Apple iPad is many things to many people. It is a consolidated device that can be anything - from a gaming console to an alternative to a 'real' computer and a replacement for popular e-reading devices. It is also a media player, a web browser, an e-mailing device...to highlight a few things it can do. The fact that it does so many things while offering a better experience than the original devices built for iPads' specific applications is enough to confuse people what role iPad really fits in their lives. We'll try to break the device down a bit for you.

It is a superb media player. - Playing video is, perhaps, the forte of iPad, but Apple doesn't really claim that so it can't be confirmed. Nevertheless, like its older distant cousins - laptops, DVD players and even plasma TVs - it can display videos very well. With its crisp, glossy screen, you can expect high from this device and you won't be disappointed. Maybe you'll find the fingerprints on the screen gross when you turn of the device, but that's an entirely different issue.

You can watch live stream TV on iPad, and even watch YouTube and other video sites without a glitch, given of course that you have the right application to 'convert' Flash to iPad-hosted file. If you are looking for a device that can help you catch your favorite video online, you can watch nearly whatever you want with iPad without a hiccup.

It's a major gaming platform, almost. - Everyone thought that gaming apps are just value-added features that can enhance the use of iPad. Well, everyone was wrong, dead wrong. iPad may not be built as a dedicated game console, but definitely has the qualities of a great gaming console. In some respects, it even beats existing gaming consoles with its features and capacity to enhance gaming experience. Gaming console developers could be cursing that extra horsepower and that extra huge multitouch screen that Apple threw into their tablet PC.

It could be a computer replacement. - In the future, we could see iPad-like devices replacing real computers. As 'raw' as iPad is now - raw, meaning having the superb and diverse apps and functions it has now - it already shows great promise for end users. It somewhat gives us a glimpse of personal computers 5, 6 10 years ahead. Maybe even less.

Despite all its glory, iPad is nowhere near to replacing 'real' computers just yet. It can't do as much as laptops and desktops can but it can definitely run as a winner against netbooks and other smaller devices. It can even beat e-reading devices, portable DVD players, and even plasma TV. Knowing Apple, we know that some great things are in store for iPad 2.0.

So what is iPad? Let's just say it's the first device ever to deliver on its promise while taking existing technologies to much greater heights. It may take a while before Apple unveils its predecessors, but
iPad is definitely the future of personal computing.

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Sweeping generalizations branded iPad as nothing more than an expensive toy. And having more thousands and thousands of applications doesn't help much with its image. But is it really just a toy? Or is there something more to it than having a horsepower powerful enough to host as much apps as you want?

A Multimedia Player
It is, without the slightest hint of doubt, among the cheapest yet best-performing multimedia player in the market these days. It has superb software that can handle high definition videos as well nearly all forms of audio files, video files, podcasts, TV shows, and music. For the most parts, having all these functions is more than worth for the $499 buyers will have to dole out for the device.

An E-Reading Device
Many have dubbed iPad as the biggest threat to Amazon's Kindle. Despite Kindle's dedicated capabilities for e-reading, many Kindle users have already hopped in the iPad bandwagon to switch from the 1.2 pounds eBook reading Kindle DX to 1.5 pounds consolidated multimedia device that can fare as well as Kindle in its function.

Lots Of Apps To Use
Apple's tagline: 'there's an app for that', is not a marketing hyperbole. It is a reality. As if this selection is not mind-boggling enough, third party apps creators and developers are constantly creating new apps to add to the extensive collection that Apple has. So it is just more apps from here.

Wi-Fi
In the apple ecosystem, nothing is ever without internet connection. You can definitely use iPad wherever hotspots are present.

3G Connection
No Wi-Fi hotspot nearby? No problem. Apple integrates 3G with its iPad. Like it's smaller sibling - the iPhone, iPad can connect to AT&T's 3G network. What is so remarkable with this arrangement is that it does not bind users with long-term contracts. Activate or deactivate your 3G connection however you want, iPad and AT&T's partnership is purely customizable.

Hulu, YouTube and Other Video Hosting Sites
The lack of flash in iPad is a frequent complain. In fact, a monumental drawback. But download an app and you can have this problem resolved in no time. Although for now, the application is only applicable to YouTube. Other applications are expected to be available very soon.

Web Browsing
iPad uses Apple's own web browser- Safari, the same browser that iPod Touch and Mac use. Only with iPad, the features are enhanced to accommodate the touch screen technology of the device.

Bluetooth
This is a no-brainer. Apple's iPad takes advantageous of external devices that connects via Bluetooth. Soon retail stores will be flooded with anything iPad - from Bluetooth keyboards to Bluetooth headphones.

Storage Capacity
Whether you are a media-hungry user or not, you can have options with iPad. You can go with 16GB, 32 GB and 64 GB versions.

Productive Software Applications
Productivity apps such as Pages, Keynote and Numbers are available in iPad as well, making it as much a toy as a productivity device.

Email
With the help of its virtual keyboard and email application, you can send and receive emails on the go. Given of course that you have access online.

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Since the iPad's introduction to the public in January 2010, it has suffered unwieldy criticism from Apple antagonists. These groups of Apple non-enthusiasts have called the iPad a regretful piece of appliance at the least.

However, from the point of view of neutral commentators, there emerged a set of logic to explain the seemingly exclusive structure of the iPad.

The most popular perceived deficiency of the iPad in terms of software is its lack of Flash support. Flash is used in most websites; it is supported by all major Web browsers (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera) except for the mobile version of Safari. YouTube is one of the most popular websites that utilize Flash for its videos.

Apple makes up for the lack of Flash support by creating and designing apps that are specific to the iPad. For instance, YouTube has a Flash-free app, using H.264, that will run smoothly on the iPad. Safari supports HMTL5, which can display embedded videos more efficiently than Flash-supported websites.

It has been noted several times that multitasking is impossible on the iPad because the user has to close one app before moving onto the other. Critics have panned this issue by taking into consideration the target market for this device.

As an "appliance" for the media consumer, the iPad is meant to play a single program at a time, most likely a video or a movie. It seems plausible since this device is marketed as an instrument to experience richer media; thus, multitasking is not expected.

The same goes with its lack of wired connections, particularly USB and FireWire ports. iPad has a "locked-down" nature that seemed to offend non-Mac users because of its almost elitist appeal. Critics have also answered this concern and their opinion made great sense.

The iPad is designed by Apple so it's only natural for the manufacturer to prefer full control over the software content of the product. It does not matter if the ownership has been transferred to the buyer. The point is that Apple prefers to protect their creation by ensuring that software entered into the device is properly filtered. Besides, they probably have more iPad apps to introduce and it would be unfortunate for them if a different software company would create a brand new application for the iPad before they even thought of it.

Its lack of commonly used hardware features can be easily resolved by purchasing separate accessories, such as the wireless keyboard dock, camera connection, Bluetooth headphones, composite and component AV cables, power adapter and dock connector to VGA adapter. Clearly, these deficiencies have already been considered by Apple engineers before criticism even materialized.

It is not obvious but there seems to be a continuous struggle of the Apple marketing division to insist that the iPad is in fact a media consumption appliance. It should be differentiated from a full desktop or laptop computer and an iPhone and simply be appreciated as a go-between of the two.

Its lack of full phone and computer features establishes that Apple has created a class of its own and might possibly be a successful forerunner in the field of tablet computers.

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What baffles many is that iPad has no specific role to fit in, except maybe to fulfill the desire to look and feel cool. It seems to perform well at many of its functions, even threatening to beat the competition out of their own markets. But not good enough, many suggest.

It's a good e-reader.
Depending on who you ask, the reading experience with iPad is either as good as, is better than, or is nowhere near comparable with other eBook reading devices. To many who have not read with Kindle DX before, reading on an iPad is an experience that can soon replace reading of actual books. With some thoughtfulness thrown in to the design and mode of reading on iPad, it is definitely an e-book reader killer. However, for those who have already read with a Kindle, comparisons can be made that may understate iPad a bit.

But then again, iPad offers great features that other superb e-reading devices doesn't. Fast refresh, for one. Whereas Kindle DX offers the most convenient and perhaps the best reading experience with its slow refresh function - that is a slow way of navigating from one page of an eBook to another, page after page - iPad offers the fast refresh which can let readers jump from one section of the book to another. When reading fiction books, this isn't much of a big deal. For those people doing their research work on iPad, this is as close as you will get to reading an actual reference book.

It's a good comic book reader.
For better or for worse, iPad stands alone in allowing readers to read digital comic books without a problem. Most electronic reading devices, although performing well with nearly all files, don't fare well with digital comic books. This is probably among the few places where iPad's superb multitouch screen performs very well, without the need to compare it to other devices in the market because quite frankly, there is no point of comparison.

It plays video very well.
What is that glossy, multitouch screen for if not for displaying video files? From the very beginning, Apple has already made it very clear that iPad is geared to providing a medium for consuming all types of media files. Many believe though that the device is made for displaying videos. True, it is not big enough to compare with your gigantic plasma TV and even notebooks and laptops can do as well as iPad on displaying livestream TV, but it is portable enough to be carried around. And that's exactly what you need when you're just lying around, not wanting to be tied on a TV.

It's a decent web-surfing device.
Decent-enough, that's the operative term. iPad is a hybrid, it is a cross between a toy, a laptop, and everything else in between. While web-surfing is not its real forte, although Steve Jobs claimed that it has the capacity to give you "the best browsing experience you've ever had", it can live up to Apple's CEO's claim. Except for the absence of Flash, it offers superb web-surfing experience over all.

Other than these, iPad is also a really good gaming platform. E-mailing is a different, nice experience. And you can actually do real work with it. And many more.

Apparently, iPad can do as many things as you can expect an Apple's product will do while at the same time setting the standards higher for other developers to follow. Because iPad seems to be good at everything, let's just say that it is a jack-of-all-trades device. At least for now.

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