This is obviously totally unrelated to my usual posts, but I wanted to say something about Apple's newest product.

First of all, I have to say that for me personally the unveiling of the iPad was a huge deal. I love all aspects of Macs: their security, power, design, etc. Furthermore, I have been a fan of the iPod in all of its forms ever since Day 1. Needless to say I was incredibly excited by the prospect of an Apple-made tablet.

As today loomed, I became ever more excited about it, and launched into daydreams about it instead of paying attention in my lectures.

And then came the time of the announcement. I was (as always) in a lecture, but afterward I was able to take a look at this great new thing.

I can't deny that it is a marvelous piece of hardware. The LED screen is beautiful, and the expanded multitouch screen is definitely the next step up from the iPod. And you can't forget the fact that the screen is fingerprint resistant. That is truly special.

The design was, though no longer original, quite attractive. The fact that the multiple orientation concept had been expanded upon, was worthy of applause. And of course the $499 price tag was quite appetizing.

I was ready to buy this thing the moment I could get my hands on it, when I took a closer look at the software and features of this baby.

That's when I saw that this beautiful thing, this incredible piece of hardware... was actually just what it looked like: a gigantic iPod. The retooled software that Apple execs laud in their video is... well... Safari, iPhoto, a calendar, email, and uhhhhhh... the capability to use apps from the App Store? Can't I do that on my iPod? Well, the big guys certainly think that you can't. Look at how nice the internet looks on the big screen. Touch it! Look how we organized your photos in a pretty manner. Touch them! You can flip through the calendar. Touch it! Touch it! Sorry guys, I love touchscreens, but does the fact that you can touch it make email any more groundbreaking? And who even uses iPhoto aside from their main computer? Most importantly, does a larger internet browser justify releasing an enormous iPod touch at 2+ times the price?

I was expecting the capability to hook this up to a computer and use it as a tablet. You know, the thing I thought this would be? But when you get past the beautiful outer appearance of the iPad, it is a piece of hardware that is sorely lacking in functionality. It does nothing the iPod Touch can't do, when you really take a hard look past the Apple guys' excited, puppy dog faces. Sure things look better, but they really aren't that much different. At least you can carry the iPod around in your pocket. I'm sad to say that the iPad truly disappointing creation.