I have to admit, I was super excited about a week ago when I started reading into all of the hype of what Apple’s new tablet device could do.  I had lots of possibilities in mind: video chatting, sketchbooking websites for clients, and just in general reinventing the way we look at handheld devices.  I was all but set to go out and purchase one the day they went on sale.

And after reading the entire transcript from Engadget’s fantastic review, and hearing the presentation live on TWiT, I have to say…

I’m not impressed.  At all.

There is so much more that this machine could have done, and that people were expecting it to do, that it just doesn’t live up to the hype – even Apple’s side of the hype.  No background applications (re: no pandora while I work on other stuff), no intuitive sketch interface, and no camera (granted a camera would have been strange unless it was done correctly… but even something is better than nothing.

Apple had a golden opportunity to turn the mobile and handheld computing worlds on their ear.  And they failed.

Apple could have reinvented things, went back to the drawing board, and thought about how we use the products in our daily lives.  Instead, we get a giant ipod touch that (while having a few promising features) basically does the same thing it’s little brother does. 

Apple, you had me at the iPhone, but you’ll have to do something REALLY amazing to prove this pad is worth it. As of now, I’m still holding out hope for the Courier, or at least for another pad (windows, linux, android, or chrome) that does half of what I hoped the iPad would do.