Yesterday Apple announced their latest creation: the iPad. It is a revolutionary multi-touch tablet, running the 75-Million-users-famous iPhone OS. However, the press was not so welcoming with the announcement, and this makes me wonder why. I do not want to sound like an Apple fan-boy now, but I want to take a look at the facts before judging the device too cruelly.

First, lets take a good look at the specs, and see what Apple has achieved here:

• Size: 242.8mm X 189.7mm X 13.4 X — Incredibly thin. Try comparing this with equivalent Tablet offerings or netbooks.
• Display: 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology. IPS means greater viewing angle and the LED means more vibrant colours and brighter display at lower energy costs. We all know what multi-touch is, right?
• CPU: 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed System on a Chip Processor. Another breakthrough: when a company designs the software for its own processor, you can expect marvels when it comes to performance, optimisation and energy savings. How fast this is, and how it compares with Intel Atom it waits to be seen.
• Storage: 16-64GB SSD Drives. By far exceeding in capacity the equivalent offerings in the netbook area. SSD comes expensive tho.
• Connectivity: WiFi (802.11n), Bluetooth (2.1+EDR), and 3G (optional). Digital Compass and Assisted GPS (only on 3G models).

All of the above are packed in a very slick, thin, light, aluminium package. Don’t even get me started how bulky and ugly the existing tablets or netbooks are. Its also backed with iPhone OS, which has made miracles on the phone marked and revolutionised the cell-phone industry. Take a moment and think what was before the iPhone. Nothing exciting eh? The iPhone platform revolutionised mobile User Interfaces, and even with its shortcomings as a device, it is still the best you can get in terms of mobile web browser, media player and the vast library of applications.

Now, imagine having almost twice as much the processing power of the iPhone in a 9.7 inch tablet. Imagine the possibilities with multi-touch applications. When developers get the hang of the new Software Development Kit, I promise you that we are going to see some AMAZING applications. Also, lets not forget the price: 499$ for the 16GB wifi model.

Of course, Apple demos of the new iPad weren’t so polished. To me, iPad now is something like the 1st gen iPhone when it was introduced. A brand new platform seeking for acceptance, so it can give it a push for later. If you recall, the 1st gen iPhone had no 3G connectivity, no AppStore, no iTunes store, no nothing. Just the stock applications. Now Apple made a head-start with these applications, but the OS is still lacking behind: no multi-tasking support, the welcome screen seems kinda, no flash support empty and so on. But lets not forget that we are talking about a device that has not yet seen the face of the earth, we’ve just seen it on a demo. And I am positive that Apple is going to push an OS upgrade for these devices to make as much from it as possible.

However, the press was really harsh to device. It reminds me the post we saw on Slashdot a few years ago: Apple Releases lame iPod. Aw really? What is the dominant portable music platform now, eh Slashdot, with 250m units sold? Apple is the victim of the rumours that are created around “expected” devices. Their mysticism around new product in these cases comes like a boomerang, as people start speculating about new product announces and they expect something extraordinary. Well, reality check people: Apple is a company like any other. They can not build the perfect product, but they do their best to get one thats innovative enough out there. This does not mean that every thing thats being distributed as a rumour must be a part of the final product — so guys, please, do not get disappointed if “teleport support” has not made into the iPad. This is plain stupid.

What I really like about Apple is that normally they don’t get a product out that doesn’t just works. However, this means that sometimes they drop out features that 10-15% of the users out there might find useful, such as generic USB support or an OLED display. Also, lets not forget that Apple is a company, not the messiah, and they want to make money. Of course they are going to release an OLED version later on, or one with a Camera: but not before they make some money and cover some R&D costs before they do that.

To sum up, I think the problem here is that the rumours were transformed into a real product, even before the product was announced by Apple — hence, many of the reporters were disappointed by the fact much of the rumours did not make it into the real product. If you take the device and compare it with the rest of offerings in the same space, you will then see the amount of technology and innovation that they put in. Well, OK, yes its a large iPhone, but then again its much more.

I am sure that iPad will be a great success, and it will, in fact, revolutionise the way we interact with computers, not instantly, but it will sure have a great impact. For now, I’ll have to be patient another 60-90 days to get my hands on it!