Saturday was a trifecta of perfection. I was off of work, attending a local beer fest, and receiving an iPad. Why was I so happy about getting one in the first place?

I never owned a laptop. I always thought of the idea of a laptop was overkill. It was just enough of a computer to not do all the things you wanted to do. I have always preferred a desktop as it was a little easier to change things up. One of my biggest complaints was the mouse pad, or heaven forbid, that little red fuzzy thing in the middle of the keyboard. Once netbooks started to come along I could finally see the picture: a computer to do just enough without the complications. A friend of mine told me to wait once I had finally convinced myself that I was moving into the portable computer age. He said Apple’s announcement was coming soon and probably involved a tablet like computer. I should also mention that I’m the last person on earth to not have a smart phone. I don’t really consider it much of a value for myself.

The iPad has been great so far. There wasn’t much to learn about navigation. I certainly believe that this is the next step in portable computing. Many complaints about it seemed reasonable, but not enough to discourage purchasing. (While writing this draft Apple announced an update to the OS including multitasking.) The system moves incredibly fast, and considering most developers didn’t have access to an iPad while creating programs, there hasn’t been too many hiccups. By the way I’m writing this review using the landscape keyboard. I’m still making plenty of errors but I think its because I’m expecting some feedback from the keys.

Netflix is a must. I’m also intrigued by the Adobe Ideas app. I can’t wait to see what developers have in store. I have heard of a few issues with the Apple iworks programs but I think they’ll fix those. I also picked up a case from the Apple store. I must say I was expecting a little more. I’m sure we’ll see some more innovative sleeves.