First, A Little Background...

Ok, let me get this out of the way, right from the start. I'm what you'd call an Apple Devotee (I refuse to call myself a fanboy, but if you want to... let's just say I respect your right to do so). I've been using Apple products for a little over ten years now, and haven't looked back or regretted it for a second. I get excited when a new product or product line comes out of Cupertino, and I've been willing to overlook some of Apple's shortcomings (always releasing better versions of hardware or software I use within days of purchasing it, adding DRM to iTunes purchases, omitting several key features from the iPhone until the 3GS and OS 3.0 came out, etc.) because of this mindset.

In short, this review might be a little biased. I'll do my best to be objective, but keep this in mind as you continue to read.

Anyway, it was this mindset that kept me excited about the iPad, even as just about everyone around me was trashing it as "a giant iPod Touch" and trumpeting its shortcomings.

However, in spite of this mindset, I also subscribe to the school of thought that one should never buy the 1st Generation of any product. I haven't been an early adopter since my first iBook in 1999, because I saw that product improve by leaps and bounds and it's price drop drastically... so I found myself wishing I'd waited a bit (a piece of advice I still give and follow when shopping for a new Mac, if I feel a new release is imminent). As a result, I waited until at least the 3rd Generation iPod, and the iPhone 3G, before making the leap to those devices.

Being an early adopter gives major bragging rights and that feeling of being on the cutting edge of technology, but it's very expensive, and you get to double as an unofficial guinea pig, enjoying all the kinks and bugs the manufacturer will sort out in the next version... one that, bound to be much cheaper, you might be able to afford... had you not plunked down hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a clunky, buggy, and now quickly obsolete, testing device. Unless you're rolling around in cash, it's just too hard to maintain, and worth it only for the most hardcore of gadget geeks.

So when I walked into the Apple Store yesterday, I figured I'd just play around with the device for a bit. However, I ended up walking out almost $700 lighter and with a shiny new toy, feeling equal parts excited, yet conflicted about reneging on my own advice. What caused the sudden switch? Honestly, it was a hunch. I didn't have a white light, soul-changing epiphany while playing around with the device... I didn't even handle it! Without even thinking, I walked to the salesman and asked if they had the 32GB iPad and a matching case. They did... and I didn't even pre-order or stand in line!

Ok, now the review...

So, having bought it and played around with it for a few days, I'm ready to write the review (I know some of my Twitter followers have been waiting patiently for this). You're probably asking yourself this, so I'll answer it: yes, I typed this review up on my iPad, on the Pages app, specifically.

Short answer: it's incredible, and definitely lives up to the hype. Long answer:

As I've said, the most common charge I hear against the iPad is that its basically a giant iPod Touch. And yes, this is true, but it's an overly simplistic description. I'd say it's everything the iPod Touch (and maybe even the iPhone) was intended to be. Yes, the main difference is that it has a bigger screen and a faster processor, but it's those two things that truly make all the difference.

Let's address both these components. First off, the screen. Yes, it's bigger. But what I didn't realize until after using it is how much crisper it is. The iPad screen is high definition - it will display images at 132 dpi (or "dots per inch" - as a point of reference, most web graphics are displayed at 72 dpi), and video at 720p at 30 fps (for help decoding these cryptic specs, click here).

To say images and video look gorgeous on this thing is a gross understatement. They look downright dazzling. I treated myself to an in-bed viewing of Planet Earth in HD this morning, and I was absolutely blown away (another tip: the HD trailer for Avatar is just as mesmerizing). And it's not just video - the web itself has never looked so amazing. Typography is always crisp, clean, and sharp, and colors positively pop out of their web pages. My only gripe is that, at 72 dpi, most images now look slightly grainy and pixelated on a 132 dpi screen... It definitely helps set a new standard for web imaging... and fellow web designers, take note: there will be huge opportunity found in optimizing websites for devices like the iPad, not just in imaging, but also in removing Flash and other obtrusive plugins.

Ah, speaking of Flash... have to address it at least briefly, as the second most common iPad complaint is its lack of Flash support. Surprisingly, it wasn't as big of a handicap as I thought it would be. Turns out a lot of major websites have been making the transition from Flash to HTML5 (and it's video embedding goodness), and where that's the case, there's a seamless integration between the video elements and the rest of the site (Apple keeps a list of these sites here, but my personal favorites, from a design perspective, were the TED Talks and Vimeo). After browsing these sites, I don't feel it'll be too hard for me to let go of Flash completely, when that time comes.

Oh, and there's already a batch of iPad-only apps on the App Store that take full advantage of this HD resolution, and they look just incredible.

And then there's the processor... It makes a big difference. Apps load in a flash, web pages load in a flash (no pun intended), videos load in a flash. All without missing a beat, and while being very generous with the battery life (one of my biggest gripes with the iPhone was its ridiculously low battery life... Apple seems to have delivered on their promises this time). Apple estimates a battery life, with heavy use, of about 10 hours on a single charge. And for the first time ever, they're right on target. That's how long I went yesterday - and this is with relentless Internet, gaming and video use. I used it just as heavily all day today, and it still (at 10PM) has a 56% charge.

Some gripes...

That being said, there are still some flaws. First, the keyboard, while a lot of fun, does take some getting used to... And for long typing jobs like this one, it is taxing on the fingers. I couldn't imagine doing extensive coding on it, for instance.

Also, the iBooks app and bookstore is lackluster. The books load slower, there's less text to the page, and there's less book selections than, ironically enough, the Kindle app, which has been optimized for iPad and is crisp, clear and intuitive.

Speaking of apps... say goodbye to $0.99 apps. iPad apps usually start at $5-$10, and the more professional suites (like some mixing and beat-making apps, as well as some productivity apps) can easily run you $50 or even $100. Apple claims you can just download regular iPhone apps (all +150,000 of them if you want) and use them on the iPad like no problem. Theoretically, yes... But in practice, you have to choose between playing the iPhone apps at their normal resolution (way too small for such a big screen), or doubling their pixels, making them look grainy. And on the iPad's HD screen, that pixelation can be visually jarring. It's like switching from regular TV to HDTV: once you get a taste of the real good stuff, the regular stuff just won't suffice.

Some developers are more generous than others, and include that optimization on their next free update. But most will simply develop a separate iPad version and charge much more for it (prime example... Scrabble for iPhone: $5. Scrabble HD for iPad: $10). Sometimes, I can see it being necessary... but doubling the price for Scrabble? It sure looks great, though...

More on apps... apparently magazines will be sold through there, too. And while newspapers and other print publications look amazing on the iPad, there's not much in the way of magazines... just this weeks issue of Time, selling for twice what it costs on newsstands, and not looking much different from the regular print edition! Where the hell is Wired Magazine, who single-handedly elicited ecstatic exhubration from the entire publishing industry with their incredible iPad demo? Where's SI, with their equally impressive tablet edition, with videos and interactive stats and graphics? Do they not realize they are losing valuable time, right off the bat here? The iPad has the potential to save publishing... but if the entire industry is this clueless, there may not be so much hope after all...

Or maybe it's just too early. I could gripe more about how I wish there were more games, or magazines, or book titles... but it's still very early in the game. Much more, I know, is on the way. I guess patience, paradoxically, is part of the ways of the early adopter.

So should you be an early adopter?

The one question that everyone genuinely curious (and not just ambivalent) about the iPad asks is "can it do everything your computer/iPhone/etc do?" The subtext here is, if I'm going to drop that much money on this thing instead of a smartphone or entry level computer, will it do everything I need to do. A valid question.

The short answer is no, it doesn't. Its shortcomings have been pointed out elsewhere, so I won't get into details. I know from my experience, I'll still need my iPhone to make calls, send texts, get directions and look up stuff in the absence of a Wi-Fi network. I'll also still need a computer to work with imaging, coding, and to look up those Flash heavy websites, many of which are still out there, and not going away soon.

But help me, for just a second, look at the bigger picture. When I look at my iPad, I think of the money I'll be saving when I finally kick cable to the curb and stream all my TV through this device. I think of curling in bed, with a book, a game, and a "laptop" all at once. I think of the mockups and proposals I can drum up and show my clients, on the fly. I think of the beats I can make, which I can then mix into my sets and mix tapes. And I think how exciting it is to be a part of what may very well be the future of personal computing... how it feels like to be on the cutting edge.

So my advice is... try it out! Try to withhold all bias and prejudice before trying it out. You may like it... I know that, out of all the people I've shown it to, many of whom used to chide me for my interest in the "iTouch XXL", came out of the experience at most blown away, and at least impressed enough to understand my purchase, and even contemplate a future purchase of their own.

You'll never know till you try it... so head on down to your nearest Apple Store to experience the face of technological progress, in action.

Hats off to you again, Steve Jobs.