The hype is over and no the crushing blow to the Tablet PC world has been fired. To bad that Apple is trying to fire at an existing market with a cotton ball bullet. The weeks’ leading up to today’s press conference was better than the device itself.

Dimensions

The Tapplet now being called the iPad, is a 9.7 inch touchscreen iPod with the ability to download books. It has a virtual keyboard when you want to send an email or add a calendar entry. You can spin it anyway you want, but it’s missing many things.

iPad butons

First, you can hook it up on a 3G network, but only AT&T. All that chum chumminess with Verizon was smoke and mirrors. Who has the bigger 3G network?

I can share my pictures, after I take them with a digital camera, then upload them to my pc/mac book and then sync it with my iPad. Well shit, why don’t I just send an email from my mac book if I wanted to share them?

Sweet Jesus you can watch movies on there! Well I can do that on my tablet pc, netbook, MacBook, desktop, or laptop and still do actual work too. It’s not like I’ll be able to show off that expense report or chart needs to the weekly meeting with the iPad. Or is there an app for that (which of course is going to cost extra).

Voice based software technology, so I can do speech to text, if I’m lazy enough, but for the iPad? I mean I’ glad I can preview a pile of pictures, but why not let it read my email to me or be able to tell it to open a file or folder?

Since the iPhone/iPod have a ton of accessories, what kind are going to be available for the iPad, since 90% were built with a cradle to fit these devices?

iPad's external keyboard

Battery life of ten hours is awesome, but why must you again, not give me the option of actually being able to replace the battery? I mean how hard is it for your in-house designers and development to come up with a battery compartment?

The last things I want to know are how much are iBooks going to cost? Will the iPad be compatible with the books I buy at Amazon.com? Why would I want to have to carry a MacBook, and iPad, so I can “instantly” share pictures with friends, when I could just carry the MacBook and do the same thing?

I don’t see this as the great Apple invention everyone was hoping to see unveiled. I see it as a magic trick, where Apple sells me smoke and mirrors and then takes $499 out of my wallet. Sadly, I will probably be okay with it, just as long as I get a bag of popcorn and a large soda.

Links:
Apple iPad
Wired iPad

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