I love my gadgets so much that I have not one loyalty bone in my body. Whether it's Dell, Apple, Asus, Wacom, HP, Sony, Iomega, Lacie ... I don't really care... so long as it's useful, convenient, and offers something new that the competition doesn't.That brings me to the iPad, the newest hot item that would compliment my ipod, iphone, and imac... or so I thought. The new iPad offers all the utilities that are in high demand (apps galore) being hybrid of an iTouch and laptop, but it has one design issue that stops me in my tracks.
It's an ergonomic nightmare.
For those of us who already spend too much time at our computers. I CANNOT even consider an item which requires me to hold a screen for more than 30 minutes. Imagine your neck pain to peer down at the item, your tennis elbow, and God forbid your carpel tunnel syndrome.
Some people may think I'm exaggerating but I'm not. I spend approximately twelve hours plus working, so the idea of have to actually hold a screen that has no structural tilt function (I assume there will be an extra stand/case for extra charge) and a keyboard inside the screen is far from tempting. Come this spring (or whenever the true release date is) I may be one of the few who will not be in line, scrambling to part with my $500+ that will only burn a hole through my pocket. I'll keep my ASUS laptop thank you very much.
It's probably geared to the under 25 generation with cash/credit to burn, but can everyone afford it? Most people would prefer a gamer friendly laptop that doubles as a word processing machine for university.
It could prove to be a useful item for schools, a true gem if you can cram all the textbook material into one simple reading tablet. The excuses for non existent homework will soon be "My little sister spilled coffee on my tablet", "My battery died", "I must've gotten a virus", and so forth. But will it be a staple at the local coffee shop? We'll have to wait and see.
