64GB storage, only?
No USB?
Does it support ogg, flac music formats?
Does it support MKV, WMV, DIVX, XVID, MPEG1,2 video formats, etc?
Can you install apps on it without going through another computer with itunes installed?
No cam?

Seems pretty limited for such a pricy device…
Oh I forgot, it “looks fabulous” for folks that don’t know anything about computers…
That argument doesn’t do it for me though…

So I’ll stick with my good looking, light, eeepc netbook runing Ubuntu Linux.

1. Well yes the iPad does do what most people do and so does any internet capable device. Only with the exception that with the vast majority of devices you can do all of those things at the same time. And the problem isn’t the necessity to multitask its the lack of an option to.

2. The issue with the size is the fact of it’s awkward. Being a flat surface and trying to walk and function with it is annoying. Now im not saying that netbooks/laptops are necessarily better in that respect but at least when you do drop your netbook/laptop it has some survivability.

3. There’s an app for that! Oh my favorite catchphrase. Yes there is for pc or linux users as well and pcs/netbooks have this little thing called open source.

4. Hmm… apps again you seem to be repeating yourself. 140,000 apps is incredibly limited compared to pc’s millions of programs and software. And do I have 140,000 apps on my pc no that is excessive. How many apps do you think fit on the biggest iPad 64gb? How many fit on a standard modern laptop 500gb?

5. Well you are correct geeks would not likely want one as most of us can understand a limited, slow, and generally disappointing product when we see one.

6. Now how do you expect a Grandfather/mother or heck even mother/father age persons to understand a brand new (well… not really) type of technology. Have you seen elderly people trying to use touchscreen voting machines? You only have to push maybe a dozen buttons. Ease of use will be there for iphone/ipod touch users but don’t make it out to be simple to use for the technologically challenged.

7. Well I can understand if everyone is not as coordinated as I am to stand in the metro listening to music, checking email, blogging, and scheduling classes on the same electronic device (gasp shock). And back to apps we go of course there is an app for that if there wasn’t It would be disappointing. Do you go and rave about how you able to breathe? Well i guess if you bragging to people with lung cancer it would be valid. Now the battery life I’m not quite sure I believe just yet and also isnt that impressive since you can’t multitask which is what takes up most battery life.

8. So we are supposed to stop analyzing the technological aspect of a peice of technology…. Anybody else seeing some counter-productivity? And who doesn’t know what a USB port is? You can’t argue why a technological breakthrough is great and then discount the technology just because that’s not who it was marketed to.

9. Now here is where I have to tip my hat to apple. They are the only company that could take a worthless piece of tech junk and call it revolutionary or magical and actually convince people its true.

10. The camera part isn’t important its the lack of a webcam. Mum and dad love to talk to their kids but they love to see their kids more. I may have bought an iPad if it had a webcam despite its horrendous downfalls just to be able to have video chat with people on the go. Oh and there you go again listing all those things that any internet capable device can do you.

11. If you are sexually attracted to a piece of technology, well you should probably go talk to a doctor. They might have pills for that. If you mean that it is visually appealing, how? it is a largish rectangle with massive black bevels. It’s not even OLED and worst of all it’s in 4:3. Seriously that is pitiful, a psp has a better looking screen.

Tada I have completed my rant. All while standing, on the metro, doing everything the iPad can do and more, with a TEN YEAR OLD LAPTOP.

For those who are not tech-savvy like you or me, the iPad is great because:

1. It does what most people do: surf the web, check email, organize their calendars, social networking, check bank balances, read books, read magazines, plus 140,000 apps — anything from finding local attractions and restaurants to playing games. YEAH, Bejeweled and flight simulator and Grand Theft Auto on a 9.7″ is going to kick ass.

2. It’s large. People diss the iPad because it’s large, and yet turn around and say, “Oh, what you need is a netbook?” Do you guys have split personalities or what? It’s large, so you can ACTUALLY surf the web and read your damn email, and it comes with a full-size keyboard (or external keyboard for serious typing).

3. A whole new crop of apps specifically for iPad. Stretch your imagination. When the iPhone first came out no one knew you could actually do all that cool stuff with all those apps. Now people are like, “wow, it can do that?” Why can’t people realize the same could happy to the iPad, especially with the new SDK out? Think of what you can do with a 3″ screen. Imagine what you can do with at 9.7″.

4. LIMITED APPS? Is Mike1337 on drug? 140000 and growing is not limited. Do you have 140,000 applications on your laptop or desktop PC?

5. Geeks would probably not want one since YOU ALREADY HAVE AN IPHONE/IPOD TOUCH. That’s why geeks and nerds are like, “what’s the big deal?” It doesn’t have flash or HD or multitasking? YOU ALREADY HAVE AN IPHONE. Stop whining. The iPad is not made for you.

6. What’s it made for or marketed to are your mom and your dad and your girlfriend (or boyfriend) who doesn’t know how to program a DVR. It’s for your wife who has to take the kids to the soccer games but want something so she can READ BOOKS (don’t tell her to read it on the tiny screen), play games, surf the web, look for recipes, gossip with her Facebook friends, etc. while the kids are kicking balls. It’s for the grandpas and grandmas who are afraid of new technologies but wouldn’t mind seeing their grandkids’ pictures on a big, glossy screen, or videos of them, or keeping in touch with email messages that they can ACTUALLY READ without glasses…. the list goes on and on and on. So, no, it’s not for us geeks and nerds, but there are people out there who are not us.

7. Not everyone wants to carry a computer on their purse or messenger bag. First, you can’t really hold the damn netbook in your hand and type… you have to find a surface, or put it on your lap — awkward in many situations (trains, bus, even planes — the seats are very tiny now). Also, 80% of the time people just browse the web, do light email and correspondence, social networking. Sure, if they want to write the next great American novel or do something else like Photoshop, etc. they may want a netbook or laptop, but 80% of the time they don’t. Besides, iWork for iPad is coming out. And there are tons of apps to do photo editing, for example. You don’t need a full computer for that.

AND YOU CAN HOLD THIS THING IN YOUR HANDS.

It’s 1.5 lbs instead of 3 lbs.

The battery lasts 10 hours instead of 3. Standby lasts for a month.

8. It’s for people who don’t know what you’re talking about when you mention USB ports, Flash, DVI out, blah blah. Stop acting so superior because you’re a super user.

9. If my mom and my dad want one, even though they never had any interest in mp3 players, computers, smart phones, etc. then you know Apple has that market cornered. Boo hoo, how DARE THEY cater to the computer illiterates! Sheldon Coopers of the world unite!

10. Moms and pops already have cameras (digital or otherwise). It’s not a concern for them. What is good for them is to be able to actually READ the fonts on this thing, to be able to check local listings of things to do and restaurants to go to, to know where the **** they are when they’re lost, to read their favorite best seller while on the beach…

11. It’s sexy — let’s face it, you love your iPhone because it’s sexy. There’s no reason to deny that the iPad is also sexy, only big and sexy.

Seriously, try to hold a netbook in your hands while you’re on the bus and surf the web with the tiny trackpad and try to type at the same time, and you’ll understand why the iPad fill a big gap between a laptop and a smart phone. Failing to understand that is failing to be a true techno nerd!

Personally I think the list of negative aspects of this device are so overwhelming that it doesn’t stand a chance.
1. No Flash
2. No Multitasking
3. Limited apps
4. No REAL gaming
5. A 4:3 screen.. (Common apple)
6. No Camera
7. No Video out
8. No USB without buying an extra adaptor
9. Only up to 64GB HD??
10. A terrible Name.
11. Only 1Ghz processor??? (They make this sound new and amazing but Google’s Nexus One has the same speed with its new SnapDragon ultra mobile processor)
12. No widgets?!?!?
13. No Flash!
14. NOOOO FLASH (personally I spend hours of my time on youtube or streaming videos or playing online games)

For a device thats supposed to “revolutionize your browsing experience” I think it falls pretty short. In fact, I think that the iPad is about two or three years behind technology wise.

However there are also a few pluses about the iPad to. Its weight and size are both nice. It does have multi-touch and fairly sleek design. however the good things hardly make up for the numerous shortcomings. I personally am very dissapointed