It has been over a week since the apple tablet iPad has been revealed to the public with a lucky 50 tech companies experiencing firsthand the joys and disappointments of Steve Jobs latest creation. Now that the initial buzz has subsided and consumers are still two months away from the opportunity to purchase the apple tablet, what’s next for the iPad before its commercial release? Will the general public be ready to join the apple fanboys to help turn the iPad into the next consumer must-have tech product like the iPod or will the touch screen apple tablet become another disastrous product like the Pippin? The professional reviews are in, and what they uncovered with their initial impressions might surprise you.

The Good

Do you like the way your iPhone and iPod Touch operate? I hope so because the iPad runs a modified version of the same operating system, version 3.2 at the time of this writing. In fact, familiarity is a key selling point for apple. The apple tablet synchronizes your files with iTunes, charges with the same white 30 pin connection cord, purchases applications from the app store and even transfers the songs, videos, games and helpful apps that you already bought (avoiding a “double dip” of a dual purchase for the same content).

The screen resolution is beautiful. Every apple tablet review gushes about the 1024 x 768 high resolution display of the iPad’s 9.7 inch touch screen. The colors are vibrant, frame rate has minimal skip in the demo movies and videos games (these are pre-release beta’s, expect improved frame rate in the final product) and the multi touch feature works just as well as the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Most of the technological specifications of the iPad are fairly impressive. The 1 GHz custom CPU is said to be incredibly fast for a handheld device, able to instantly load and use the various applications. The built in wireless devices, WiFi and Bluetooth, will connect and run just as seamlessly as the current generation iPhones and iPods.  No details have emerged regarding the built in RAM, but expect it to be able to quickly handle all the programs of the apple tablet as easily as it does for your other apple products.

The Bad

Where to start? Storage on the iPad comes in three different sizes; 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. No matter how this bit of information is spun, these are small hard drives for a product intended to compete in the netbook market. Flash drives come in the same sizes at a fraction of the cost. Even at their largest 64 GB, that can fill up very quickly with data especially with the projected applications expected for the iPad. Like watching movies and TV shows? With the minimal hard drive space it can barely hold a dozen movies and a single season of the average TV show. That’s okay though because the battery life is said to be only “about 10 hours” of video use.  Translation: the apple tablet won’t last a full day under regular use.

The Ugly!!!

No multi-tasking. Let me break down this deal breaker. A touch screen miniature apple tablet with the power of a netbook, same size as a netbook, costing twice as a much as the average netbook, designed to bridge the gap between cell phones (iPhones) and laptops (Macbooks) CANNOT RUN MORE THAN ONE APPLICATION AT A TIME! Want to read a book while listening to music on your iPad? Nope, it can’t handle that. How about loading a quick webpage for information to help that paper you’re writing? Sorry, you will have to close the word processor, open the browser, and copy the information you want, close the browser, reopen your paper and continue. For a mobile device, the inability to run multiple applications is without a doubt its greatest flaw. Also, there is no flash support, no webcam, no video messaging, no SMS (text messaging), no phone capabilities, no USB ports, monthly fees for access to the 3G network (exclusive to AT&T) and the list goes on.

Potential versus Reality

Nearly every apple tablet review speaks of the potential of the iPad. It has the capability to be apple’s next big thing, but its apparent flaws and suspiciously missing applications and now normal hardware specs also leave the door open for a major flop of Apple Lisa or Pippin proportions. The best analogy I’ve come across compares the Apple iPad to a concept car. Similar to a pre-production concept car, the apple tablet iPad introduces plenty of new technology, great ideas, sleek and modern design but its implementation aims at lofty goals while ignoring reality. It’s lacking in basic functionality that is now considered the norm and the reality is that there are simply too many flaws in the iPad’s initial version. I believe the overall consensus is to wait until the kinks are worked out and apple adds multi-functionality and flash support in the apple tablet iPad version 2.0.

The official Apple Tablet - The iPad

It Has Arrived

The apple tablet has been publicly unveiled today. Surprisingly, the moniker is neither the iTablet nor the often rumored and predicted iSlate but the apple tablet’s authorized name is the iPad. Consisting of a 9.7 inch touch screen and featuring an operating system that mirrors the iPhone and iPod touch, the iPad is designed to bridge the gap between functionality of a laptop and the mobility of a cell phone.

Something Old yet Something New

Familiarity is the key promotional tool for the iPad as it will download and run from the preexisting app store and iTunes. The rumors for months were that the apple tablet would simply be a large iPhone/iPod touch with Macbook functionality and Steve Jobs has delivered just that. Already purchased apps, games, eBooks and songs? Do not worry, they will transfer and synch to the iPad so you won’t have to purchase the same content twice. Already own the white 30 pin connector? It’s the same cord as your iPod for connectivity to charge and sync the apple tablet to your PC or Mac. From Steve Jobs announcement, “Because they’ve shipped 75 million iPhones and iPod touches, there’s 75 million people who already know how to use the iPad.”

Step-ladder approach to storage

Similar to the varying models and storage capacity of iPhones and iPod touches, the iPad will be available in three different units; 16 gigabyte, 32 GB and 64 GB. Featuring a screen resolution of 1024 x 768, the base models will include wireless connectivity ideal for viewing newspapers and playing videos games. High end (pricier) 3G iPads will be available but require monthly data plan purchases in order to connect and use AT&T’s 3G network. Refer to the photo (courtesy of gizmodo) for the data plan breakdowns.

No official word yet if AT&T will lose its iPhone exclusivity but they are the sole data provider (for now) of 3G iPads. Regardless of the storage size and connection speed, each apple table will reportedly have an operational battery life of 10 hours for video and up to 1 month of standby.

Availability

Want to run to your nearest store and buy the apple tablet today? Sorry to burst your bubble, but direct from Steve Jobs, “We will be shipping iPads in 60 days, worldwide availability of Wi-Fi models.  It’ll be another 30 days beyond that for 3G models.” That firmly places expected availability at the start of Q2 2010, around the end of March or early April. Even early adopters will need to wait till spring for the high end 3G iPad models.

Get to the pricing already!

Enough dancing around the pricing structure. Apple, always known for cutting edge, high end (read: expensive) technology has released the following pricing breakdowns for the various models of the apple tablet.

For the cheaper models it starts at $499 USD for the 16 GB unit, $599 for the 32 GB and $699 for the 64 GB. Want 3G connectivity? Be prepared to shell out an additional $130 USD on top of the base model prices. Note, this does NOT include the cost of the data plan to actually use the 3G network. Including the unlimited data plans (which realistically, why pay for the limited bandwidth usage) the 3G apple iPad will cost $659, $759 and $859.

Limitations

Be warned, these are serious drawbacks and essential applications missing from the apple tablet.

-No multi-tasking. Seriously, only one app at a time.

-No Camera. No webcam. No video conferencing.

-No SMS application means no text messaging.

-No Flash Player! No flash!

Final Verdict

$859 is a lot of money for a quaint 64 gig netbook that can’t run multiple applications, but what it can do is nothing short of astounding. The apple tablet is the next logical step in Steve Jobs technological progression after the iPod lead to the iPhone, it’s now time for the iPhone to give way to the iPad. However, a major reason for the success of the iPhone is due to its powerful ability to run seemingly any application while fitting comfortably in your pocket. The apple tablet lacks this invaluable asset. Physically, the iPad is a closer relative to the average PC netbook but lacks serious functionality essential to the very market the iPad is targeted towards. The apple fanboys will be all over the iPad, but is the general public ready for apple tablet when there are so many other viable options for the same price? Only time will tell.

The Apple Tablet or iTablet: real or fake? At this point in the speculation with the numerous “leaked” specs and mock photos the questions is no longer whether the Tablet is real or fake, it’s a question of when. The Apple Tablet will clearly not be making the 2009 holiday season as the project still has yet to be officially announced by apple but numerous insiders and friends of friends claim legitimacy.

What Exactly is the Apple Tablet / iTablet?

The latest round of rumors has the apple tablet pegged at having a 10 inch touch screen designed to bridge the gap between the iPhone/iPod and a MacBook. Similar to modern netbooks in design and scope, the Apple Tablet is projected to enter the same bloated netbook market with Apple’s high end design (it’s expected appearance looks like a large iPhone), functionality (OS X for its operating system) and price tag (industry authorities expect a 700 to 800 US dollar price, roughly twice the cost of other high end netbooks).

Apple Tablet / iTablet design

Game Changer or Too Little Too Late?

Apple normally has an eye for innovation and ground breaking technology. The idea of falling in line by simply producing an expensive “Apple exclusive netbook” may or may not have the same effect as the iPod and iPhone. Many Silicon Valley insiders view this as Apple trying to play catch up to the current market rather than attempting to create an entirely new product as they have done in the past. It is hard to argue with the projected specs and functionality of a mini-MacBook as the iTablet / Apple Tablet is expected to perform at but with the price of modern computing dropping this might simply be Apple catering to their already niche clientele.