Be still my beating heart - the iPad comes to NZ today

How exciting, today is the day that Apple gives us yet another great product. I was going to say toy, but the iPad is so much more than something to covet and play with, it’s an amazingly simple, affordable and useful productivity tool that is the latest must have for rapidly expanding social networking fraternity.

We’ve seen the hype of the US launch for iPad on April 3rd and its promise to change the way we interface with the internet with its endless array of applications (apps) and so far the hype seems to be well deserved with over 600,000 units being sold there in just the first week.

A lucky few have already started to use the iPad here in NZ having sourced them from offshore, but with the release of the tablet style communication device in New Zealand today I am sure we will see many more adorning café tables and boardroom desks in the coming weeks.

I have to confess that I have only just recently got myself and iPhone. I say this like it was an expectation but it wasn’t truly until I got it that I realised what I had been missing. Getting my emails and checking my calendar, updating and referencing Social Media sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are not only a breeze but easier and faster than their online, and often more confusing versions.

I would go as far as to say I LOVE my iPhone. I get why people go on and on about them now, it is well deserved. One of the key resistance factors for me getting one in the first place was my mistaken perception of the cost. I was under the impression that the data fees would be crippling. The clever little iPhone and the larger iPad cousin have Wi-Fi built in so when you are in range of your home, work or other Wi-Fi network it connects seamlessly and avoids you the 3G cellular data costs.

The Wi-Fi only version of the iPad is expected to have a recommended retail price of $799 for 16GB, $979 for 32GB and $1149 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi plus 3G models cost $200 more for each model. Vodafone indicate its data plans for the Wi-Fi plus 3G devices would be $20 for 250MB and $50 for 3GB.

Having only seen an iPad in action on a couple of occasions I would expect the experience to be similar to the iPhone but with a larger screen, its huge array of free and affordable applications will make it not only fun but productive.

I know the initial availability will be limited, there is a definite Apple arrogance about the launch secrecy and product scarcity. Some have queued and been disappointed not to get supplied, that’s the cost and price of demand and supply, get over it. I’ll wait, but I can’t wait to get my hands on one.