Is it for me?

Yesterday was an exciting day as I was waiting for 9 pm Finnish Time, 10 am US Pacific time. It was at that hour Steve Jobs, CEO f Apple Inc. was to unveil details of Apple's new product.

Unfortunately, just minutes before the scheduled time, when it was going to be streamed live on the Internet, the internet connection in the US collapsed leaving us all in limbo and watching the text description of what was happening along with many iPhone pictures of what was happening on the stage as this new product, called the iPad was being released.

iPad docked with a keyboard.

As excited as I was to see this thin product with over 100000 applications ready to go by the time it hits the market in 60 days, I wondered whether it was a product for me.

The iPad looks like a very large iPhone. It is a 1.25 cm thick, weighs 675 gms, and has a 24.65 cm LCD screen (with 1024 by 768 resolution). It will use a custom-made 1GHz CPU and flash storage and, Jobs claimed, will get up to 10 hours of battery life.

For connectivity, in addition to the optional 3G, it has 802.11n, WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1; it can sync to a Mac via USB. To feed those 3G connections, Jobs announced two new cellular data plans from AT&T in the US: $14.99 a month for 250MB of data, $29.99 a month for unlimited data; both are prepaid, neither requires a contract.

I am a multi-tasker - I am working on my computer, browsing, using email, handling my calendar, writing books, working on enhancing photographs, editing my photograph collection, blogging, updating all my address books, wishing my many friends on their birthdays, posting updates in Facebook, Orkut, LinkedIn, Twitter, Plaxo and other social networking sites, and / or listening to music or Talk Radio.

Yes, I really do multitask. So far, only a full fledged computer, like the Mac Mini, has that flexibility at a low price.

What I was looking for may not exist on the new iPad, or so it seemed as was explained. It does not seem to have the power and workability that I need.

Although I am an early adopter of Apple Products, it is only when I am convinced it will meet my requirements.

I see Apple moving closer to my vision of the multi-tasking keyboard, which idea I shared with Steve Jobs way back in 2002. But Apple has not yet fully grasped my concept. They are working towards my visions in very tiny incremental steps.

Will I buy the iPad?

Probably not, even though the price seems very attractive.

I think I will wait for Model 2 or even Model 3 of the iPad before I think of indulging. I think many Apple early adopters will probably follow my lead.

Well done Steve. Your team has created a good product, but not one YET good enough for me!