Not surprisingly, the Ipad has monopolized the news for the past several days. I’m not the biggest Apple fan in the world, but I am in awe of their brand. How many other brands inspire customers to stand in line for hours (or days)? How many brands have customers that buy their next best thing simply because that company produced it, irregardless of the customers actual need for the product? I think it’s possible that Apple has the strongest brand on the planet. Off the top of my head I can’t think of another brand that inspires such rabid loyalty. 

As I’ve mentioned previously, I own an Ipod touch and I consider it to be the coolest gadget I’ve ever owned. That’s high praise from someone who played on the first Nintendo, owned the first VCR on the block, and listened to the first Walkman. That being said, I don’t feel compelled to run out and get an Ipad. I would like to, and if i had $500 burning a hole in my pocket I think I would. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like I need an Ipad, and I’m not willing to part with $500 for what would be a real luxury item (for me anyway). 

Not only do I not need an Ipad, I’m curious about other reports that are surfacing about possible Ipad ‘killers’. Of course most will be pretenders, but tonight I was reading about an Ipad killer that HP is working on that sounds a lot more appealing than the Ipad. Of course there aren’t any reliable reviews of it yet, but I’m hoping the Ipad is just the beginning of a new generation of computing devices. More information about the HP Slate can be found at:

 http://mashable.com/2010/04/05/hp-slate-price-specs/

Clearly the Iphone was a game-changer on many levels. I will be curious to see if the Ipad has the same effect. I’m sure it will play amazing games and early reports say it is super fast, but would it really be a competent replacement for a laptop? If not, it just becomes one more device to have laying around. As it is many people already have numerous devices taking up space from phones, to laptops, to Ipods to netbooks. Is there room in the average house for yet another specialty device? From the early sales reports, it looks like the answer might be yes. It will be fun to watch how the Ipad sells during 2010, especially as the Christmas season approaches. 

The Ipad is new and exciting, but I fear I’m going to hit Ipad information overload before the end of the week. It seems like every other tweet I see is Ipad-related. The tech talk shows and blogs are all filled with Ipad reviews and insights. It’s exciting, but the possibility of Ipad burnout is clearly visible.