Hi folks, InStyle76 here taking over Tech Tuesdays from the mighty Ryokea. This week I wanted to cover a device that received a tiny bit of media coverage over the past two weeks: the Apple iPad.

That was sarcasm, in case it didn’t come through in writing. This device has received so much attention I actually didn’t want to blog about it because of the amount of coverage that flooded the interwebz when it was announced on Jan 27, but that would be doing you, our loyal readers, a great disservice. At the very least, I wanted to let things settle a bit so I could be objective and not be swept up in the initial waves of emotion.

First off, let me just say that I’m going to stay away from the feminine hygiene jokes as I’m sure you’ve heard them all already. For those of you who haven’t, you can get your fill here and here.

Now on to the review. Apple is known for making slick and sexy devices, and the iPad is no exception. It is approximately 9.5″ x 7.5″, only a half inch thick and weighs about 1.5 lbs. Journalists who were lucky enough to get their hands on the device have said it feels great in their hands. Its 9.7″ capacitive touchscreen LCD display is LED-backlit and uses IPS technology that lets you see the screen from any angle. The display’s resolution (1024×768) falls short of full 720p High Def, but still produces a pretty spectacular viewing experience (it should be noted that while the iPad does play 720p video, it will be scaled and will not play in full HD). The battery life is said to last a good 10 hours even while playing video or surfing the web, though I’m sure your mileage may vary. There is a standard headphone jack (YES!), built in speaker/mic and a 30-pin connector slot on one edge for charging or docking to the many peripherals that are sure to come. It also has the single “home” button on the front that makes the form-factor closely resemble that of the iPhone or iPod Touch.

While this similarity may be viewed as a strength, it also foreshadows its shortcomings as the iPad shares many of the limitations of the aforementioned mobile devices. First off, there is no Flash support. Adobe and Apple seem to have been butting heads on this issue for years, ever since the first iPhone came out. The iPad is touted as a web media device, and sites like Hulu.com would be ideal for a device like this, so lack of Flash support is disappointing to say the least. Then again, this hasn’t exactly stifled iPhone sales, so maybe it’s not that big of an issue after all. Secondly, though the iPad would have been an absolutely perfect device for video chat on Skype or iChat, the iPad has no camera. Lastly there is the lack of  multi-tasking. Really!? This is probably the biggest showstopper for me. I would think it is a no-brainer to want to listen to music while writing an email or browsing the web, especially with a device of this size and speed. I really hope the next generation of iPads will resolve some if not all of these issues.

Okay, enough poo-pooing, there are plenty of good things to say about the device too. It has a new, custom 1GHz “A4” CPU chip which is said to be both powerful and energy efficient, hence the 10 hour battery life. It also has built-in Bluetooth 2.1 and support for all 802.11 wifi networks. The iPad will come in 2 flavors: wifi only and wifi + 3G. The 3G version will use the AT&T network in the US, which either sucks or rocks depending on your carrier and possibly what city you live in. The iPad will be sold “unlocked,” though the gotcha is that it will only support other networks via a “micro-SIM” card which is non-existent here in the US (so far it looks like T-Mobile customers are out of luck).

There were a handful of official Apple peripherals announced at launch:

The standard iPad Dock holds the iPad in portrait position while charging the device.

The Keyboard Dock is basically a standard dock attached to a full physical keyboard.

The Camera Connection Kit allows you to download pictures and video from your camera to the iPad.

My personal favorite is the iPad Case which not only looks slick and protects the iPad but also holds it in a variety of positions like landscape, portrait and laptop mode.

There are also a host of 3rd party vendors ready with a slew of sleeves, cases and other misc add-ons. MaximumPC has a nice round-up here.

On the software side, the iPad fully supports HTML 5, which may be why it shows no love for Flash (though as Tiffany Brown points out, this does little to mitigate the impact in the immediate future). It will also be able to run iPhone applications right out of the box, so you will immediately have access to over 140 THOUSAND applications. The apps can run in either native resolution (surrounded by a black border) or in full screen “double-pixel” mode. Both wifi-only and 3G versions will offer 16, 32 and 64GB storage options, though no official word on how much of that will be made available for application installations. Performance of various applications looked much faster on the iPad in native resolution, though some got a bit choppy in “double-pixel” mode (I would imagine developers could release patches to fix this if they were so inclined). Additionally, the 3G model will include Assisted GPS technology, which should make for some pretty spectacular mapping applications.

Speaking of spectacular applications, the iPad’s eBook reader, called iBooks, is in my opinion the BEST eBook app on the market! eBooks can be purchased via wifi or 3G and get displayed on a virtual bookshelf showing the book’s cover in full color. When you open a book the pages load instantly, without the lag that eInk devices have. A finger swipe produces a visual that looks just like turning a page in an real book! Overall it is an incredible reading experience. This app alone might make it worth the price… well maybe for the lower-end models at least.

Which brings us to pricing. All the pundits who were expecting this device to come in at the $999 mark were absolutely stunned when Steve Jobs announced the base iPad model (16GB, wifi only) would launch at a pricepoint of only $499. Even Wall Street agreed as Apple’s stock price spiked just after the price was announced. Of course pricing goes up from there with the max’d out model (64GB, 3G enabled) going for $829. Full pricing is as follows:

Additionally, the iPad 3G data plan from AT&T will run $15-30/month and does not require a contract.

Will this device dominate or be a complete flop like all the tablets that came before it? Right now its future is completely up in the air. There is a single factor that could decide the fate of this device, and ironically enough it was Steve Ballmer who called it years ago: “Developers, developers, developers!” The applications that become available in the next few months can make or break the iPad. It is not good enough to sit on the laurels of their iBook app (which is pretty fantastic if I haven’t said so previously) or ride the coattails of iPhone apps. They need to come up with new, innovative software that takes full advantage of the iPad’s speed and power and find the customer base that can really put it to good use (doctors, salespeople, personal assistants come to mind). Additionally, they need to get more media, entertainment and game sites onboard with ditching Flash and migrating to HTML5 – YouTube was a big HUGE win, but Flash is still the de facto standard used throughout the interwebz today.

In summary, this device just oozes with potential, but it still has a ways to go. Do NOT think this device will replace your mobile device, your laptop or even your netbook. If you do, you will be greatly disappointed. Steve Jobs himself admits that this device is in a completely new category. Apple’s hardcore fanboys (and girls) will definitely buy it for sex appeal alone, but only time will tell if there is a mainstream market for it.

My recommendation is to let the early adopters have it for now and wait until the 2nd generation comes out. Prices will drop and more functionality is sure to come. By the holidays this year, I predict that not only will Apple launch a new version of the iPad, but other companies will also join in the mix. I fully expect Amazon to release either a color-eInk or full LCD version of the Kindle to compete in the eBook market. Other PC makers like Dell and HP may also jump in with new Windows or Linux tablets. In short there are definitely some fun and exciting times ahead!

Whew, that’s a lot for just a single device! I am sure I missed some things, so I have included a few links to more info below. Hope you enjoyed my first post! Let me know what you think in the Comments below, or hit me up @InStyle76 on Twitter. See you next week!

Complete coverage of the iPad press event on Apple’s official YouTube channel

Engadget articles:

• The Apple iPad
• Editorial Engadget on the iPad
• iPad or Kindle: Will our wallets decide?
• Apple iPad: The definitive guide (so far)
• Entelligence: Lessons from the iPad launch

Gizmodo articles:

• Hands on w/ Gizmodo’s Matt Buchanan
• Bill Gates on the iPad

Charlie Rose on The iPad, With David Carr (NY Times), Michael Arrington (TechCrunch) and Walter Mossberg (Wall Street Journal)