Now it’s my turn to wade into the Apple tablet blogging foray. Generally I was surprised that more than I predicted came true, especially in terms of pricing.

But first, I must comment on the name. Apple didn’t call it the iTablet, iSlate or iBook. Rather, Steve and his friends go and call it iPad. Now Steven, get some women in your workshops and focus groups. Never name your product so that it can easily be made fun of. Besides, it’s one letter off iPod, and an unusual accent could easily make the two sound the same. Please rename it soon Steve.

The device itself features classic Apple styling, it is sexy and eye catching. Two important things wer missing: a landscape oriented dock port, and a webcam. I can live without an extra dock port, but a webcam? What? Let us hope that Wired’s story is correct (see http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/apple-ipad-may-ship-with-webcam/). I’d want to use this thing for Skype, and I would be devestated if Skype didn’t work or there was no webcam, or worse both.

The screen resolution is perplexing (4:3 aspect ratio). The PA-Semi designed A4 processor sounds interesting. The apps look sexy. iBooks looks like a new place for me to blow iTunes credit. iWork for iPad looks innovative, but somewhat limited. The keyboard dock looks good, as does the ‘very nice’ Apple-designed case. This could be my netbook, if it can impress me.

The price though was the nicest surprise. I was expecting to pay much more, but it seems $499 is an excellent starting point for the device. It is US dollars, but the Australian Dollar is strong, so the price difference should be very reasonable. Fingers crossed.

Overall, I want to see a little more content and try out the device before I decide difinitively if I like it or not. Here is hoping Apple has one more thing up it’s sleve before shipping date.