A Glimpse at the IPad

If people doubt Apple for being more about flair than function, the iPad seems to give them all the more reason to do so. It's an Apple product: it's stylish, it says a lot when you're seen using it. We all remember the commotion with the iPhone and most would admit that waiting in line was worth it. But what about this iPad, this device that shares a name with a Fujitsu product, a computing chip made in Europe and a padded bra, no less (TJ.com).

A lot have praised it for being, well, sexy. If you like how the iPhone and the iPod touch feels, then this is their bigger sister. The display is perfect for movies and games and you'd probably have a fun time just moving and resizing webpages and zooming in and out of maps because of the fluid animation, which, speaking of fluidity, brings us to the iWorks Suite. You can actually get work done on the iPad, spreadsheets, presentations etc., because it would be nice if something which sets you back $499 could actually pay for itself, right?

It has also been criticized, and criticisms were hefty, for the lack of Flash support, which means you'll be seeing little blue squares dotted around web pages on some of your favorite video or game sites. What if you can't play music while you tinker around with other apps? You won't, because there no multitasking to be found. The pin-sharp display that is the immediate source of adoration for many, is also something that won't win over Kindle bookworms, though this is not going to be too much of an issue.

Would the sheer Apple charm be enough to captivate the loyalty of the market, or is the iPad just something which is fun to play with and nice to be seen with? While there is a lot of disappointment surrounding this much ballyhooed offering, we're sure that more than one person is already tossing and turning in his bed, desperately waiting for late March to arrive.