iPass on the iPad (for now at least…)

So far... I am not that impressed with the iPad.  For one... the name... really Apple?  We couldn't come up with something a little more creative?  I doubt I'm not the only one who thinks this, but isn't it just a overgrown iPod Touch at this point??

Here are my thoughts on some main points:

• Operating System & Processor: The iPad runs on the iPhone OS and based on the SDK that was released today, will start running on iPhone OS 3.2, which is not currently out to iPhone users.  The power behind the iPad is Apple's hefty 1GHz A4 processor... the demos show it to be preforming pretty well... although in my opinion, the OS seems to be pretty... lacking.  I'm hoping that future releases will reveal more functionality and capitalize on the potential that this product has.
• No multitasking: Really Apple???  Now, this may just be because it's an early preview/release of the device... also, I believe this may be because they don't want to steal too much thunder from the iPhone OS 4.0 update which is expected to be announced in Apple's March event.  The 1st Gen iPhone was missing a lot that we take for granted now and was complained about for months, even years for a few features: MMS, Copy/Paste, iTunes, App Store, Push Notifications... so I'd expect multitasking, as well as potentially Flash support (not holding my breath on that one), somewhere down the line.  New ways to run "background" apps was touched on in the leaked features of 4.0 last week so hopefully it'll blow us away!
• Connectivity: Obviously, I expected Wi-Fi, and it makes perfect sense to offer a 3G Cellular model as well (allows them to compete with Integrated Laptops and Netbooks); but what I am surprised by is the plan pricing... $14.99/month for 250 MB, and $29.99/month for unlimited data.  This goes against AT&T's 5GB cap on the existing DataConnect Plans.  Apple totes the iPhone, iPod Touch, and now the iPad's ability to access the web and e-mail... over and over again, there is a huge focus on the Internet and e-mail.  These are the main drivers for the amount of data used on these devices... half the price of the current pricing and really unlimited?  I'm a little skeptical... but we'll see.  With that being said... I have to boast a bit... all you cynics can suck it... Apple chose AT&T - AGAIN!  Get over your delusions of Verizon supporting an Apple product until LTE is in place... and even then, stable.  CDMA is an archaic technology and their network couldn't support either of these products.  As for their LTE network... talk to me in 2 years when they actually have it working (and again, stable).
• Applications: I am curious to see how current and new applications for the iPhone/iPod Touch will be redesigned to take advantage of a full multi-touch screen.  While I expected Apple to release their iWork suite, iTunes, etc... it's interesting to see how they adapt the application to focus almost completely on finger gestures with minimal input from a keyboard even.
• iBooks: This one I'm not completely sold on just yet.  One of the main reasons eBooks haven't quite taken off yet on computers/laptops is due to the screen!  Staring at a monitor or laptop screen for hours is not really good for your eyes.  The Kindle uses electronic "paper" displays which actually uses ink just like books, but displays the ink particles electronically... no glare, sharp text and images... I don't know how it works but all I know is it looks great and doesn't hurt your eyes!  We'll see how well Apple does on this one.
• Customization: I won't lie... the first thing I noticed was the background image.  Please tell me this is a sign that Apple is finally cluing into our need to customize our iPhones beyond the lock screen wallpaper!
• The Name: Who thought of this... so not kidding... who thought "iPad" would be a good idea?  Don't you guys bounce these things around the office?  Or better yet... GOOGLE IT?!  Immediately after they announced it, I couldn't count how many links to MadTV's iPad skit popped up on Twitter and Facebook.   I mean, I get it... Notepad... iPad... got it... but what about iTablet, or iSlate, or ANY of the other names floating around the Internet.  If anything... you couldn't see "iTampon" coming from a mile away??? Advertising fail for sure.
• iPhone OS 3.2 SDK: Available today, the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK has been released and includes a few promising features.  Two that popped out at me were the iPad's external display support via the Dock connector, and File Sharing.  Hopefully these two features will translate to the iPhone as well.  SDK documentation states 3.2 will not run on the iPhone though, so we may have to wait a little bit longer for some of these features (if any)... most likely in 4.0.

I think the iPad, despite the name, has great potential.  I'm excited to see what's in store for future updates and generations.

Sources:

• MacRumors
• Engadget
• Gizmodo