Don't judge the iPad yet....

The announcement came and went...and now that the iPad is finally official, we can discuss facts and not rumors. I have a mixed bag of emotions on the iPad, and I think it's important to point out the iPad is just approaching the starting line, not the finish line.

There are some glaring issues I saw with the iPad. Some point out prospective problems, others I feel are to be addressed later down the road. Here are some I found:

- The iPad has no built-in camera. This was a huge oversight in my opinion. While the iPad is built to be a netbook and Kindle competitor, there was a huge are of opportunity here. Skype and video-conferencing would have been a nice caveat to the iPad....for some, it could have provided that "extra facet" so many felt was coming, but never delivered in the speech. It's always easier to update software than hardware...so I guess we'll have to wait for another model before we can see this a reality.

- The name is horrid. As many females rightly stated on Twitter, it's quite feasible there were no ladies in the room when the device was named. Even a simple Google search would have brought Apple to the MadTV skit poking fun at a too-easy name. Not only does it side-track convos with talk of feminine products, it's too close to the iPod in naming. It's a fail in my book....and my perspective will be hard to change.

- Allow one video camera for streaming purposes at Apple events. Yes Apple, we know that not allowing cameras artifically adds a level of excitement and secrecy to your events, but millions of people scrambling around to EnGadgets, Gizmodos and other sites, crashing many, became a main focus of many groups who gathered to watch the event. If I didn't spend 80% of my time trying to find an audio link or solid live-blog that was still working, I could have focused more on the presentation. This is the most technological company in the world, yet they treat us as if we're in 1930.

- Horrible pricing for data. Yes, it's great we have no contracts to sign...but $14.99 for 250MB of data and $29.99 for unlimited? What are we in, 2003?

- Not attractive enough for techies (aka, early-adopters). Early adopters are pivotal in pushing new products into the mainstream. The majority of techie/early adopters on Twitter seem to be passing over the iPad already. Not good.

- No flash capabilities. Many missed this, but during the presentation, Jobs actually pulled up a site (I think it was Time.com) that had a huge, gaping whole in the middle of the screen with that nice "you need flash" icon. Apple, we know you don't like Flash...but again, what is this, 2003? At least software updates could potentially fix this.

- No discussions of Verizon or other carriers. Many who showed up for the event weren't so much interested in the iPad as they were in rumors of the end of exclusivity, O/S 4.0 and even iPhone 4G. These issues were not addressed. HOWEVER, if you look at the specs of the iPad, it does contain UMTS/HSDPA technology. This is huge as UMTS will become 4G, and it supports CDMA networks (like Verizon). I expect a big and exciting announcement surrounding all of this in June.

We need to give the iPad time. When iPhone first launched in 2007, it had issues, it had no app store, and it's overcome so much. The iPad has potential, but as of now, it's still a niche product. I'll give it a chance, but as so many say, you never buy the first model of a new device. I think I'll wait and see what happens.