It has been a couple of weeks since the so awaited iPad has hit the stores. I’ve had the chance to lay my hands on it (no, I did not buy one) and I have to say that the device is what I knew it would be long before it got released, a super expensive tablet. Don’t get me wrong, the iPad is a very slick device, elegant in design and it works like a charm. However, it has practically nothing that you can’t accomplish with other more affordable devices such as a laptop. People need to stop thinking the iPad is magical and revolutionary, it is not.

Like most Apple products, the iPad is just what a BMW or a Ferrari is in the automotive world, luxury. Some people tend to use the terms luxury and necessity interchangeably which is a big mistake. If there is anything Apple has been tremendously successful is at mind controlling; as a matter of fact that has been its recipe for major success. Apple by the most part “tells” its customers what they want regardless of course if they really needed or want it. You can take any device, put an Apple logo on it, give it to a Mac-head, and this person will find a thousand workarounds to tell you why that device is far better than the others of its kind no matter what. It is almost like a disease.

I do believe Apple has come up with truly revolutionary devices such as the iPod and the iPhone, so my critic to the iPad is not about reluctance to change. It’s about being realistic. You don’t need a BMW or a Ferrari and its several unique features for transport. You don’t need a 500 dollar tablet regardless if it’s got an Apple logo on it.