With all the hype surrounding the Apple iPad it was almost impossible for any device to live up to the expectations everyone has built up with the various rumors and consumer wish lists.

Almost as quickly as the product was unveiled there were already mounds of press both positive and negative discussing the merits and drawbacks of the device. It was interesting to read these accounts especially considering the lack of hands-on experience these writers had with the iPad.

I have to admit I am more than mildly intrigued by this announcement and I can already see several applications for its unique form factor. Even with my tempered enthusiasm I recognize this is not a technology panacea that will be everything to everyone.

So far I have heard laments the device is too large while others complain it is not large enough. There are numerous complaints regarding what the device includes or does not include especially with regards to ports.

There were contingents complaining the iPad did not have a USB port, an SD card reader, a built-in keyboard, a hard drive, an HDMI connection, a camera, stereo speakers, multitasking, or Mac OS X. I even read one report blasting the iPad because it did not run Microsoft Windows Mobile.

Clearly Apple is learning once again, no matter what you introduce there are going to be detractors that will find fault with every design decision made. It is impossible to design or build the perfect device.

The diversity of the complaints of what the device includes or doesn’t include suggest Apple may be defining a new market segment. The iPad does not fit well in any current product category.

People who view the iPad as a computer attempt to compare it to the Apple MacBook or MacBook Air. They begin rattling off all of the features or functions found on a laptop that do not exist on the iPad.

Others look at this as a mobile communication devices ala an iPhone. They complain it lacks a camera, the form factor is too big, and the device includes too many unnecessary components.

Many of these arguments were similarly waged when the iPod came out. No one knew what it was supposed to be and therefore could not grasp the concept. It was not until the market began to evolve and users became familiar with where the iPod could fit within their lives did the device begin making strides in the market.

I predict a similar flow for the iPad. A few early adopters will take up the iPad and begin to establish where its capabilities fit in society’s information model. This coupled with applications that can take advantage of the iPad’s unique technology will hopefully help to define the market parameters and where the iPad makes sense.

Like many other technology users, I looked forward to the Apple new product introduction. Usually I don’t get too caught up in all of the hype that accompanies one of these announcements.

I’ve been to enough Apple events to know the company and in particular Steve Jobs has these things down to a science. They maintain secrecy over all details of the event and subtly let out slight details at a rate that ensures the general public is spun up to a frenzy.

This was definitely the case for this event. It was perhaps the worst kept secret in the computer history that Apple would be releasing a tablet device. Despite that knowledge Apple customers and potential customers were glued to their computer screens waiting to learn the details of this new device.

After taking the stage Jobs wasted no time before bringing out the new product for everyone to see. It had been rumored the device would be named the “iPad” and that was accurate. At first glimpse it looks like an iPod Touch with a thyroid problem.

It has the same touch screen technology that the iPod Touch and the iPhone use. From the screen displays it runs a version of the iPhone Operating System with extensions that will utilize the larger screen real estate.

Apple is positioning the iPad to be missing link between the iPhone and the MacBook. It will run over 140,000 applications from the App Store with no modification giving the device an instant library of software on day one.

iPhone apps can run in two different modes. The first will set the application up in a window sized the same as an iPhone or iPod Touch. With a click you can expand the size of the window to four-times nearly filling the iPad’s screen.

The iPad is 9.56 inches high and 7.47 inches wide with a depth of 0.5 inches. It weighs approximately 1.5 pounds making it extremely light weight and portable for taking with you wherever you go. The 9.7 inch (diagonal) LED screen has a resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels at
132 pixels per inch.

The form factor was slightly different than I expected. I thought it would have a screen ratio of 16:9 rather than 4:3. While the additional width might be good for some applications, it results in black bars on two of the sides when watching video.

The iPad comes in several configurations to allow the customer to decide which one will meet their needs without overbuying the technology. There are two standard types. One is strictly Wi-Fi enabled allowing network connectivity to any Wi-Fi Hotspot in 802.11a/b/g/n flavors.

The other includes 3G networking in addition to Wi-Fi allowing the user to connect the device to a cellular network if Wi-Fi is unavailable. Apple announced that the 3G model comes unlocked meaning it can be used on any 3G network that utilize specific frequencies. AT&T immediately announced the iPad could be used on their network.

Besides the networking type, customers can also choose the device’s capacity. The iPad will be available in 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of memory. Like the iPhone the iPad includes an accelerometer to sense when the device is rotated or tilted.

The iPad uses a graphical keyboard like the iPhone and can also utilize Bluetooth keyboards such as the Apple Wireless Keyboard. The iPad includes full support for Bluetooth 2.1 which should mean you could use wireless earphones.

The processor in the device is an Apple designed chip called the A4 which is running at 1GHz. The chip was designed to provide good performance while maintaining lower power consumption.

Power conservation was an important design criterion for the iPad allowing it to have up to 10 hours of use or 30 days of stand-by power, impressive considering the device’s minimal footprint.

The iPad is capable of playing music similar to an iPod Touch. It is also able to display High Definition video reproduction in 720p at 30 frames per second.

The device is initially being targeted to the traveler who wants to use multimedia while on the road. Its screen size would be perfect for watching a movie on an airplane or in a hotel room.

Besides audio and video, the device is also great as an electronic book reader. It was immediately clear that Apple was positioning this to compete head-to-head with Amazon and its Kindle product.

Besides the iPad, Apple also announced it would add books to iTunes allowing customers to purchase electronic books and have them downloaded directly to the iPad. Besides text and pictures, the electronic books can also include video and other media.

The demos of the electronic book media reminded me a lot of the newspapers in the Harry Potter movies where pictures move around the page. With networking capabilities there is no reason content could not be updated in real time as news unfolds.

Besides the iPad, Apple also introduced a version of their word processor Pages, presentation software Keynote, and spreadsheet Numbers for the iPad. This brings productivity apps to the mobile space. Perhaps the best news was that each of these applications will be priced at $9.99.

The whole pricing structure for the iPad was very aggressive. A 16GB iPad with Wi-Fi will sell for $499 putting it squarely in the Kindle’s market. Prices for the 32GB and 64GB models were set at $599 and $699 respectively. If you want 3G, it is $130 more. This means the most feature laden iPad will sell for $829; $170 less than the rumored price point.

The Wi-Fi versions of the iPad will begin shipping in late March 2010 while the 3G versions will ship in late April. Overall the iPad looks like an intriguing device that has a lot of potential allowing Apple to position themselves in another mobile market.

When Apple Computer booked the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for a media event, the media and customers went into overdrive concocting rumors of what new products or software will be unveiled.

The most popular rumor is the release of the highly anticipated Apple Tablet which has been expected for over a year. As is always the case, Apple closely manages the information that is “leaked” prior to an announcement.

Steve Jobs and the crew at Apple have perfected the art of product releases to build the hype to a frenzied level making sure all media outlets will cover their event. You would think that the public would become accustomed to these events but Apple never seems to disappoint regardless of whether the introduction lives up to the rumors or not.

The January 27 event has been billed as being “mobile” specific. This could mean anything from an update to the successful MacBook laptops to an iPhone upgrade to the new tablet. Personally I am expecting this to be the tablet which some have suggested will be named the ‘iPad”.

Rather than regurgitating the various rumors surrounding this new product, I thought perhaps it would interesting to talk through some of the challenges Apple may have in this space.

While we all love to talk about cool hardware and get excited at seeing the device in person, it is important to keep in perspective that the success of new computing devices are less tied to hardware specifications. For a device such as the Apple Tablet to gain traction in the market it will require incredible software and one killer application.

When Apple Computer introduced the Apple I and later the Apple ][, it was largely described as a “hobbyist device”. To make it work required some software engineering to create a program each time the computer was powered up. It was relegated to a market segment of people who dabbled in electronics; definitely not a mainstream product.

All of this changed with the introduction of VisiCalc. VisiCalc was an electronic spreadsheet that allowed the user to complete mathematical tasks quickly and easily. When people saw what VisiCalc could do, the sales figures for Apple ][ computers literally took off. Suddenly people who before would never have looked at a personal computer were buying these devices and inventing ways to use spreadsheets in their daily lives.

In 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh computer. It took some of the best design ideas from the Apple Lisa and built them into a compact computer. By itself the Macintosh was a novel experiment in alternative input/output. While the Lisa had a similar interface it did not penetrate the market as Apple had envisioned.

Apple made a decision to include two applications with the Macintosh, MacWrite and MacPaint. These two applications showcased the features of the new hardware and enabled users to envision their lives being better as a result of using the product.

Customers flocked to Apple stores after the Macintosh announcement and laid out $2,995 for a computer with 128K of RAM, a 9 inch Black & White monitor, a 400K disk drive, and a dot matrix printer. The shortage of Macintosh computers resulted in waiting lists that at times reached on for several weeks or months before delivery.

For nearly a year after its introduction the Macintosh had just MacWrite and MacPaint software available yet people continued to buy the hardware just to use these two applications.

When Apple introduced the iPod, it also included iTunes as a way for user to interact with their new handheld device. With iTunes users could not only load the iPod with music but would facilitate adding content changing the paradigm of how we buy music.

Now Apple appears to be set to introduce a tablet. The question becomes, what will be the killer application that will drive people to purchase the device. It has been rumored that the tablet will be able to act as an electronic book reader, a multimedia device capable of displaying video and photos, and provide surfing capabilities. Will that be enough to garner the interest of users beyond the current loyal Apple customer base?

Each of the markets (book reader, multimedia, and browser) is adequately covered by existing products both within Apple and elsewhere. Personally I think it will take a completely different piece of software to push the tablet to cult status that previous Apple products seem to have achieved.

It is hard to envision what that software may be especially since very few have been fortunate enough to see the device before its release. The announcement needs to not only provide a glimpse of the new hardware, it must also capture the imagination of software developers to inspire them to develop something that will capture the public driving not only software sales but also hardware.

Like many, I will be glued to my computer during the presentation to see what the device can do and hopefully be inspired to develop something that can push the limits of the device and enable the users to places they could not imagine before the product was announced.