Apple's new iPad

The sleek and thin Apple tablet.

Apple’s ever so hyped tablet was released on January 27, 2010.

A quick overview of the features:

A large 9.7 inch Capacitive Multi-Touch screen

This nice, large screen gives great response to touch just like Apple’s previous super-hit products such as the iPod Touch and iPhone.

A screen this big provides the user with an amazing experience while browsing the web.

“It just feels right to hold the internet in your hands as you surf it. And with a screen this large, you can just see more of the web as you surf it.”

– Scott Forstall
Senior Vice President
iPhone Software

As many users experienced with the iPhones and iPod Touch’s, normal webpages are difficult to navigate and don’t look nice on that relatively tiny screen. On the iPad, almost every website out there looks fantastic and is extremely easy to navigate and read.

Watching video is also a much better experience on the iPad.

If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, you know that a mere 3.5 inch screen is not the best experience for watching video.

But, with such a large screen in the palm of you hands with the iPad, video watching is amazing.

Applications

With the iPad’s screen almost tripling the size of the iPhone or iPod Touch’s, one would think most apps on the App Store wouldn’t work.

Amazingly, they do.

Users can use all of the apps available on the App Store on their iPad.

You can run the application in normal size (3.5 inches), or enlarge the pixels to fit the iPad screen. Of course the resulting image will be pixelated, but it is an option.

App Store, iTunes Store, and now the iBookstore

Apple’s brand new iBookstore is meant as direct competitions with the Amazon Kindle.

Users can purchase full eBooks and view them on the high-resolution, sharp and LED-lit screen. Flipping through pages is amazingly easy and comfortable entertaining. A smooth animation flips the page with the flick of a finger.

My Thoughts

There’s no doubt that Apple has come out with a product that currently is the top of it’s class. But, personally, the iPad doesn’t live up to the hype.

“The last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.”

– The Wall Street Journal

The description for it these days is “an iPhone on Steroids.” This pretty much sums it up for me.

I don’t think it’s enough to just enlarge the Touch Screen and call a product revolutionary.

For me, it isn’t a sure buy. Many other more promising Tablet computers are making their way into the market; one I think will reject the iPad completely.

Click here for the iPad’s official page.