It was another typical Apple announcement. Steve Jobs comes on stage and the entire Internet comes crashing down about your ears. Contrast this with Microsoft's Steve Ballmer, who demonstrated a tablet PC from HP earlier this month. Did anyone notice?
Of course, tablet-format PCs aren't new. In fact, they're almost a decade old. They've been a failure, from almost every perspective. Except in a few niche markets, they simply haven't taken off.
The reasons are manifold. They were expensive. They were quite bulky and heavy. Touch input, usually involving a lost stylus, was badly integrated into the operating system, and the alternative was a detachable or hidden keyboard that defeated the point of the device.
But now that Apple has launched a modern tablet - not its first, if you count the Apple Newton - everyone is sitting up and taking notice.
Is this the device that will finally crack it?
There are a few reasons to think so, but there are at least as many reasons to suspect Apple has got it all wrong. Not least among them is the terribly unfortunate name. What were these guys thinking? Do they really not have any women on the staff at Apple?
That said, my first reaction to seeing the device was that I want one. For a confirmed Apple cynic, that's a big admission.
I thought that the operating system and user interface had finally caught up with what has always been an appealing form factor for browsing, taking notes, reading books or keeping up with social networks. The multi-touch interface and slick menu system look like they have finally conquered the intuitive usability challenge. Small notebooks have always needed a touch interface, and the iPad offers exactly that.
Admittedly, I suffered a brief moment of Apple envy during the announcement.
Ivo Vegter, ITWeb contributor
The size and shape, as always with Apple products, are impressive. It is thin, and at less than 1kg, also considerably lighter than its predecessors. Its 1 024x768 display measures 9.7-inches (24.6cm), and has the same sleek glass look as the iPhone. It's a perfect size for browsing and reading online, and Web pages appear to be crisp and clear.
Altogether, it looks like a much more usable device than the clunky Windows-based machines manufacturers kept trying to flog to an unreceptive market throughout the last decade.
It has some great features. It comes standard with a fair amount of software, from sophisticated office and graphics applications for the working classes, and music, software and book stores for the rest of us. Dedicated e-book readers such as Amazon's Kindle are suddenly far less compelling.
The battery life is very good. With heavy use, Apple claims it achieves 10 hours, and it draws very little power in standby mode.
It looks like it'll become a fairly decent games platform, and the games console market - both the full-size and handheld sides - will sit up and take notice. The screen is big enough, the processor appears to be sufficiently powerful, and controls are easily integrated into the touch-screen interface and accelerometer.
The other very impressive feature is the price. It starts at R5 700 for the entry-level 16GB version at have2have.co.za, which listed the device within minutes of its announcement. The 64GB model is R8 000. If, in addition to WiFi and Bluetooth, you want 3G - remarkably, this is an optional extra - you'll pay another R1 500, and a standard SIM card won't work. You'll have to find a telco that offers micro-SIM cards. Still, less than R10 000 for the top of the range isn't bad.
Once the frisson wears off, however, you start seeing the faults. Maybe it's because there are so many.
It doesn't have any cameras. For video chat, video podcasts, photos or scanning bar codes, you'll need a separate device. It also doesn't function as a native telephone, despite having a speaker and microphone.
It has a nifty full-size keyboard as an accessory, but you'll need it, unless you enjoy typing on a touch-screen and can do it fast. Lacking a stylus, taking notes using handwriting isn't an option either.
A baffling omission, if first-look reviews are anything to go by, is a Flash player. What device can function without one nowadays? Half the Internet is Flash-based.
And then you get to the major faults. It has neither a standard nor mini-USB port. It requires a special 30-pin connector if you want to sync it with your phone or computer. This is simply criminal.
Even worse, despite the more powerful resources available to it, the biggest flaw in the iPhone's OS remains stubbornly present in the iPad: it doesn't multitask. There's nothing resembling the notification bar that works so well on Google Android devices such as the HTC Hero. The rationale for not allowing the iPhone to multitask - performance and battery life - should not apply to a device designed to bridge the gap between phones and notebook computers. That the iPad cannot multitask is mystifying.
The expectation was that Apple would redefine what for a decade has been a failed product tier somewhere between small-screen handhelds and notebook computers. What that tier needs to achieve, but never has, is to eliminate the need to cart around both a notebook and a smartphone.
Reviewers, commentators, and indeed shareholders, appear unconvinced that the company succeeded. Other than the unexpected niche of mobile gaming, there's simply nothing about the Apple iPad that made anyone go wow.
Admittedly, I suffered a brief moment of Apple envy during the announcement. However, in the bright light of morning, the iPad has a little style, and very little substance.
I'll hold out for an Android device in a similar form factor, from the likes of HTC. Even if it adds nothing more than a big screen to the current Hero smartphone, it'll be a better buy than Apple's iPad.
Ew. Don't you hate the bloody name?
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