Now that the apple tablet iPad has been revealed to the public and the initial industry buzz has subsided, should consumers start planning on purchasing Apple’s latest toy? The general public still has to wait two months for the opportunity to buy the apple tablet and the big question is will the iPad become another iPod or iPhone and change the technology game or will it disappear into oblivion like the Apple Pippin? The professional reviews are in, and what they uncovered with their initial impressions might surprise you.

The Good

Familiarity is the key selling point for the Apple Tablet. The iPad runs a modified version of the current operating system used in the iPhone and iPod Touch. The tablet will synch all your iTunes files, charge and connect using the firmly established white 30 pin connection cord, allow you to purchase applications from the pre existing app store you are used to and the iPad will even transfer the songs, videos, games and helpful apps that you already legally bought (avoiding a "double dip" of a dual purchase for the same content).

The screen resolution is beautiful. Every apple tablet review gushes about the 1024 x 768 high resolution display of the iPad’s 9.7 inch touch screen. The majority of the other technological specs are designed to impress. The CPU clocks in at 1 GHz and provides plenty of lightning quick power for a handheld device. The built in wireless devices on the tablet, WiFi and Bluetooth, will connect and run just as seamlessly as the current generation iPhones and iPods.

The Bad

Get ready for the bad, because there is plenty to complain about with the new iPad. Storage comes in three dainty sizes, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. Regardless of how Apple tries to spin the size of the internal hard drives, these are tiny for a product intended to compete in the netbook market. USB drives come in comparable sizes for a fraction of the cost (another issue with the iPad, but this is true of most apple products). Enjoy watching TV shows and movies on the go? With the minimal hard drive space the apple tablet can barely hold a dozen movies and a single season of the average television show. This won’t truly be a problem though as the battery life is expected to last less than 10 hours under heavy use. Basically, it won’t last a full day under consistent usage with a full charge.

The Ugly

Deal breaker time, and there are plenty. No built in USB ports, no flash support for web pages, no webcam, no SMS text messaging, no Skype video conferences or calls and monthly fees to access the exclusive AT&T 3G network are just a few. But nothing pales in comparison to the lack of multi-tasking. To put it simply, the touch screen miniature apple tablet with the power of a netbook, same size as a netbook, costing twice as a much as the average netbook, designed to bridge the gap between cell phones (iPhones) and laptops (Macbooks) CANNOT RUN MORE THAN ONE APPLICATION AT A TIME! For a product designed as mobile device, the inability to run multiple applications at the same time is without a doubt its greatest flaw.

Wasted Potential versus Crushing Reality

Every apple tablet review speaks of the potential of the iPad. It has the potential to be apple’s next big game changer, but its apparent shortcomings and suspiciously missing norm applications and hardware specs also leave the door open for a major flop. The best analogy I’ve come across compares the Apple iPad to a concept car. Similar to a pre-production concept car, the apple tablet iPad introduces plenty of new technology, great ideas, sleek and modern design but its implementation aims at lofty goals while ignoring the current market and reality. It’s lacking in basic functionality and there are simply too many faults in the iPad’s initial version. Essentially, wait until the multi-tasking is ironed out and for the iPad apple tablet version 2.