Apple's much-hyped iPad goes on sale!

It's official! Apple began selling the much awaited gadget on Saturday, April 3. Congratulations to those who have bought it. You have just bought one of the coolest gadget you'll ever lay your hands with ever, the iPad. Prepare for a bit of superiority complex when people sees you with an iPad in one hand and, well, probably a Coke in the other.

In an interview, Jeffrey, one of the most famous blogger around, said that "The iPad is the coolest tablet PC out there. And coming from Apple, I'm pretty sure it's something of a revolutionizer, the exact term used by Steve Jobs himself. It may do what the iPod did to the mp3 players, and what the iPhone did to the ordinary and smart phones." In case you do not know, Jeffrey is the owner of this blog. No. Not famous at all. ^^

Wi-Fi Version

Wi-Fi + 3G

So what do we get from the iPad? Here are some of its pros and, of course, cons.








PROS

1. Price

    I remember reading something of an article over the net that the nifty gadget comes along with an explosive price tag - somewhere around $1000 and greater. My laptop costs around $1300, so there's no way I'm gonna get an iPad in the near future unless I work harder. ^^ Thing is, the iPad starts at $499. Add a hundred dollar for greater storage capacity. The $499 is 16GB, add a hundred and it's 32GB, add another hundred for the 64GB. You can also pinch in a $230 for 3G. Expensive? That's to be expected. At least the rumors of a thousand dollar price tag ain't true.

Price List

WiFi 16GB: $499

WiFi 32GB: $599

WiFi 64GB: $699

WiFi+3G 16GB: $629

WiFi+3G 16GB: $729

WiFi+3G 16GB: $829

2. Multitouch Screen

    The technology that is the trend nowadays, the iPad comes with a multi-touch screen similar to the iPhone but re-engineered for the larger display. Multitouch screens are cool and very, very handy. The power to manipulate data through your fingers is something that is, not just awesome, but useful too. This is the reason why people are calling the iPad an oversized iPhone. And hey, both of them are Apple's! Additionally, gaming experience is greatly improved with the multitouch. People can interact in a game in ways that weren't possible before. And web browsing will be possible as never seen or imagined before!

3. 10 hours of battery life

    The lithium-polymer battery technology used by Apple for the Mac notebooks saw a spot on the iPad, resulting in 10 hours of battery life. 10 hours of usage. A month for standby. You can surf the web and play music and videos up to 10 hours. Now that's fascinating.

4. Portability

    A gadget whose screen measures 9.7" diagonally, weighs 1.5lbs, and 0.5" thin, the iPad is so portable that you can carry it anywhere with your hands just to show off to people that you have the coolest gadget around.

5. Wireless

    Admit it, wires are hassles. The iPad comes in with the Bluetooth technology which is extremely useful when it comes to sharing of data. Wireless headset and keyboards can also be utilized with it. And its built-in IEEE 802.11n makes connection with Wi-Fi networks easy. It automatically searches for available Wi-Fi networks around, and with a few touch, you are connected.

6. Large screen

    ... which is very, very useful.

7. iBooks
     Apple launched its own bookstore in conjuction with the iPad. You just have to download the app from the App Store. When you buy an electronic book, it is displayed on a bookshelf where you can tap the cover of the book to start reading. And, equipped with a high resolution screen, reading will be easier as it ever had been. Cool.


8. Reading the News
    The New York Times is Apple's major media partner. Of course, other magazine publications will line up in launching their own in the iPad. Reading news in the iPad is just the same as reading it on paper, except that you can change the columns, resize text for convenience, and even go to a landscape mode - which is also possible on the paper. Try it, man.


9. Applications
     140,000 apps are available with the iPad. Wondering why so many are already available? Wonder not, its because all apps developed for the iPhone works fully compatible on the iPad. And more apps are coming, no argument about that, especially if the iPad becomes a hit. 

10. Cool

    Well, everybody knows that.

A newspaper? No. It's something better.

CONS

1. The Name

    If you don't know, the earliest controversy that the iPad faced is in its name. Not that its name sounds like something that is used by women - it sounds like it indeed, and I read an article that says women would less likely buy the iPad, just because of its name - but the name iPad is already around. Well, at least in Japan. Company Fujitsu have the Fujitsu iPAD, a lightweight handheld device. Fujitsu is presently consulting their attorneys over what actions, if any, is to be done.

2. Games

    The iPad is great with web-browsing. Everyone is aware. But for games? The gadget is like a huge iPhone. The apps available in the iPhone is also available in the iPad. Cool, huh? Well, probably not. The iPad is still on a long way to compete with Windows-based computers where one can use the all-powerful, time-tested, unbeatable keyboard-mouse combo. There are no controllers too. Yes, the touch screen is cool for the iPhone apps, but something about buttons used for gaming is more appealing. For now. Another point: try to imagine yourself playing a game on the iPad. What's gonna be your posture? Sitting straight with hands full (what if your nose itched?), or laying face down on the floor? (what if your dog peed on it?) Sony said that the release of Apple's iPad will drive its gamers to the PSP. They have a point there. At least for now.

3. Camera

    No, it has no camera. But it has the Camera Connection Kit. Excited? Well, it's used for connecting to a camera - to transfer files only. An iPad with a built-in camera would be cooler. And since the gadget is already cool, that's saying something.

4. Flash support

    Steve Jobs said that Flash is buggy and more often than not, it's the perpetrator whenever the Mac crashes. So no Flash support for the iPad. Counting the number of websites with Flash support is near-impossible, so the iPad is something of a disappointment in there.

5. USB and HDMI

    When I discovered that my laptop is HDMI-compatible, and when I found out what really the HDMI is, i immediately purchased a cable. The USB, no point informing you about that. The iPad comes with neither. :(


6. Multitasking
     Want to listen to music while Facebook-ing? Want to play videos while writing a memo? No, not with the iPad. The iPad's lack of multitasking is considered by many as its major downside - along with its lack of user accounts.


7. Removable Batteries
     Say you're working on a thesis paper and you're working outdoors. Boasting a 10-hour battery life, the iPad is convenient. Then, after ten hours, the battery is dead. Usually, people with laptops remove the battery and replace it with another fully charged battery. But not with the iPad. No removable battery, guys. Sorry.


8. The Screen
     Yes, the screen is amazing, all with its touch support. But the screen itself is not energy sufficient, making your battery last shorter. Also, LED screens tend to induce migraine by prolonged exposure, so using the iPad the way someone uses an Amazon Kindle will not be a good idea.


9. GPS
     The Global Positioning System is not featured in the iPad. No, there's no way to trace an iPad using Google Maps with GPS except to rely on 3G or Wi-Fi to locate you.


10. User Accounts
     Imagine you're using the iPad. After thirty minutes, you felt the need of taking a bath. You shut the iPad down and placed it above a table, then you went to the bathroom After taking a bath, you saw that the gadget is not in the table anymore. After a careful search on your house, you found out that your son, daughter, or somebodu is in possession of the device. That's alright if the iPad has multiple user accounts. But it's not the situation. Privacy is extremely at risk with the iPad. Anyone could see your e-mail and all other personal information that the iPad retained. The only solution for this is to buy an iPad for each member of the family. Come on!

So good luck to you, my dear reader(s), if you're not one of those eager people who already had this gadget AND you have plans to buy the iPad. If you will, get ready for your friends who do not have it. My money, though few, will be on your friends borrowing it the day they knew you have it. If you don't have plans on purchasing, and you're rich, I'm pretty sure that one day your curiosity will get the better of you.


For those who are not-so-rich and want one, work hard! ^^

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One word: COOL