It's been a few days since Apple made the big iPad announcement. As you can see, I'm not the most cutting edge tech blogger around. I waited till I had the opportunity to watch the video of Steve Jobs actual keynote before jumping into the discussion. I finally watched it today and feel a little better informed. But still, I, and the vast majority of us, have not actually physically handled this thing and cannot pass final judgement until we have. I remember that it wasn't until I actually handled and used the iPhone that I really appreciated how great a product it was. But based on what I know thus far, here's what I think.

The name is dumb. Let's get that one out of the way first. We'll get over it though.

No one really needs this. You have a laptop. You have a smart phone that does everything. You have more than you need. This is a want, not a need. At least for now.

But it can be really useful. I heard the term "useless" thrown around twitter a lot yesterday in reference to the iPad. The same was said of the iPod and iPhone when both of those amazingly disruptive products first came out. Yeah, the iPad is mostly just a giant iPod Touch. But how awesome would it be to have a giant iPod Touch? This thing would be perfect for a long commute. Videos, eBooks, games, whatever, would all be better on the larger screen. iWork looks amazing on the iPad, particularly Keynote. I can't wait till they get turn by turn GPS on this thing so I can mount this puppy on my dash, the perfect way to geek my ride. I can see how this would be great for photographers and graphic designers showing their work to clients. Music notation would be great on this thing, not to mention music production (step sequencers, Tenori-on, beat machines, etc). I could go on and on with useful ideas and so could you. Unless you're a hater with no imagination.

Apple is not stupid. They know what they're doing. I'm sure they weighed in the pros and cons of each potential feature with consideration to cost. It was the rumor blogs and magazines speculative hype that had us anticipating a 'tablet to end all netbooks with every feature you could ever imagine'. It wasn't Apple's fault. They built exactly what they planned on building. I believe target number one for Apple was the Amazon Kindle market, not netbooks per se. Which brings me to my next point.

This thing kills the Amazon Kindle. The Kindle is a great product. But for all it's innovation it still felt like a step backwards to me. I remember the days when I carried a cell phone, an mp3 player, a digital camera and a PDA with me everywhere I went. A smart phone that did it all made total sense. And then Amazon came out with another device that did only one thing. Granted it did it exceptionally well, but it's still only one thing.

It's only a matter of time. At the moment, I don't look at the iPad as a netbook that's missing features (no camera, doesn't multi-task, no HDMI out, no standard ports, no Flash, etc.) but a giant iPod touch and eBook reader with way more features. The first generation iPhone was missing a lot of the features we consider essential now, but the features came in time. It will be the same with the iPad.

Yes Apple is becoming more and more closed and I'm a huge fan of all things open. But I'm also a huge fan of all technological advancement and a believer in the open source community. As we speak, software and hardware companies are working hard to build their own tablets and they will all borrow heavily from the iPad. In the end we will all benefit. CreateDigitalMusic.com has some insightful thoughts on this.

Will I buy one? Yes. But not yet. First of all, no ones getting one until 60 days from now, or 90 days from now for 3G, and who knows when for international customers. I so want one now, but I must resist. I didn't get an iPhone until the 3GS. I was tempted so many times, but I just knew a better, more affordable version was coming out very soon. When do you know when it's the right time to jump in? I don't know. I just trust my gut. I've been waiting for the Kindle to do more before buying one, and I'm glad I waited because now, I'll probably never get one. As for the iPad, I'll wait for a few more features before purchasing it. Namely, a front facing camera, some multi-tasking, more storage and maybe GPS.

If you want to know more about the iPad (features, specs, etc.), Mashable has a comprehensive guide. Here's another good read with thoughts along the same lines as mine. I've embedded Apple's video below.