So like the legion of Apple users out there, I pre-ordered my iPad and received it in the mail on Saturday. Shipped and tracked directly from Shanghai, China. Now that I have a couple of days playing with it, here are my brief impressions.

There's still not a lot of apps (actually free apps) in the store. Nothing really compellingly different from what's out there for the iphone/itouch however I must say the book and comic readers are definitely suited for this kind of form factor. Also clearly makes for a good photo viewer and definitely a lot of opportunity here to build something for the prosumer photographer. The Netflix streaming experience is quite good, of course with its large screen youtube video artifacts become more apparent.

In terms of business like apps like eBay and eTrade, I didn't feel to me as compelling in that they were just simply larger versions of the same thing in the iPod. It definitely is going to take time for developers to make better use of real-estate. The typical iPhone UI paradigm of switching sliding screens that works so well doesn't have the same kind of utility with this kind of device. Matter of fact, it sometime becomes irritating and disconcerting. Floating modeless windows seem to make more sense for the iPad.

However the Achilles heal of the iPad is the lack of support for multiple profiles or accounts on the same device. I seriously doubt that Apple is going to be able to fix this anytime soon since it's going to be a massive departure from its iTunes setup.

The iPad form factor makes it a device that you share much more often than the iPhone or iTouch. It's the size of a magazine or a book that I would think because of its bulk would be left around in the house for other household members to use. It only becomes a personal device when either you live by yourself or you are constantly traveling and have the luxury of carry-on luggage. The iPad is a mobile device only if you find yourself carrying a bag with you everywhere you go.

The other area where the iPad makes sense are for workers who walk a lot in their work (i.e. waiters, delivery men, medical personnel etc.). The form factor allows them to more quickly read and input data. However, even in this context, a multi-user device seems to be a necessity.

The more I think about it, the Kindle or Nook seems to be the right size for a tablet of this kind. These e-readers are comfortable to hold with one hand, which is different from the iPad which actually feels a bit heavy. In fact, the typing business feels a big awkward and seems to most comfortably done with the device on one's lap (like a laptop) rather than while its held in the air.

In summary, the door is still wide open for competitors like the Android to step into this space by providing multi-user capability on a touchscreen tablet device. Also, people definitely need to re-think the interface. The larger iphone like UI just doesn't work to me, the transitions are disorienting and there's the intuitive need to see more on the screen than less (as required by the iphone).