Tech News Vermont

It didn’t take long to see that I was wrong about the iPad. In January when it was first announced I was disappointed. Having used a Newton MessagePad for a number of years I was hoping to finally get a device that was modern but still fulfilled the space left by my retired MP2100. The pre-release press seemed to show the iPad as a giant ipod touch. That is not the case.

The iPad is a good fit for the hole left by my retired Newton. I was concerned about the lack of pen input. I like to doodle and often find myself sketching network maps or gantt charts in my notes. I was worried that the on screen keyboard would not be sufficient to take notes or write longer pieces.

The keyboard in landscape mode is as comfortable to type on as a netbook. Typing on the glass takes a little getting used, but it only took me a few days to get up to a descent typing speed.

The device does live up to the hype and is more than a giant iPod. The lack of connectivity and lack of printer support makes it hard to look at the iPad as a laptop replacement. However, for day to day use in and around the office and classroom the ipad will replace my laptop or the need to sign into a shared computer.

Today is the day for pre-ordering the iPad, Apple’s magical and revolutionary product, but no discounts seem to apply.  This touch based tablet computer appears to be running the iPod Touch/iPhone operating system, and as announced by Apple at the product introduction, looks to fill the gap between smart phone and laptop computers that is currently filled with netbooks.

Netbooks have become the standard college student accessory providing note-taking, email, and web browsing in a light weight small footprint.  We’ve reviewed the Acer One here at technewsvt.com and we’ll be reviewing the iPad the first week of April and see if Apple’s claims of magical and revolutionary are accurate or hype.

The curious thing is that Apple hasn’t discounted the iPad for college students or faculty.  Perhaps Apple feels the price point for the device is low enough or maybe the iPad is not meant to replace the netbook on college campuses, many of which are running Linux or Widows 7 and offering a more robust platform for school work (writing papers and programming.)