The dust has now settled after the announcement of the long-awaited Apple tablet, now called the Apple iPad. Arising from this dust, is a wave of mixed reactions towards Apple’s “latest creation”. Walt Mossberg was cautiously optimistic, while others have called it “just an over-sized iPod Touch.”

Well, after the announcement, I was initially as disappointed as the next person. Refer back to my previous post, and realize that out of 6 hopes in my wishlist, only 1 was really fulfilled:

  • The name: iPad? Seriously? They didn’t bother to read the negative comments all over tech blogs before the announcement? When Steve Jobs announced the name, it was the perfect cue to usher in the tampon jokes. I was a bit surprised the iPad didn’t have wings.
  • The stylus: It was always gonna be unlikely. Let’s just hope for third party apps and accessories.
  • Content in Singapore: In the meantime, I have heard that iBooks is US-Only. There were also no demos on how magazines can be packaged. Though I could settle for third party apps, it would have been nice to see a central hub for magazines like iBook.
  • Price: HOME RUN! I never thought the tablet would start at $499!
  • OS: OS was very very similar to the iPhone OS and I regard this as the biggest letdown. Its hardware specs should allow it to do more, and multitasking, as well as widgets, would have been a welcomed addition. Also, the user interface seems too bare and empty for my liking.
  • A surprise: Nope. None. Na-da. The biggest surprise was the price, then iWork. That shows a lot. And there was no “one other thing.”

But definitely, it would unwise to write off Apple just yet. Rewind to 2001, and remember how the iPod was ridiculed after its launch. Now it’s the gadget of the decade. Of course, it took them a few iterations for the iPod to really take off, but I believe it will take a lot less on the iPad.

Just give developers a little more time and third party apps optimized for the tablet might just blow you away. Digital magazines will spring up and the stride towards interactive education and textbooks will continue. Peeking into iPhone 3.2, we discover a lot more promise. Among them are desktop file sync-ing for third party apps and the ability to call on 3G. Of course, a webcam on the iPad would have made this feature a lot more useful.

In short, Apple has provided us with a stunning blank slate with a lot of potential. Now it’s up to developers, content providers, -and jailbreakers- to help us fulfill that potential. In meantime though, I’ll be saving up, perhaps for the second generation -hopefully it has wings.

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