There has been so much hype and talk about the much anticipated iPad. I got a chance to try out the new iPad in store on the day it was released in Australia, Friday 28th May 2010. My first impression was that the iPad felt completely like a novelty product. Being so use to my iPhone the iPad initially came off as comical and almost not real.

I scrolled through the pages and tried out some apps. The apps seemed to function very well with the large screen and definitely increased enjoyability. Portable gaming seemed to have been taken to a new level with the iPad. The large iPad screen facilitated mutli-player games which allowed users to interact with the touch screen at the same time.

Internet browsing and watching movies is a great experience with the iPad. I even pulled up Pages and typed for a few minutes getting use to the larger touchscreen keyboard.

Overall despite being an Apple fan and loving my macbook and iPhone I feel the iPad lacks a lot of functionality. The iPad needs a proper operating system, perhaps a dumbed down OSX and a folder structure. USB, SD card slots and HDMI inputs would also be very useful. All in all the iPad to me is just a toy and great for videos and internet browsing.

Apple have bus shelter advertisements all throughout Sydney claiming the new addition to their product line to be a magical and revolutionary product. Here is a video that may confirm that: