Apple iPad is a hit, or is it a miss?

The long awaited launch of Apple's newest piece of portable technology has arrived. A step up from the iPod Touch and iPhone and a notch down from a Macbook, the iPad lies somewhere in between. Expected to be a hit, skeptics wondered how much the iPad would live up to expectations of being a extremely portable and suave computing device. According to an article by USA Today, the iPad is a raging success, although staunch "technological types" are sticking to their skepticism for the time being.

While the iPad offers a smooth and lustrous eye-popping facade, it is still in the first generation of it's model. Looking at what it has to offer, it merely presents itself as an unconventional, ideological device that has yet to have the kinks worked out. That is not to say it is a horrible buy, but more or less to suggest that as with Apple's line of iPod's it holds great promise for future models.

Gripes most have with the 1st gen model of the iPad are it's lack of Flash support and lack of keyboard (which is a separate buy needing a dock). The variations in models at this point are basically in size and whether or not you want 3G functionality, which hasn't hit the markets yet in the initial release of the iPad.

According to the table in a sub-article of USA Today's story, the cons of functionality weigh in against the Pro's of it's sleek style. If you're in the market for a sexy and bold version of the iPod Touch/ iPhone with web surfing and ebook functionality, all while having some extra pocket cash the iPad is probably a great buy for you. On the other hand, if you want more computing ability you should stick with a computer for the time being.

Slate/ Tablet PC's are catching on fast in the market, with competitors offering similar products with more functionality. It's only a matter of when, not if, Apple will come out with a better next-gen model of the iPad, hopefully including usb ports, Flash capability, and the ability to multitask with programs. While the release of the iPad has been quite successful, there is room for improvement and hopefully in the near future 2nd and 3rd gen iPad's will be hitting the market that will replace the need for laptop computing for the general to sub-advanced levels of users.