iPad

4/04/10 "First Impressions: I want one."

When the iPad was first announced I thought it was cool, but was like "ehhhhh". 

I didn't see it as something that I wanted. If I had a lot of money, I could see myself having one of these. I felt what the media was saying; this is an in-between product that doesn't fill a need. I see a need for a notebook computer, I see a need for a phone, I don't see a need for the in-between. When people talked about the prices being cheap, I thought to myself "$500 for something I don't need isn't cheap." It seems like this is the item of the future, but I don't think the future is here yet. When you watch movies set in the future, they all have a device like this that is passed around among people like it's a piece of paper. It just seems it's a bit ahead of the time.

Then I used one on Sunday, now, I want one. I'd venture to say I REALLY want one. Here are my first impressions...

- It's not light, sure it's only 1.5 pounds but it feels like you're holding something significant.

- The screen looks amazing, just downright AMAZING! I watched some HD files and wow.

- The functions that this could have, sky is the limit.

- It works to type on if you're sitting on a couch. Not working with iPhone style typing.

- The driving game I played was fun.

- The speakers are really good, they aren't like the iPhone, they seem to emit sound all throughout the device.

- Great email function. Very Simple.

- It's fast.

- Drawing on it is fun. I am not a drawer, but I am sketcher. I would like one of these for my office just to be able to sketch an idea on. 

- I still want a Kindle, but the book reading application is really nice. Turning the pages and seeing a book with illustrations is awesome. If I had kids, the iPad would be a GREAT thing to read books on.

- I want one. (an iPad, not a kid.)

I want one for my office to use in meetings. I want one for my house, to just have on the coffee table. I want to show people youtube videos on this. I'm big on legal pads and keep a stack of them in my office. I like a blank canvas that I can do anything on. This is the digital equivalent. 

I was skeptical, and you might be too, but I encourage you to grab one. I don't know if the Apple Store is going to be the place to get comfortable with this device. Go visit a friend who has one. I'm guessing you'll leave thinking, "Oh, that would be nice". 

Way to go Apple, way to go.