EVEN THOUGH the excitement level has come down a tad bit, people are still lining up to purchase the touchscreen device, which was officially released today. However, most are wondering whether the device is truly worth their money or not. The device which falls within the 9 – 9 price band, for the non 3G models, falls well out of easy purchase range and could become a disaster if the first generation users are not satisfied with it.

Looking at the Apple iPad, the device’s first attraction is its sleek look, which can easily win many points for design itself. The 9.5 inch x 7.5 inch iPad is half an inch thick, weighing just 680 grams and can be taken everywhere with ease. With a comfortable contour, the device is stunning in display too, with an LED backlight emphasizing the 1024×768 pixels display, that is covered by oil resistant coating.

However, the user interface is awkward to say the least, using the iPhone OS on a 9.7 inch diagonal display. The homescreen can put users off, with the tiny icons spread over a lot of empty space. The widgets would have looked better, had the app icons been placed on the lower portion of the screen and the dashboard like widgets on the top portion, insetead of being crowded around.

Moving to third party apps, several look great on the Apple iPad, like Safari, Mail and Photos. The rest however look like dwarfed copies on the Apple iPad screen. The interface is fast and allows many apps to run in the background and keep memory free too. You can access an app quickly be just tapping on it and the speed holds good in rendering web pages too.

As an eBook reader, the Apple iPad makes for a good experience, with the display ensuring that it appears as if you are reading a glass covered page. With the multi touch support, it becomes an engaging experience too, with simple touches enabling browsing the pages or looking up meanings on the dictionary. But, its not advisible to use it outdoors, as direct sunlight will make it appear like a bad white balance job, with users going through considerable strain to make out the words. The worst however, is trying to watch a video in sunlight.

Videos and multimedia can really prove to be a dealbreaker. Though the resolution is great and you can get more on the iTunes store, would you really like to crouch over the device to watch movies and other content on the device for hours? Doing this on the move is still OK, but otherwise, its better to plug in DVDs on your laptop, PC or TV. For music, its the same case too, with a hi resolution speakers on your stereo a much better option, than listening to music on the pint sized device.

Moving on to the third and for some, the most important Apple iPad multimedia function – Gaming. While its not an Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii, as action and movement can prove to be awkward, board games on the Apple iPad are a great experience.

For the more official work inclined users, the Apple iPad offers the Pages and Numbers apps, which do decent documents and spreadsheets on the go. But its not time to bin your PC or laptop for the Apple iPad, as it cannot replace the two on these fronts. It works better managing the online keyboard for replying to mails and short memos or notes, than to type whole documents or spreadsheets. The cloud is a good function too, but how useful it will be is a question that cannot be answered now.

So, is the Apple iPad the device for you? If you do not mind forking out the cash for it and are not looking at the touchscreen device as a replacement for your laptop or PC, you may consider purchasing it. This applies better to users on the go, who aim to travel light, but whether it will be the next laptop or even the iPod or the iPhone, is a question that only time can answer.