Apple iPad: My take
I have to start with the name. I really dislike it, but it was the obvious choice, changing only one letter from iPod. Don't even get me started about MadTV's iPad sketch from 2007.
It's funny how history repeats itself. At the beginning of his presentation Jobs said that the iPad would cost $999 then exploded the price on screen, replacing it with $499, the starting price. I was suspicious of the $999 price-point almost as soon as it was announced. My logic, $999 was too much for an LCD touchscreen, it's not an AMOLED for heaven's sake!
Jobs' flashy price drop at the end of his preso reminds me of the sales tactic used by the guy who sold my Mom/me the 128k Mac in 1984. I was playing around with it and my Mom immediately asked the salesman "How much?" He replied "$10,000." Then after I played with it for a while he told my Mom it was "only $4,000." What a deal!
Aside, iPad uses an In-plane switching (IPS)? display, according to Apple, which is a type of LCD. According to Wikipedia:
In-plane switching is an LCD technology which aligns the liquid crystal cells in a horizontal direction. In this method, the electrical field is applied through each end of the crystal, but this requires two transistors for each pixel instead of the single transistor needed for a standard thin-film transistor (TFT) display. This results in blocking more transmission area, thus requiring a brighter backlight, which will consume more power, making this type of display less desirable for notebook computers
I'd be lying if I said that I was happy Apple's choice of AT&T as its carrier partner for 3G data though. What, was Verizon busy? The upside is that no contract will be required. Translation, you'll be able to turn it on and off. I'm going to be at Macworld Expo next month and it would be nice to be able to call AT&T turn on the unlimited plan for the month, then turn it off at the end of the month when I'm at home (where I already pay for broadband thankyouverymuch).
The WiFi version of the iPad will be the perfect device for people that already have an iPhone data plan and don't want another monthly fee. Plus it will be available in two months (March 27) as opposed to the 3G version which will be available in three months (April 27). You'll also be able to go WiFi-only if you already have a Mi-Fi or some other 3G card/Cradlepoint type of solution and requisite data plan.
More soon...