Yesterday my wife and I went to the mall to walk around and spend some time together.  At this particular mall, they have an Apple store.  I’ve written about going to this particular Apple store before.  It’s nice, kind of like the other Apple stores I’ve been to before.

The highlight of the visit was being able to actually put my hands on an iPad.  Twice.  The first time we went in, I held it played with it a bit, and then left.  I had an underlying urge to get one…  And before we left the mall, we were back in the Apple store for a closer look.  I was ready to get one, the introductory model at least, but I was ready to plunk the money down right then and there.  I didn’t; I’m going to list the reasons why.  (I just want to clarify, I like Apple products, I spend lots at the iTunes store and have a Mac as well as a handful of iPods)

The weight.  Although the form factor was nice, it was heavier than I expected it to be. I’ve heard that this was mostly because of the batteries inside.  I also agree with my wife that it would be hard to hold it for long periods of time watching a movie, or cruising the web. 

Fingerprints. Going into the Apple store and giving a product a go is a lot better than just looking at it online. What I found was that the screen is a finger print magnet.  I hate finger prints on a display screen, so this is a problem for me.

Portability.  The iPad sits somewhere between the iTouch/iPhone and a netbook/notebook.  I found it interesting but not something I can stick in my pocket. I’m not one to carry around a bag, computer bag, or man purse.. so throwing it into a ‘bag’ just is not a workable solution.

Neat apps.  There were some neat apps on the device, just neat, not “OH MY G-D, I have to have this iPad because I can’t live without this application”.

Nothing new.  Really, there is nothing new with this product release, except for screen size.

Book reader.  Awesome that they incorporated a book reader in this device, the screen is bright and colorful; it should be a knock out when it comes to reading books.  It wasn’t.  Too heavy, the type was hard to read (Even when I knocked the size up to the next level), there was glare, and staring into a 400 watt light bulb (ok, it’s not THAT bright) to read a book isn’t great on the eyes in the long run. Good if you’re reading in the dark, but who want’s their Mom knocking on your front door to tell you that you’ll go blind if you do that.  The page turning look, meaning that it looks like a real page turning when you go to the next page, is really cool.  But as my wife pointed out to me; if you want to see a book page turn, why not by a book, a real book and turn the pages when you’re reading it. It’s cheaper, much more portable, requires no charging, and is much easier to skip around the book itself. Not a feature I really think works on this.

Movies.  Watched a couple of teaser movies on the iPad, and it was really incredible. The display was top notch, really amazing. But again, with the size and weight, it would be tiring to hold for 90-120 minutes, as well as awkward.

Internet.I didn’t really get to go on the internet, yes, the Apple store had it set up, but really if it doesn’t do flash it doesn’t really do the Internet. Call me a snob, but some of the best content out there is flash based.  And educational content is nearly all flash based as well.  If I can’t get to see 90% of the Internet, it’s not the Internet, it’s selective censorship.

I read a review from someone online about the iPad, doesn’t matter who it is because I’m not going to trash his review.  He actually got to go to Apple, talk to the development team, interview Jobs and then use an iPad.  He described an almost Zen like experience with it.  That they had to ‘pry it away’ from him to get it back. That he had developed an intimate relationship with it due to it’s interface. He did get it right about it being almost strictly a device to consume content, it isn’t designed to create content.  Yeah, you can send email, but beyond simple input, it’s a bust.

I remembered the review that guy wrote after I was leaving the Apple store the second time.  I wish I could have felt the inspiration, joy and sheer amount of intimacy that he did with this product.  It wasn’t there for me at all, neither for my wife.

As I stated before, I was going to plunk down the money to buy one, and I didn’t. If they fix some of the issues with it, tune it up a bit… maybe I’ll consider getting one a few rev’s down the line. But for now it sits on the sidelines along with the nook, kindle and other interesting toys that I have no real concrete reason to purchase.

If you get one, and like it… all the better for you! I’m just not inspired.