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First let me say that I have been EXTREMELY busy these last couple months and have not had time to update this blog. Hopefully things will slow down a bit and I will be able to spend more time posting.

With that said, I have had some time to play some games and also received an iPad. Since everybody and their brother has already done a iPad review, I figured I would switch it up a bit.

As someone with a family with young kids, I am amazed how quickly kids take to technology. The breaking point for me to get an iPad was when my 18 month old grabbed my wife’s iPhone, turned it on, unlocked it, scrolled to find the game she wanted to play and then selected the correct icon. Steve Jobs and the people at Apple should get an award for this level of usability. Maybe they can steal the tag line from Geico, “So easy an 18 month old could use it!”.

Before we got it I was a huge skeptic. I believed the iPad was just a big iPhone. Which is some ways is true but the different form factor changes how the device is used. After playing with it with my kids and wife, I have come away pretty impressed.

Here are the PRO’s:

1) For young kids, this is a great system. We have loaded it up with apps for the kids and they love it. Due to the intuitive controls, the kids have no problem booting it up and playing. I give Apple HIGH marks for this.

2) Battery is awesome. I am amazed how long it can go between charges with heavy use.

3) iBooks rocks. I spent the last two nights reading Sun Tzu: Art of War. I plan on spending much more time with it.

4) Plants vs. Zombies. I played this game on the PC but I feel the iPad is the perfect place for this game. Not only have I been enjoying it, but my wife has become addicted to the game.

CONS

1) I have not been able to find a way to tether it to a cell phone for Internet access. I am not a fan of paying for ANOTHER data plan just for a device that I might use on trips. I should be able to use my G1 or our iPhone so my wife can surf the web on long trips on a bigger screen.

2) The App store is a bit tough to navigate. You should be able to search through categories and maybe even allow tagging of apps. It is nice that they have a kids section but the selection is limited and it is not uncommon to find “kids” apps located under other sections.

3) DEMOS….they should almost be required. Spending $14 on an app that you can not see other than screenshots is disappointing. I know some apps have “lite” versions but it is hard to tell if it is worth upgrading to the full version.

Overall I think the iPad is a wonderful device with a couple shortcomings for the average user. I could get into the walled garden know as the app store, lack of multi-tasking (OS4 hello!) and lack of Flash support. But for the average family it does exactly what you expect and in this day and age, that is surprisingly impressive.