iPad and our not-so-magical wait to get one

Well, after what turned out to be less than an hour total wait, we now have an iPad here at TweakTown.

The Altamonte Springs, FL Apple Store really did have things down quite well. They had two separate lines; one for people that pre-paid and another for those that did not. Regardless of which group you were in, you were walked back by a member of the staff to get your iPad and any accessories you wanted. We asked about the Keyboard Dock and were told it was not in stock. We then asked about the camera connectivity kit and were again disappointed to find it was not available. In fact, there were three items that were not available: the Keyboard Dock, the Camera Kit and the Wall Charger. No matter we had our iPad and were heading home before 9:30am.





After we got the box home we happily tore off the wrapper and dug in. We were a little disappointed to find out that it is actually ungainly. This is not something you are going to grab and start typing one handed with. It feels solid and that is a good thing. On the other hand the accessories were VERY light.







When you buy the $499 WiFi iPad, you won't even get a set of Apple ear buds, I am sorry but talk about cheap. They can give you a pair of stickers, but not a set of earbuds. Well that is it for now, we will dive in right away and let you know if Steve Jobs was right about not being able to build a $500 computer that was not a piece of junk. Here are some early shots of the iPad for now.






















You'll see our extensive review published later next week after we get a real chance to play with the new toy, not a rushed job.