By Elianne Halbersberg

“Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.” — apple.com

“Um … OK … but for $499, which is still a huge amount of money to some of us, what does it really do?” — PlanetIll.com

Funny thing about Apple: They have a remarkable talent for making us want everything they manufacture. It can’t be the price: nothing Apple makes is consumer-friendly from a financial standpoint. Sure, once you go Mac … well … you know the saying, but it takes months — if not years —of saving to make that purchase.

Computers aside, the Apple brand has become so much more than MacBooks and iMacs. They’re all about phones, software, music — and now the love-it-or-hate-it, poorly named iPad.

So what, exactly, is this iPad, what does it do or not do, and why would it become a part of anyone’s household? Business tool? Study aide? Communication enabler? Toy for the rich?

It’s easy to contract a case of Apple Syndrome. Turn yourself loose in an Apple store, and in moments you’ll find yourself all over every MacBook, every iMac, every JumboTron-size screen that placates your failing vision. Lose yourself for hours imagining what it’s like to enlarge text to the 10^th power and USB one of those 30-inchers to a 17-inch MacBook, mousing the desktop back and forth, watching YouTube “real big,” then packing it all up for occasional travel or just for late-night working and surfing from the comfort of your bed. Ahh, now that could be the life …

While the iPad won’t be in stores for a while, those who have seen, held and reviewed it already have their complaints. No camera, but you can buy a kit. No multiple apps running. AT&T only. No flash. No memory upgrades. No printing capabilities. No keyboard; only the “touch” keyboard, like the iPhone. No mousing; just that “flicking” motion. Oh yeah — and that name. Really, what were the product developers at Apple thinking, or were they not thinking at all? iBook, iMac, iPhone, iTunes, iPod — we get it. We iDig. We even get iPhoto, iMovie and iChat. But really, iPad? Did they think this would be a hit with women? Like we don’t already have enough reminders? The iBloat, for example?

So, what does the iPad offer? It certainly has its share of features. For starters, it weighs less than 2 pounds and is only half an inch thick. This is good. At 9.7 inches, the screen, while smaller than the smallest MacBook, is still sizable enough for reading in both “landscape” and “portrait” modes — assuming you’re not part of the bifocals generation. The “Multi-Touch” screen is based on the same flick/pinch/zoom/punt/pass/kick technology of the iPhone — a snap for iPhone users, but not so great for those of us who can’t even control the touchpad on an iBook. “Up to 10 hours of battery life,” claims Apple — oh sure, considering the battery life of their laptops, let’s buy right into that “10-hour” promise.

Use the 30-pin connector on the bottom to dock, charge and connect to camera and keyboard accessories — more things to purchase, more things to schlep. A “powerful, built-in speaker produces rich, full sound” — no doubt right up there with 5.1 Surround, or even your home stereo, *ahem. “iPad will run almost 140,000 apps from the App Store” — some of us would settle for just an Internet connection that doesn’t drop us in the midst of sending text. Watch movies or read books on your iPad — but what happens when you fall asleep doing that in bed and your iPad hits the floor? Books don’t break …

Planet Ill wants to know your thoughts about the iPad. Are you going to shell out $499 when it hits the streets? Did you pre-order? Are you saving your money for the next upgraded laptop or phone instead? Ladies, do you hate the name? You tell us.

Elianne Halbersberg is a freelance writer whose work has also appeared in Mix, Premier Guitar, Electronic Musician, Audio Media, Ink 19 and many other magazines and websites.

Follow Us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/planetill

Join Us on the Planet Ill Facebook Group for more discussion

Check out Planet Ill’s page on Essence.com

Follow us on Networked Blogs