Some people have been asking me what my opinion on the iPad is. I think in a nutshell, it’s nice, but could be better (not unlike all of Apple’s products). In my opinion, I think Apple missed out on a few, but huge, components. But the thing is, I don’t think they omitted a camera because they forgot or because there were technical limitations. They did it because they probably already have the next tablet in the works. But to sum things up in a nutshell:

Pros
    + It’s thin and fairly compact.
    + It has Apple’s own processor, the A4. It’s fast and efficient. This is big news for iPhone users wanting to upgrade.
    + Battery life, this is both a pro and con. 140hr music playback, 10hr video, ebook.
    + Affordable 3G plans. 250mb at $14.99 is a great in between plan.
    + Everyone knows how to use it, ie: iPod/iPhone users.

Cons
    – The UI is boring. It’s a gigantic iPod. Couldn’t Apple be more creative?
    – No flash support. I understand Apple’s reasoning, but still.
    – 16GB? Please, memory is cheap.
    – Accessories. Adaptors for EVERYTHING = expensive.
    – Battery life. 10 hours is great, but makes it far from a Kindle killer.

Overall, I think the iPad could find a place in my home and maybe during traveling, but not much else. I think it would be a great help in the kitchen. Cooking while pulling up recipes or viewing videos online would be nice. As for the battery life, it will last you a day, which is fine. We all know batteries are THE limiting factor in portable technology today. Complaining won’t do much. In any case, it’s not super fantastic and it’s not a complete bust either.

The real kicker? I think my parents would absolutely love it. They always ask us to get them a portable DVD player for when they travel and I think this would do a far better job.