The iPad is here... but do you care?

The iPad is here! The new, sexy device from Apple has now been out for about 2 weeks and after months of geeky anxiety, does anyone really care?

The iPad, which is essentially an oversized iPod with some extra functionality, was the topic of choice for geeks for several months with loads of speculation, true (and false) leaks and multiple rumoured names.

More functional than an mp3 player but not as functional as a laptop, the iPad does have many great uses. It will rock as an e-reader with rich multimedia content built-in to certain publications. It could be a great medical device. It also acts as a personal entertainment device that's friendlier for viewing than an iPod and still pretty portable.

The price is still in question, since it does come in a 3G version that will require a hefty data contract over and above the purchase price, which starts at $499 USD. Some analysts expect the total cost of the iPad to reach $2,000 USD in the first two years if you factor in a data plan. This also doesn't consider the siginificant price differences between US and Canadian carrier rates.

Electronics power-site RETREVO did some research pre-and-post iPad launch to see what people thought of it. The results aren't looking that hot:

While the number of people who said they would like to buy one did jump from 3 to 9%, almost half of those who were aware of the iPad pre-launch (and were not interested in buying one) jumped from 26% to 52% that were not interested in buying post-launch.

I personally don't see a need for an iPad, as I already have an iPod and a MacBook, but I'm excited to see where Apple takes their new device.

I think most people will wait-and-see what the iPad can offer them. There's been a lot of hype for this device to revolutionize portable computing and the PC makers are already launching copy-cats.

I don't expect the iPad to have the same impact as the iPod, but Apple has been known to change consumer thinking and time will certainly tell.