iPad?
Well, i just got back from the Apple Store and I braved the mobs on iPad Day. Even at 1pm, it was packed with people looking and buying iPads. And I got to play around with one, so I can talk about it now.
I know there are a lot of questions about the iPad and is it right for everyone (or anyone). I'm going to try to put into words what this is all about.
Physically, the iPad is NOT like a large iPod Touch or iPhone. it has some of the features of them, but it's truly its own device. You can feel that. It's NOT like the display of the MacBookPro, just cut off, either. It's smaller than the MacBookAirs display, but thicker and with more heft to it. And it runs cooler than most Macintosh computers, at least in the store. And this is where the big difference comes in. The iPad seems to be a device that fits somewhere between the SmartPhone (iPhone) category and the Netbook category.
The display and the arrangement of applications is just like on the iPhone or iPod Touch. But the native iPad programs fill the screen and look wonderful. The iWork programs (Pages, Numbers and Keynotes) run much like their Macintosh counterparts, but there are some significant differences. First, you don't save the files to a folder you can make or define. They all go into a "My Documents" folder on the iPad (how you get these on the computer, I don't know yet, nor did the staff at the store) where you will always have access to them. Each application seems to have a space in "My Documents" where they will store files you create on the iPad. This takes away some of the confusion many users have about computers. You also don't have some of the features of the full iWork programs, yet. I'd say give it a bit of time, one or two version updates, before they get those features.
Applications that were written for the iPhone/Touch work on the iPad, but there's a button in the lower right of the window that will allow you to run them in 1x or 2x size. 1x is centered in the window at the size they are on the iPhone/Touch. 2x will fill the screen of the iPad. I played The Simpsons game and there was very little de-resolution of the images at 2x. So all those apps you may have already bought for the iPhone/Touch will work and look reasonable on it. So don't think of it as going from a Windows PC to a Mac. It's still Apples to Apples. Thumbs up to Apple for thinking this time.
And typing... Typing on the screen is 'weird'. I don't really know how else to put it. If you've been using the iPhone and typing on that screen, it's simple to do with your thumbs. But when you got to a full keyboard on the screen, I would start off touch typing will all my fingers, but end up tapping away with just two fingers. It will take some getting used to, but with some practice it might get simpler.
So, should you get one? Well, I'll put it this way. If you are a gadget junkie and love getting the first of something, get it. If you don't think you're going to take the iPad outside your house or some place that's got Wi-Fi, get it. If you want a computer to sit in front of the TV or in bed, get it. If you want something that's going to go with you on the road or to someplace that doesn't have Wi-Fi (and that's getting to be a smaller and smaller list), I'd wait for the 3G model in May. If you're looking for a replacement computer for your laptop or netbook, wait for the 3G. If you're looking for a home computer or to replace a full computer, the iPad isn't something for you at all.