The iPad: Apple Does it Again

Is Apple’s iPad the revolutionary and magical product Steve Jobs said it would be? I have to say it’s pretty damn close. I have heard and read the critics and haters referring to it as just a big iPod Touch. My question to that, is what is wrong with that?! The iPhone/Ipod Touch is truly a remarkable product with an operating system that just works. With an enormous amount of apps, they can truly say, “there’s an app for that”.

But one glaring weakness with the iPhone/Ipod Touch is the small screen. A big guy like me has a hard time typing on it. Surfing the web can be tedious because the small screen can’t display a full webpage. Many webpages, have special mobile phone version that do work, but don’t give you the full experience of the website. And don’t get me started on watching movies. While a quick YouTube video isn’t bad, you look like an idiot holding an iPhone/iPod Touch in your hand trying to watch a full length motion picture. And while there are some really cool games for the iPhone/iPod Touch, I always found the screen size a little too cramp to every consider it a true gaming device.

So why not just make it bigger, way bigger. Put in a super fast processor and a much bigger battery, all of sudden you’ve got a product that has to be used to really appreciate it. And the iPad is a dream to use. Everything on it just looks great, from reading e-mail, surfing the web, watching movies, to reading books and of course playing games. They all seem so natural on the device. Photos? That look fantastic on it! And just like the iPhone/Ipod Touch, it’s the apps that truly make the iPad the game changer that it is.

Now straight out the box, the iPad is not going to replace your laptop or desktop computer, right now it’s a supplement to your main computer. One day it maybe the only device you need, but not yet. It still has the same weaknesses that the iPhone/iPod touch have, namely no multitasking (which apparently going to change with the next iPhone OS update) and no Flash support in the browser is still a hassle. It’s much larger on-screen keyboard is much easier to type on, but I still type way faster on a regular keyboard (the iPad does work with bluetooth keyboards however). But to me those are minor gripes, you really have to use the iPad to truly appreciate what a wonderful product it is.

Also I cannot rave enough about using it as a e-book reader. Quite simply I have no idea why you would use anything else. The iPad not only can use Apple’s iBook app to read and buy books, but you can also read Kindle books. You can’t buy Kindle books directly from the Kindle app, but if buy them from the Amazon site the books appear on your iPad almost instantaneously. The is also the Kobo app which offers a ton of free books, and Barnes and Noble will be updating their iPhone/Ipod touch app to work with the iPad. If you are into comic books, the Marvel Comics app is a must see, I was blown away by it.

Actually reading on the Ipad is very comfortable on the eyes, I haven’t experienced any eye strain whatsoever. I have heard some people complain about the weight of the iPad being a little to heavy for reading books for a long period of time, but I haven’t found that to be the case.

I could go on for hours writing about the iPad, I truly love it that much. If you are in the market for a second computer or shopping for a new netbook, I would seriously give the iPad a long hard look, before you drop your cash down on that Dell Mini, you might be surprised on the choice you make.