I was following Apple’s iPad announcement live online. I couldn’t help it but to feel overall it was quite a disappointment… even if I plan to buy it anyway.

Why do I feel disappointed? Simple. The iPad isn’t “magical” or “revolutionary” like Apple has claimed. It is, in fact, just a bigger iPod Touch for the most part. It runs on the existing iPhone OS and still has the same limitations. It does not suppot Flash. There’s no multi-tasking and no front camera to allow you conduct video-conferencing on Skype. And even with a better processor, it’s still meant to be a Netbook-like device and not a full computer. You use it to get online, play music or video and play some games. That’s about it.

“Revolutionary” would be if the iPad is more like the MacBook Pro than the iPhone…

But onto the good things about it… I do like the new iBook functionality. I plan to buy only e-books from now on. And to run iWorks on iPad is pretty amazing, considering they will sell the applications cheaply. But still…

When you get the iPhone, you think it’s amazing because all the things it can do. It goes far beyond your expectation for a phone. The iPad is considered a tablet computer but now we know it’s really not that much of a computer. And that’s why at least the current model of the iPad is a let-down. Maybe future models will become more and more powerful. Or at least I hope.

As I’ve said, I do still plan to buy it. In fact, I will get my mom one. She’s been waiting for a computer that’s light enough to easily carry around. She only needs it mostly for browsing websites, checking e-mails and maybe talking to me on Skype. I’ve resisted getting her a Netbook because I hate Netbooks in general. But the iPad will be perfect for my mom. I’ll get it for her with the keyboard dock!