I touch, therefore, iPad?

It was one of the worst-kept secrets of the past year, but it still had the tech crowd quivering in excitement when Steve Jobs announced it on Wednesday. Apple's much-awaited tablet, the iPad, is finally official. And it has many tech companies quavering in their boots.
Industry watchers say Apple's long-awaited iPad tablet could reverse the fortunes of the tablet PC industry.Microsoft introduced a tablet computer in 2001, but it failed to catch on. However, advances in touchscreens and wireless technology mean that the market could now be right for products such as the iPad, analysts said.
APPLE SHOWS THE WAY
As with most Apple products, the iPad is good looking. It looks like an oversized iPhone, but is hardly ungainly. It's front is dominated by a delectable 9.7 inch high-resolution (1024x768) touchscreen. It comes with an accelerator, adjusting the picture or text from landscape to portrait as you tilt it. And yes, it supports multitouch just like the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing you to touch, slide and pinch your fingers across the screen to do various tasks. It is about half-an-inch thick and tips the scales at around 700 gm, making it very portable. There is just one home button on the front, with buttons on the side for volume and resetting the device.
Purring beneath this sleek hood is Apple's new A4 1 Ghz processor, which the company claims packs a punch while consuming little power. Also on board are connectivity options like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in all iPads and GPS and 3G connectivity in some models. The device claims to offer a staggering 10 hours of battery back-up while on Wi-Fi , putting it well ahead of most netbooks and notebooks.
APPS ON TOP
But, as in most Apple products, there is more to the iPad than looks and muscle. This is no dumb tablet - almost all 140,000 apps on the Apple App Store can run on it. In simple terms, this means one can download all the apps - from games to enterprise ware to time-wasters - that one had got for one's iPhone or iPod touch on to this larger screen. The App Store has been the core strength of the iPhone and Jobs has been clever enough to bring it to the iPad too.
There are some new apps too. Most notable is an e-book application called iBooks, which will allow users to browse, purchase and read books directly from the device itself using Apple's new iBookstore - a more powerful shot across the Kindle's bows could not have been fired.
Apple has also updated its iWork productivity app suite (word processor, spreadsheet and presentation) to run on the iPad, which along with the Safari browser and an improved email client, gives it a definite enterprise edge. Console manufacturers also must be frowning at the interest EA and Gamesloft have shown in developing games for the new device, which has a bigger display and better battery life than both the Nintendo DSi and Sony PSP Go. Running behind all this is what seems to be an improved version of the legendary iPhone OS.
SUPER PRODUCT, KILLER COST
But the blow for many is the price tag. Pundits who had been bracing for a niche $999 price, were stunned when Jobs revealed that the Wi-Fi version (without 3G) would start at half that figure - $499. Even the 3G-enabled version would come for $629, which is bang inside netbook and lower segment laptop territory.
Some will quibble about the absence of a real keyboard, but factor in the low weight, data connectivity and staggering battery life (not to mention the style factor) and you can well see road warriors taking to the iPad. Even regular consumers might prefer investing in it rather than going for separate gadgets.
There are some sore points, though. As in the iPhone, there is still no sign of support for Flash, which will render a number of websites useless on the iPad. Multi-tasking also seems conspicuous by its absence. One doubts if one could chat, work on a presentation, tune into music and download files, all at the same time on the iPad - something that even the most basic netbook supports. Some might also find the 16-64 GB storage space a tad too little in these days of heavy media files and three figure hard disk drive capacities. Then there is the matter of how much service providers will charge for data costs - AT&T have come out with a low plan for the US, but will this persist in other countries, when the device goes international in a few months?
But counterbalance all that with a device that can work as a portable computer, video player, e-book reader, gaming console (yes, it plays games marvellously well) and personal navigational tool - at a price that is around that of a high-end notebook - and you can see why Apple is calling this product revolutionary.
On paper, it is the ultimate mobile entertainment powerhouse. We will know for sure when we get our mitts on a review unit, but until then, we will admit to being very impressed.
WHAT'S MISSING?
MULTI-TASKING :
You can't listen to music while writing an email. If this is the replacement for netbooks, how can it not support multi-tasking ?
CAMERA:
No front- or back-facing camera. So there is no scope for video chatting on the iPad
KEYBOARD:
It has the same touchscreen keyboard, and unless you're lying on the couch with your knees propping it up, it'll be awkward to use
HDMI OUT:
Want to watch those HD videos you downloaded on TV? Too bad, the gadget doesn't have the option
FLASH SUPPORT:
It will leave huge holes in websites, especially if you are into those streaming videos on web pages
USB SOCKET:
If you want to plug anything into this, such as a digital camera, you need all sorts of adapters
WIDESCREEN:
Movies will look lousy on the iPad's 4:3 screen. It's like owning a 20th century TV all over again!