe I’ll find it works alright for that as well?
That I can watch my favourite shows and movies, listen to music, and play games will also be nice, and when I’m lucky enough to get one, I’ll surely use it for that as well.
As Steven Fry explains when discussing the iPad on his weblog, it’s important to remember that this is version 1.0, and that it the iPad will grow and improve over the next few years.
But even as it is right now, as I’ve reflected on it the past 24 hours, I’ve noticed an excess of saliva building in my mouth after all, and sure enough, the fanboy is drooling.
