Last week we went up to our local Apple Retail Store and got to actually touch the new iPad!

And, yes… it was fantastic, as advertised.

I thought it might be fun to highlight a couple of things that I noticed and would say make the iPad worth the purchase. Certainly you may have a different list, or just disagree completely. But, without actually taking one home, here were my initial impressions/thoughts.

It’s Fast!
OK, I kept hearing everyone say this, but didn’t fully understand the hullabaloo as there aren’t really any Apple products that are slow. However, when you get into it and see how quickly everything launches, and that there is zero latency in how the stuff on the screen reacts to your contact with it … you understand. Apple took this part into their own hands by developing the 1 Ghz A4 chip to run their OS. They understand that what makes their stuff unique and great is that it, “just works.”

How It Felt
Clearly, it’s just an impressive device. When you see it, you can’t help but say, “Oooo.” That’s impressive to begin with, but then when you pick it up, it impresses further. Nice and thin, just about the perfect size for an handheld device (that doesn’t have a tiny screen or keyboard.) It was a tad heavier than I expected, actually, so that was a bit confusing to my brain. It was about the right size (height and width) and weight for a big hardcover book, but it was too thin to be a hardcover book!

Which leads me to the thing I liked best…

iBooks
I went in really wanting to see what books looked like and felt like on the iPad. I love the idea of digital books, but haven’t ever found a way that makes them enjoyable to see, read, and feel/touch. The iPad promised it would do that, and, I do believe it does. (Again, I have not actually used one, as I don’t own one yet. My opinion on this could change if I were to read a book or two on the iPad.)

The interface is just great. When you launch the iBooks app, you see a nice bookshelf with all your books there for you to choose from. Tap a book cover and you’re instantly in it, reading right where you left off. Check out the video at the top of this post (if you didn’t already) to see some of the other cool features.

The iBook store was very much like the iTunes store. Found some books fairly quickly, downloaded a sample of one, and was reading it within seconds. (Even on the store’s notoriously slow internet connection.)

I really think this is a big feature of the iPad and will perhaps do for (at least digital) books what iTunes/iPod did for music.

Camera?
The funniest thing I noticed was the spot for the camera, which is not currently a feature of the iPad. 🙂 Yes, there was a tiny hole/space right where a camera would go on the top of the front of the device. So, perhaps they are already in there? But, likely they are just saving the spot for a future (maybe near future) upgrade of the hardware. Thought that was interesting.

Final thoughts
I didn’t play with iWork, movies, games, maps, web browsing (ok, did that a bit… even updated the software that runs this blog!) … so there is much more to explore, but, from what I did see, it’s certainly a device that will be used—and used often.

Think of the iPad as another device. It’s not going to replace the laptop, which has much more expandability (including the use of more pro-level apps like Photoshop and Final Cut, and even consumer apps like iPhoto). It’s not going to replace your iPhone (or other “smart phone”) because, well… it’s not a phone!

(Note, however, that after playing with the iPad, we remained in the store for a bit, and while waiting to talk with a friend there, both my wife and I saw the iPhones and snickered at the thought of doing what we were just doing on the iPad on the iPhone’s (now) super tiny screen…)

The iPad is a perfect computer for what we use computers for at home. And you can even bring it with you, if you want. It’s great for kids. It’s great for students (think of the possibilities for the iBookstore and textbooks, plus the whole iWork productivity suite for only $9.99). And it’s great for Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa who aren’t comfortable with a computer, but might be with this multi-touch interface device.

I think it’s certainly a great first release. With Apple’s track record, there’s no doubt it will only get better. (Speaking of which, don’t forget that this is only the Wi-Fi model. The Wi-Fi + 3G models ship in a couple weeks.)

Final conclusion… if you have the extra $499-$829 to spend, you will not be disappointed!

Your thoughts are welcome… Do you have an iPad? Let me know what you think!

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DISCLAIMER: Though I was previously employed and otherwise officially affiliated with Apple, Inc., I am currently in no way affiliated with Apple, nor compensated for this glowing endorsement. I just like their stuff! 🙂