I walked into the Montreal downtown Future Shop this afternoon. I was surprised, read delighted, to notice a desk on the second floor with four iPads lying atop and waiting for the first geek there to try them out.
I grabbed one of these devices and started playing with it. I was anticipating the "L'essayer c'est l'adopter" effect that Leo Laporte was raving about when he made his first encounter with an iPad in January this year. All the marketing buzz that we have been witnessing for the last few months made me think of a modern adaptation of Descartes' famous "Cogito ergo sum", something that would sound along these lines: "I own an iPad, therefore I exist".
Alas, my first encounter with the iPad was not impressive, to say the least. To put it simply, the iPad looked just like a magnified and expensive version of my little iPod touch. The GUI looks exactly the same as that of the iPod touch and I did not notice any mind-blowing performance. I could not wave away thoughts of Jeff Jarvis reboxing his newly purchased iPad, when I was trying this device.
I firmly believe that tablets are very convenient for coach surfing purposes. Though, I am going to pass my turn until the prices drop down to some decent and reasonable level.