Yep, I placed my pre-order for an iPad this morning. I’ve been wanting a new Apple product for a while now, and with them not giving me what I want (a revised laptop since their current offerings are twice the price of the competition and use old technology), I went with this.

My biggest justifications were the following:

  • Being an iPhone user, I already have a million applications and games. A lot of the multiplayer games might be really enjoyable in a larger format. Currently, passing the phone back and forth is a bit of a deal breaker.
  • I am always online when watching TV. The pad will be much nicer than having a laptop live on my legs.
  • Being an Apple product, I can resell it for nearly what I paid if I don’t end up liking it.

I went with a 16GB model and added on the case and dock.

No 3G. The 3G ships a month later, costs a fair bit more, and I really don’t want yet another monthly charge. I already pay for full web access on my phone, which is much more portable; why pay for it on a big/awkward pad? Also, the 3G has GPS. Who gives a damn? What’s the application? It’s far too big to mount in your car, and you’re not going to walk around the street with it.

I also justified getting the absolute base model (16GB as opposed to 32 or 64) with the following:

  • I currently have far more apps installed [on my phone] than anyone I know. Total space taken up? 1.1GB.
  • I currently have all the music I want installed [on my phone]. Total space taken? 6.6GB. Fortunately, I always carry my phone with me, which means I don’t need my music on the pad. Some people are saying “I don’t want to carry two devices” as a means to justify needing more space, but wouldn’t you carry your phone in such cases?
  • So I’m looking at 1.1GB used, a GB or two for OS stuff, and that leaves me with 13GB for movies, and offloading pictures from my camera (something I’ve never had to do on a trip). Some argue that 13GB isn’t enough for movies, but again, I’ve never had an instance where I’ve needed to carry more than a movie or two with me before I had access to larger storage (a laptop) or the internet.

My pad arrives April 3rd. Unfortunately, I’m out of town that day. Fortunately, I can have it shipped to where I’m going. Unfortunately, sales tax is double what it is here; I had to pay $20 extra. Jess, your invoice is in the mail.

In closing, “that’s what she said.”