While I still really want one, in some ways I’m a little disappointed in some aspects of the iPad.

Pros:

  • Price is way lower than I was expecting.
  • If you can (as was implied) start/stop the 3G plan on a monthly basis that would be pretty neat if you suddenly found a need while travelling.
  • Assuming there are sensible ways to work with documents, E.g. send/receive/download/edit, then the iWork apps and the keyboard make this a great substitute for a notebook when travelling.
  • At 1.5 pounds it’s half the weight of the Macbook Air, which already is super-light.
  • If the figures are correct, 10 hours of battery life while watching movies is remarkable.

Cons:

  • 4:3 is a horrible aspect ratio that really is a step back for a device where video is a key feature.
  • While the keyboard accessory is nice, why couldn’t it have worked with the existing Apple Bluetooth keyboards? Or the stand feature a USB socket that could accept any keyboard?
  • No multi-tasking. The device clearly has the power and battery life, and not being able to listen to Pandora while working on email, or edit an image for a document, is a big disappointment on a device purported to be more than a phone. At this point Apple are beginning to look simply stubborn.
  • The handling of existing iPhone apps is disappointing. I would have liked to see them act like widgets that could be moved around the screen and resized. With multiple widgets allowed at once.
  • Despite what the press and Apple say, until there is a way to play games using a physical controller, these devices will struggle to really compete as games devices. While some games can work fantastically with a touch interface, many others range from “ok” to “mediocre”. (Most action/shooter games fall into this latter category).

I still want one though.