It's here | firerobin

After months and months of speculation, the next generation of mobile computing has arrived in the form of the iPad. If you followed the announcement closely earlier this afternoon, you've already heard the jokes referring to a certain feminine product.

With the sort of hype that has surrounded this product, it seemed almost certain that we would be disappointed in some way. I mean, people were predicting a "Minority Report"-type of user interface. Although, I'm still admittedly surprised at just how much the iPad is actually missing. Mainly the lack of multitasking.

Instead of creating a new OS (something in-between the iPhone OS and Mac OS X) that would allow the use of multiple windows or tasks to be running simultaneously, Apple basically just reengineered the iPhone OS to work on this device. This is the biggest disappointment.

Other lackings:

No camera - A user-facing camera to enable video chats was fully expected. However, we would all be facing downwards in our chats, fully exposing our double-chins and in some cases triple-chins. Maybe Apple realized this?

No phone - Some thought, maybe, just maybe we could make calls on this new little piece of technology.

No Flash - Just like the iPhone, no interactivity on webpages.

No widescreen display - The 9.7-inch display doesn't match the 16:9 widescreen standard.

The biggest surprise of the day turned out to be the price tag. With the iPad starting at $499, it's a welcome change to see Apple starting at a lower price point, rather than the usual high premium and working its way down, i.e. the iPhone. A very good strategic move in this economy for sure. But of course, if you want to upgrade the storage space beyond the standard 16GB to the 32GB or 64GB and add the 3G connectivity capability, you'll be spending upwards of $700-$800 -- and an additional $15-$30/month in a data plan.

As predicted, it is positioned to be a Amazon Kindle killer. With the release of the iBooks app and the iBook Store, you can see the direction Apple is headed à la music, television and movies.

Final thoughts:

Apple left a lot of room for future growth in this product.

This being Apple's answer to the netbook, expect netbooks to disappear or turn into iPad imitations.

Despite its shortcomings, expect me in line at the Apple Store come March.

It's here 1.27.10

After months and months of speculation, the next generation of mobile computing has arrived in the form of the iPad. If you followed the announcement closely earlier this afternoon, you've already heard the jokes referring to a certain feminine product. With the sort of hype that has surrounded this product, it seemed almost certain that we would be disappointed in some way. I mean, people were predicting a "Minority Report"-type of user interface. Although, I'm still admittedly surprised at just how much the iPad is actually missing. Mainly the lack of multitasking. Instead of creating a new OS (something in-between the iPhone OS and Mac OS X) that would allow the use of multiple windows or tasks to be running simultaneously, Apple basically just reengineered the iPhone OS to work on this device. This is the biggest disappointment. Other lackings: No camera - A user-facing camera to enable video chats was fully expected. However, we would all be facing downwards in our chats, fully exposing our double-chins and in some cases triple-chins. Maybe Apple realized this? No phone - Some thought, maybe, just maybe we could make calls on this new little piece of technology. No Flash - Just like the iPhone, no interactivity on webpages. No widescreen display - The 9.7-inch display doesn't match the 16:9 widescreen standard. The biggest surprise of the day turned out to be the price tag. With the iPad starting at $499, it's a welcome change to see Apple starting at a lower price point, rather than the usual high premium and working its way down, i.e. the iPhone. A very good strategic move in this economy for sure. But of course, if you want to upgrade the storage space beyond the standard 16GB to the 32GB or 64GB and add the 3G connectivity capability, you'll be spending upwards of $700-$800 -- and an additional $15-$30/month in a data plan. As predicted, it is positioned to be a Amazon Kindle killer. With the release of the iBooks app and the iBook Store, you can see the direction Apple is headed à la music, television and movies. Final thoughts: Apple left a lot of room for future growth in this product. This being Apple's answer to the netbook, expect netbooks to disappear or turn into iPad imitations. Despite its shortcomings, expect me in line at the Apple Store come March.