Apple's long anticipated tablet, the iPad, was officially unveiled today.  Sites are blogging the hell out of the keynote presentation right now, so finalized details are still forthcoming:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/the-apple-ipad/

Thoughts?  On first blush, I'm gonna have to agree with the comments: that's a lot more bezel than originally anticipated.

All the portability of a laptop with the functionality of an iPhone. I can see it being great for people with really poor eyesight and very fat fingers. Like the DSi XL actually. Only bigger. And way more expensive.

I was really looking forward to this as the thought of a large-screen iPod Touch with a few tweaks to replace netbooks seemed promising in a lot of ways, but there's no way I'll spend my money on the iPad in its current 1st gen state.  Mashable's What's missing from the Apple iPad and Why Apple's iPad disappoints pretty well sum things up.  The downsides that stand out for me:

-No multitasking. This is one of those things that is slightly annoying on the Touch but with the larger form factor and supposed increased functionality of the iPad will become a lot more of a nuisance.

-Poor text input.  I was looking forward to improved text entry over the Touch's small, error-prone software keyboard but the iPad's looks to have gone too far in the opposite direction, too large to be practical for typing while holding the device (for example while on the train).  The wide bevel won't help.

-Closed file sync.  Not being able to simply drag and drop files directly from a PC or Mac to the iPad will be a big big inconvenience.

-Closed software environment.  It sucks to only be able to install apps that have been approved by Apple, especially given their reputation for rejecting apps on a whim.

-No camera.  Really what were they thinking?  The thing screams video chat.  (What they're thinking is they'll sucker the early adopters into getting the camera-less model then double-dipping when the 2nd gen, camera-equipped model comes out, which I guarantee will be within a year.)

-No gaming d-pad.  I knew that would happen from the beginning but it goes to show how far in excess Apple take their form over function design philosophy.  This thing could be the ultimate mobile gaming device, the sort of PSP-killer that would have gamers buying the device despite costing three times as much, if they just put a d-pad on one side and four action buttons on the other.  There's certainly room for them with that massive bevel but Apple don't want to defile their shiny new toy with buttons.  So instead we'll get gimmicky games that rely on tilt and poor touch-screen controls instead (which will be even more difficult to control with the large form factor).

What sucks is that Apple is about the only company that even tries to innovate, but I'm hoping one of the netbook makers (likely Asus or HP) will release a touch-screen, tablet model sometime in the next year that provides a worthy alternative.  Will just stick with my iPod Touch and perhaps a cheapo conventional netbook till then.

LOL! I don't know why I got such a kick out of that line but I did.

"Defile, defile, I-am-defiling-your-scared-space!"

Sorry, I had to say it even though I doubt anyone will get the reference.

Kind of unwieldy. Definitely passing on this thing. It's kind of why I bought a laptop?

The funniest reason I've seen for this is that most people would be holding the iPad at an angle below their faces, which usually isn't a very flattering angle (Hello, double chin!). But, yeah, it's more likely about screwing the early adopters.

I think the worst (or maybe best?) part of it is the name, which evokes this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0K8QPhs  I don't know how you ladies do it.

Apparently it's like the PS3 release, all over again.
People camping out just so they can purchase an iPad (which I personally think is a crappy name, just saying), and chances are at least half of all purchases go right to eBay.

The herd mentality wins again:

"I don't know what it [iPad] is -- I just think it's going to be something that's really cool," said Mark Bowling outside an Apple store at Lenox Square mall in Atlanta, Georgia. "I can't figure out how to use it if I don't have one."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/ptech/04/0 … index.html

Personally, I haven't figured out what's so amazing about the iPhone either. Yeah it's an MP3 player, but I already have a better (and cheaper) one. Yeah, it's a phone, but I already have one that's as good and smaller. Yeah you can browse the web, but I already have a fast computer which does it better... guess I'm just not a gadget guy.

cheers,

-avatar!

That's the first time I ever laughed at Mad TV. Good show, old man.

Maybe it will make more sense to you from this angle.

So did anybody take the plunge on this?  Impressions?

As it recently came to Japan I gave it just a quick try (there was quite a large crowd waiting) at the Ginza Apple store.

I agree with the oft-written opinion that it's too heavy for its intended use.  Holding it with one hand would definitely get tiring after a few minutes.

The screen is nice and the added real estate does make a big difference with some of the apps I tried (Calendar, iPod).  With the frequent use the trial units were getting it was clear what a fingerprint magnet the unit is, but the screen is bright enough for it to only be a minor distraction.

I tried typing PC keyboard style using both hands with the unit set down on the table and it worked surprisingly well.  During those instances text entry would be a lot faster than with the iPhone, but thumb typing (even with two hands) is now an impossibility.

Overall I figure it'd be a nice toy to have but it's still overpriced and under-featured.  If the second-gen unit includes a camera and some extra memory, and is a bit lighter (reducing the chassis and even the screen size wouldn't be a bad idea) I could probably spring for it.

Unless someone else out-tablets them by then.

I finally got to check one of these out at a party last night.  As a gaming device, I'd say it's pretty great, especially for games that are designed for touch controls like Plants vs. Zombies and Ace Attorney.  And Secret of Mana played pretty damn well using the on-screen controls which surprised me.  Twitch games like Mega Man 2, however, play terribly with on-screen controls, so I'd stay away from those.  I'm going to have to seriously consider getting one of these in 2011 depending on what improvements Apple puts into the second version of it.

I wanted to stay as far away as I could from one of these things.

Then I saw that Konami released a Jubeat app for the iPad.  It can also be used with the iPod Touch and iPhone, but the playfield is obviously much smaller on those devices.

Now I'm anxiously waiting the release of a second-generation iPad so I can try to score a used first-gen one for a decent price.