Oh iPad...so sad....

I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't excited for the revealing of the iPad. I'd say that I was downright giddy when Steve Jobs called his little conference and began to introduce the iPad. I was giddy up until I saw it actually. And the more he talked about it, the less excited I became.

When I imagined the iPad, I had pictured this awesome slim tablet that had a camera and mic built into the front, Macromedia Flash capability, huge screen, multi-tasking and decent price point. What we all got was a giant iPod Touch.

There is actually little separating the iPad from the Touch. Key differences are the size and power behind it but it is no where near a computer. It has a 9.7 inch diagonal screen that will probably encounter more damage and cleaning issues that the iPhone or iPod Touch do. It utilizes Apple's groundbreaking multi-touch capabilities but it still has the same mini-dock and layout as its smaller counterparts. The battery on the other hand is amazing for the device; it sports a ten hour span for audio, video or just surfing the web and e-mails. Also, depending on whether you want just Wi-Fi or 3G + Wi-Fi is another matter, (AT&T I believe is the one doing the 3G plans separately.)

The price point I feel would be reasonable if it just had more...

Wi-Fi only

$499 - 16GB

$599 - 32GB

$699 - 64GB

Wi-Fi + 3G

$629 - 16GB

$729 - 32GB

$829 - 64GB

See? Not too bad but with the lack of current features I feel like the best idea is to wait until the 2nd generation of iPad is released.

LACK OF FLASH SUPPORT!!! Why don't you listen Apple? It works on your computers but you can't make it or let it work on your devices? I don't know how many sites I can't go to because there's no Flash on my phone. I could let go of all my other vices with this device if it had Flash. I would wait in line for two days if it had Flash support.

With a release date set in stone of April 3rd, I don't know what the initial wave is going to be like. There are always the typical Cult of Steve people who buy every device Apple puts out, there's the people who thoroughly enjoy Apple products and have the cash to nab one at the get go, there's the people who will get one when they have the dough so they look cool or the people like me who are horribly skeptical and question the product to make sure it fits my needs. In my honest opinion, I give the iPad a preview review of 2.5/5. Sorry Steve.

-Armand