Photo from Apple.com

While technically the App Store is about the simplest way I can think of to handle distribution of apps to iOS devices, its success could be (maybe already starting to be) its biggest downfall. With now over 150k iOS apps (including over 10k iPad ‘enhanced’ ones), finding good apps amongst the junk is starting to get a little overwhelming. Yes, I can easily see the “Top Apps for this…” and “Top Apps for that…” lists, staff picks, newest, browse by category and search, I still don’t find “viewing 1-30 of 2,112″ to be encouraging when I’m browsing around. I’m finding myself hitting the web and going to iPad/iPhone app review websites. And one other (non-Apple) annoyance – companies *ahem* EA *ahem* that treat the iPad versions of their apps as completely separate entities from the iPhone versions. So I shell out $10 for the iPhone version of Scrabble (which is now on sale for $3), and then I have to spend another $10 for the iPad version. I’m the first to agree the iPad version is awesome, looks great, etc. – but another full game? Seems like their gouging me a little. End rant.

A few additional observations. Pros: have I said how awesome this display is?; customizing the ‘desktop’ and lock screens is a nice touch; apps that have been written/upgraded specifically for the iPad look fantastic; the processor is blazing – fast enough to almost feel like the OS has multitasking; battery life has been stellar so far – still 40%+ after a good 6 hours or more of use; orientation switching is pretty much instant – no delay like on the iPhone (sometimes); scrolling through a 3000+ photo library is absolutely smooth, no stuttering or anything.

And a couple of cons: app that have not been updated for the iPad look pretty shitty; display is a fingerprint magnet (but really only noticeable when it’s off); app store can be overwhelming (see above); speaker could be a little louder; I still think this thing could be an inch bigger and still be successful.

Not really a con since it is being addressed in iOS4, but this interface will really benefit from the ability to create folders full of apps. At the start of day 2, I was thinking how great a camera would’ve been. But now I’m wondering if I would really use it that much. It’s a tablet, so I don’t see me holding it up to take a photo very often.

More updates and some app reviews coming later…

Photo from Apple.com

So I am in the fortunate position of being able to test out my wife’s iPad. I just got it synced for the first time with my iTunes account, installed the existing apps from my iPhone (i haven’t bought any new apps yet), and am now charging it. I’m writing this on the WordPress app, which is surprisingly a heck of a lot better using the iPad’s virtual keyboard than trying to bang out any amount of substantial text on my iPhone.

The first thing I want to find out is if I’d actually use one of these things. Being the owner of a MacBook and an iPhone, I’m having a little trouble finding out exactly how I’d use this for anything other than entertainment. However, I can already see that it’s not to shabby for writing me some blog posts.

Other initial impressions in the brief two hours I’ve been using it: screen is gorgeous; touch sensitivity seems much more responsive than my phone, probably because of the larger screen; I wouldn’t mind if the whole thing was an inch or two bigger because my hands feel just a tad large, making typing a little odd because they cover up a large portion of the keyboard; it’s really, really lightweight; and it’s worth repeating – the screen is gorgeous.

That’s all for now. Looking forward to trying outcome iPad-specific apps tomorrow. I think this WordPress app is the same one on my phone, so I’d think its resolution would be doubled (or scaled up in some way), but I can’t tell. Everything is crystal clear, and the menus have reconfigured themselves to be more inline with the layout of the iPad. I’ll have to check it out in more detail tomorrow…

So, a couple of days after the iPad announcement I headed to Best Buy and picked up an Asus Eee PC Netbook. It was $299 (quite a bit less with gift cards and reward certificates). Quick rundown of the specs:

• 1.6Ghz Intel Atom
• 1 GB RAM (which I upgraded to 2G)
• 160GB hard drive
• 10.1″ widescreen display

It came with Windows 7 Starter (complete with 3 simultaneous app limit and inability to change the desktop wallpaper) which I upgraded to Windows 7 Professional. It’s a pretty snappy little beast. Best feature I’ve found is the insane battery life. I’ve can surf the web with a few odds and ends (IM, etc.) for 3 or 4 hours and still have 30% battery left. Pretty crazy. Anyway, here are a couple pics (from Best Buy).

In the meantime, I’ll be surfing the interwebs on this bad boy until the next Apple announcement…