Nevertheless, I think my mind has finally had enough time to stew over this little device for me to form a well thought out, pre-use opinion of it.
Opinions of the iPad seem to vary greatly. And, as far as I can tell, those opinions are completely contingent upon what one expects the device to be. Mention the iPad in the same breath as a netbook or a "slate" PC, and it generally won't fare very well. But, if one compares it to a typical ebook reader, it starts to look very good. It seems to inhabit a sort of middle ground between the two. Using the iPhone OS, it will never be as functional as any computer running, well, a computer OS. But, compared to an ebook reader, it's far more functional. It actually has some decent processing power, a full colour (IPS!!!) screen, a full featured web browser (sans Flash... more on that later), access to the entire app store (which translates to maybe 100 actually useful apps), and even some productivity apps available for dirt cheap.
Before the iPad's announcement, the hype-machine bred grandiose expectations of what it would be. Many people were expecting it to be a Macbook, minus the keyboard, plus a touch screen. I can't say I ever expected that. Such a device would have been much more expensive, and not nearly as accessible to your average computer illiterate. I get the feeling a keyboardless Macbook like that would only really have catered to a niche market, just like tablet PCs still do. Unless you had the need to draw on a portable device, it wouldn't have made much sense.
As I see it, Apple has made more an information consumption device, and less an information creation device. Sure, they're making iWork available for it... but I can't see myself using that over iWork on my Macbook (granted, that opinion might change once I try it). In doing so, they've made a device that will arguably be way more accessible to everyone.
That leaves the whole Flash issue to address. I'm a bit conflicted on this. I do hate Flash. It's a gigantic resource hog, all so annoying banner advertisements can be more annoying and over-ambitious web-designers can make their websites even less user friendly. I've taken stock of my regular web-surfing, and noticed something: Except for online video, none of the websites I visit regularly make any significant use of Flash, if any. So, I could quite easily live without it. Youtube has its HTML5 beta anyway, and that runs far faster, smoother, and leaner than Flash ever did. So, from my point of view, the iPad lacking Flash is inconsequential, or even a good thing... especially since loads of websites are already rushing to accommodate it. While it is rather arrogant of Apple to exclude it "because they say so", I think it will ultimately breed progress. The industry is being forced to progress to something much better than Flash. As far as I'm concerned, that should've happened years ago. Maybe Apple realizes this. Maybe they're just doing it so people can't play Flash games on the iPad, and people will be forced to buy games from the app store. The real answer is probably somewhere in the middle.
So, the inevitable question: Will I get one?
I've become more open to the idea. The iPad is becoming more appealing, the more I think about it. The idea of waking up in the morning, grabbing my cup of coffee, and lounging on the couch with an iPad (as opposed to sitting at my desk with my Macbook) to do my morning sweep of the internet and check my e-mail is very appealing indeed. I'm also becoming increasingly open to the idea of ebooks, and I have no doubt that the iPad will be great for that. So, for the internet, e-mail, and ebooks alone, the iPad does indeed make sense. It costs as much as a big Amazon Kindle, but can do way more. So, as far as that goes, I could see myself getting one.
However: I'm in no hurry. Everything I've just described is a luxury. I don't need any of it. From a "productivity" point of view, it's rather useless to me. I won't be getting any work done on it. I'll still be bringing my Macbook with me whenever I need to get some work done. And, I'm a poor student with quite a lot of hobbies. There are things I'd much rather spend that kind of money on.
So, again: Will I get one? Eventually. It's inevitable. Given that fact, there's no reason to force it.
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