After a decade of waiting, the Apple tablet is finally here, and reactions across the Internet are mixed, to say the least. Sure, there’s always a bit of widespread deflation after a launch with so much hype behind it; nonetheless, the range of attitudes towards the iPad goes from “it’s a great tablet, but I’ll have to wait and see about the ‘revolution’ part,” to “I’m so disappointed that it’s just a giant iPod touch.” Missing is the near-universal “Apple has changed the game” sentiment that followed the launch of the iPhone.
None of this is to say that the iPad won’t fundamentally change the game. It’s just that this launch is closer to that of the original iPod—the idea itself isn’t exactly new, competing offerings seem arguably better in some respects, and Apple will have to set itself apart from the pack by delivering a superior user and e-commerce experience. In other words, the iPad isn’t going to waltz in and just change the world, the way that its smaller predecessor, the iPhone, did. It’ll have to fight its way to the top, like the iPod.
As was the case in the wider tech community, reactions to the device at Ars HQ were mixed. During the launch event, tensions ran high, fights broke out over issues like Flash support and the e-book experience, chairs were thrown, and the server melted down from the incredible load of a legion of tech geeks dying to get a glimpse of the Next Big Thing.
Now that we’ve had time to get the site back together and collect our thoughts, we’ve put together the following, quick reactions to the iPad. All of the usual caveats apply—opinions are subject to change, your mileage may vary, and so on and so forth. Now, on to our take on the Apple tablet.
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