I have a new toy | Talk it up | Forums

I just had to share. I got to the Apple store at 7:45 this morning and waited with over a hundred people (I did not pre-order). Probably more like 200 by the time the store opened.

The iPad is wonderful. Definitely worth it. Especially if you are already a netflix member there's an app for watching stuff in your instant queue. I haven't downloaded any books yet but the free Winnie the Pooh book that comes with iBooks looks just like you picked up a real book with color illustrations and all. I'm really glad I didn't give into the temptation to get a Kindle last year.

I'm enjoying it so far. Video is incredible. Yeah it doesn't have flash but lots of sites either have started changing over to html5 (CBS.com) or they just created a free app (ABC, NPR). There isn't an html5 hulu yet or an app but I'm guessing one is coming soon. And I have lots off DVDs that I recently ripped that I could transfer to it easily. And Netflix has a free app so you can stream stuff from your instant queue.

I've only looked at the free book that came with it but iBooks looks good to. If you already have a kindle or the kindle app for your desktop or phone, there's also an iPad kindle app that you can read your existing books.

But the looks and the size is great. I think my 17" laptop will be getting less use at least for web browsing and video watching. The laptop was more of a desktop replacement than something truly portable though. In fact, I have the iPad in my hands right now while I'm watching my kids in the bathtub. I wouldn't want to haul my laptop in here.

But can the iPad completely replace having another computer? For most people no. If you have existing media (whether photos, tv shows, videos, etc), then I'm not sure how you would get them on the iPad without a computer whether pc or Mac. Now if you didn't have existing media and were willing to only get stuff from iTuneS or the app store then you might be able to get by with just this. Kinda depends on what you like though. This won't replace my pc because I still really like messing around with various programs, etc. If you only use a pc for music, video, and games then the iPad might suffice.

The keyboard works pretty well. In portrait mode, I can actually type like I do on my iPhone using both thumbs. In landscape mode I've tried touch typing but that needs practice. I've never tried typing on the really small net books so I can't compare the experience. It is cramped to try to touch type but the auto-correction works well. I wouldn't try typing a novel on it anyway (except this post) :-)

I actually like the bezel. It makes it easy to see the content while holding on to the iPad and not having hour thumbs getting in the way. But I guess that is individual preference. It definitely feels very solid in your hands and not at all flimsy like some of the small plastic net books. I'm still debating a case for it but leaning against it because I think it would ruin the beauty of it.

I'll try to do some screen shots sometime soon and post them.

Locutus said:

The iPad's Hulu app is probably going to be subscription based…

http://gizmodo.com/5508290/nbc-wants-you-to-pay-for-ipad-tv-dammit-they-wont-be-the-only-ones

Yeah, I heard that too. I like Hulu but I'm probably not giving up my fiostv service any time soon so I don't use it a lot.

And I think I heard that it might go to subscription based for everyone regardless of device.