On Friday my 3G iPad arrived. It was a little brutal waiting until I got home to tear open the box. Apple was kind enough to have charged up the battery prior to boxing it up. Steve Jobs is absolutely right in the assessment that if you have used an iPod or iPhone, using the iPad will come pretty naturally.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The screen is incredible. Firing up the device displayed a gorgeous vibrant apple logo in the middle of the screen. Synching it up on my laptop the first time was a breeze. The home screen came to life and the dark to light contrast was stunning.

I started setting up applications, which was just as simple as downloading for iPhone. You still can't choose applications that haven't been screened and OKed by Apple. I have mixed feelings on this. I only 50% buy the argument it is to support quality apps. There are a lot of really crappy apps in the app store. I kind of do buy the argument that it is to keep the device secure - but this ought to be the owner's choice. Still setting up a bunch of applications was easy.

I set up a few games like Scrabble - which my kid loved. I set up the DVR remote app so I could control my TiVo from the iPad. I set up Lime Chat for IRC for work (which I LOVE) and Skype.

VIDEO
Video on this device is stunning. I downloaded the first episode of Season 5 of Doctor Who. It was beautiful. The sound through the headphones was great. The lights were light and the darks dark. You can tap twice on the screen to zoom to full screen from letterbox. I must admit, for video, the aspect ratio on the device isn't quite right for movies but this makes sense in light of iBooks. Netflix worked seamlessly and was even quite watchable over 3G - a little pixelated, but alright.

BOOKS
My wife has a Kindle. Reading books on it is a superior experience. The digital ink is flat and paper-like. The iPad is not even close in this regard. The glossy screen makes it difficult to read with any glare from sun. The backlight also increases eye strain a bit. That said, this device is more than just an eReader and the fact that I can run Kindle software and the open sourced Stanza reader as well.

BROWSING
Browsing on this device is intuitive and easy. Web pages are nearly full sized. If you are reading this blog, you'll find it easy to use.

TYPING
I thought that touch typing on this device would be nearly impossible, but the landscape keyboard is nearly full sized, and while you need to look at the keyboard while you type, it is actually easier than my little asus netbook. I have found that I can type rather quickly. In fact, this blog post has been written on the iPad on the couch in front of my TV.

SETTING UP 3G
Setting up cellular data was insanely easy. While it is true that you don't have to sign a long term contract, you do pay for full months at a time. You can't really just cancel when you want. You have paid for the month up front and you are committed for that period.

This little device will become a companion I believe. It is a communications, leisure, productivity, and play device. It is light and easy to use. It has insanely long battery life. It is extensible. It is more usable than my netbook. It is nearly a perfect mobile blogging device.