the iPad: iWantIt … but do i *need* it?!

after much speculation, today apple’s website reflects the release of the “iPad” – its first large-scale tablet-like portable device. the iPad looks like an enormous iPhone – and has many of the same capabilities (apps, email, web browsing). my first reaction to seeing the iPad was, “wow, this is SO rad!” – a very similar to a justification for the cell phone in a book i’m reading for a seminar in media and technology that i’m taking this semester.

however, as i thought more about it, i wondered if it’s just a little TOO much. i was talking to my advisor about it, and she made a few hilarious comments about trying to fit the iPad in your back pocket. i responded that, i guessed low-rise jeans were going to be a thing of the past.

seriously, i have to wonder why i think that the iPad is so rad, so sleek, so awesome, that i would even think about setting aside a month’s rent to buy it (don’t worry mom, i won’t!). i love apple, hard, and my iPhone even harder, but is that enough justification – especially since i love hard copies of books, think the Kindle is silly/ugly, and would rather do a crossword puzzle in pen and get newsprint all over my hands then fill in a grid with rote helvetica font.

that all being ranted, my birthday is only a few months away … just sayin’ …