Legitimize This: The iPad, And Why You Might Actually Want One.

    January 27th was the day of the "Meh" heard around the world. That was the day the iPad was announced. Was it well received? Nope. How's it holding up now? Pretty great, actually. So why should you care? Because, it really might be worth your money.


     I'll be completely honest: When the iPad was announced, I couldn't care less. Besides, I already had an iPod Touch and a MacBook Pro, so why would I need one? Did I do my research? Nope. It actually wasn't up until this week when I was helping my girlfriend look for a new laptop that I started to research it. She wanted something that was small and portable, so any laptop bigger than 13" was out of the question. Problem is, you can't really get any usability out of a netbook, especially with one running Windows, because let's be honest: you'll need to be running an anti-virus program, and that would practically destroy any usability you would get out of that thing. The only decent laptops we could find were much too expensive, so I turned to the only thing I could think of that was relatively cheap, small, and wouldn't need to run an anti-virus: the Apple iPad.

    So I went to Apple's website and watched all of their loverly guided tours, and I must say: I was impressed. In fact, more than impressed; I was blown away. Sure, a good majority of the videos were just lame PR lines, but the actual facts were impressive, and I had to eat my own words. Why? Because at that point in time, I officially wanted an iPad. Let me break down all of the reasons why:

Watching Videos: Like On A Laptop, But Comfortable. And Prettier.

      You can watch videos on it. Groundbreaking, I know, but what makes it different, or more importantly, worthwhile, is the interface and what you can watch. The interface looks extremely intuitive and very fluid. That, and it's in HD, which means that it'll look much, much better than on a netbook. Sure, you can buy videos from iTunes, but Apple has decided to lower their guard a little by officially allowing Netflix to release an App that allows you to stream your Netflix instant queue to your iPad. Apple previously blocked Google Voice from the App Store, and they took a lot of heat for it. Since then, they've been trying to prove to everyone that they aren't as close-minded as they seem, even allowing Voice-Over IP apps like Vonage into the App Store. You can also stream ABC's shows through an ABC iPad App, and even Hulu is reportedly making an iPad App, but with a subscription service. Not to mention sites are currently making the move to HTML5 over Adobe Flash to accommodate future iPad users. Sure, you can just watch your movies on your tv. Or on your iPhone, because who's going to want to carry their iPad around with them everywhere? Well, no one will, but they will take it where it matters, like on an airplane, to a hotel, or on a family vacation, and at that point it's a much better experience than holding your iPhone 8 inches from your face. Well, what if you have a laptop with a great screen? Why can't you just bring that with you? Unless you have a MacBook Air (and who does?), the iPad will take up a lot less space. That, and maybe you're one of those people that doesn't exactly want a desktop with a monitor, but you want something that'll trick you into thinking you do, so you buy one of those ginormous gaming laptops. Sure, you've got a great, big screen, but is that's not going to fit onto your lap or fold-away tray table easily or comfortably. With the iPad, you just hold it. You need to do something else, or put a drink on that tray table? Done. Just go back to holding your iPad while your snackedge rests comfortably on that tiny table.

ABC's iPad App will let you stream all those episodes of Lost you didn't understand.

Your Music On A 10" Screen: It's Your Music, But Bigger.


     Nothing really, here. You can listen to your music while you browse the web. The iTunes music store looks much better on the iPad than on an iPhone or iPod Touch. It looks a lot like the computer-based version, so this doesn't really have any benefits over listening to music while you browse on a laptop, so move along. Chances are you weren't going to buy an iPad for the sole music of listening to your jams, anyways.

Browsing The Internet: Still Better Than Your iPhone.

     The same argument for "bigger than your iPhone, smaller and more comfortable than your laptop while on a trip/somewhere else" applies. I'll be going to San Diego Comic-Con this summer (hooty-hoo), so I'll need to update you guys from the floor. Is it going to be practical to abandon where I am to find a nice little spot over by the bathrooms, pop a squat, and start typing away? Nope. It'd be much easier to just whip out an iPad and pump out a post from exactly where I am. The e-mail application is also much more robust than the iPhone version. In fact, it looks better than any website. That, and an iPad weighs a lot less than my MacBook Pro. That's going to be pretty annoying to lug around.

Reading And The iBooks Store: Because You Might Want To Avoid That Creepy Guy At Borders.

     Sure, the kindle has an e-ink screen, so it's more suitable for reading. Walt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal doesn't seem to think so. He apparently loves his kindle, but loves reading on the iPad more. Let's be honest with ourselves: reading a colorful cookbook or one of those cool "art of" books is not going to be fun on a Kindle or Nook. Then again, let's assume you might not like ebook readers in general. Let's say you love your home library and you love building it up. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Well, there's nothing that iPad can really do for you then. It has a nice little virtual library, but that won't take the place of those nice leatherbounds if you don't want it to. Let's say you want an ebook reader. That's great! The only thing holding you back is knowing which device will have the biggest and best selection. Obviously, the Amazon Kindle currently has the biggest library, but let's not forget: this is an Apple product, so you know full well this is going to be backed by every major publisher you can think of. That, and what other ebook reader can do everything the iPad can? exactly. Also, you won't have to drive to Borders or Barnes and Noble. If you like the bookstore experience, then go to the bookstore and read your iPad there. The Nook actually wins in this regard since you can take your nook to any Barnes and Noble and read any ebook in it's entirety for free. You can get previews on the iPad, but nothing like that. Oh, and magazines and newspapers will be pretty impressive and accessible on it, so there's that, too. Whether those are still relevant because of the internet, who knows.

Comic Books: This Is Exactly What They Need.

   I love comic books. Love. Them. Y: The Last Man, Watchmen, Scott Pilgrim, The Walking Dead, I love them. There's one big problem though: If my comic book store's out of an issue, I either wait a few months and spend $20 on the trade paperback, or hope and pray that the publisher does a second printing. That's happened to me way too many times. The iPad would get rid of all of those problems. If I want a comic book, I just click on it. Done. Sure, I like going to my local comic book store, but only because my local store is awesome and has tons of toys and collectibles. What if your store's not as awesome? Then it's just a boring waste of gas and they're probably not going to order enough issues anyways. Marvel just launched their own iPad app, with a beautiful interface that puts about 100 titles from their expansive catalogue at your fingertips. That, and the screen is big and beautiful, which is perfect for all those vibrant colors. Even if it's something like The Walking Dead or Scott Pilgrim that's black and white, still great.


Marvel's iPad App


Gaming And Apps: They'll Be Awesome. And Pretty.

   The iPad can use the iPhone's apps, so you're already got about 150,000 apps to choose from. The iPad already has a lot of Apps that were just released on iTunes, and they're looking great. Besides things like the Netflix app, there's some pretty impressive drawing and productivity apps. Some of the apps that make the iPad worthwhile are the iWork apps. If you don't know, iWork is Apple's version of Microsoft Office, and it's great. And cheaper. I have iWork on my MacBook Pro, and I would never go back to Microsoft Office. Apple's made some pretty impressive iPad versions of Pages (word), Keynote (Power Point), and Numbers (Excel). They run about $10 each, and if you get an Apple Bluetooth keyboard or their keyboard dock, you can get some pretty serious work done. You could use the on screen keyboard, but who knows how long that'll be comfortable for. Right now, the iPhone has some pretty great games. From Plants vs. Zombies, Street Fighter 4, to N.O.V.A., and Rock Band, they're pretty good. The iPad can only expand on that with iPad specific games like Geometry Wars, Plants vs. Zombies HD, and board game games like Scrabble and Monopoly. Scrabble even lets you use your iPhone or iPod Touch as a letter-piece holder, and you can flick your letters to your iPad's screen. That's pretty nifty, if you ask me.

   Who do I think the iPad is really for? I say it's for people that want a Mac, but don't want to pay all that much for it. It really is the Mac (or OS X) experience, but in a smaller package. I've given you my reasons why the iPad will be worth my time and why it might be yours, so now it's up to you: Go to an Apple Store or Best Buy and go play with one to make your mind up yourself.