Finally Some Real Info About the iPad

It has been interesting to watch the excitement and hysteria about the iPad over the last few months. I especially liked reading some of the off-the-wall comments from people who had never seen, much less touched or even used, an iPad or any other tablet device for that matter.

As we approach the big day when this long anticipated gadget is finally released to the public (that would be April 3 for those that might have missed it – unless you live in Canada where is it “late April” per the Apple.ca site – guess it takes the dog sleds a few extra weeks to get up here), there is finally some real info about what the iPad can and can’t do.

To further encourage and whip-up the excitement of the masses (gotta love the Apple PR and marketing team), several notable tech insiders (not me unfortunately) were given iPads to play with. Their NDA’s apparently expired on March 31 and they are speaking out about their experiences. The two most informative reports I have come across are:

TWiT.tv’s MacBreak Weekly 188: iPad Revealed . In this video podcast host Alex Lindsay chatted with Andy Ihnatko who gave the first live media iPad demonstration (on the web last night about midnight). This very long podcast (75 minutes) gives you an over the shoulder view of the iPad being run through its paces for all sorts of things. A fantastic overview and demo that will help you decide if you really need to buy one now or if it is better to wait for version 2.

And while not near as visual as the MacBreak Weekly podcast, the inimitable David Pogue has a good review in his New York Times tech review column. He presents insightful comments from two points of view – the techie’s view and “everyone else.” Also good info for those wondering if they should buy one.