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We’ll be announcing the winners in our 4/30 issue of Kibbles & Bytes. Good luck!

My initial reactions to the iPad are almost all positive; I see areas for improvement but using the iPad is just a pleasurable experience. I’ve been taking it to meetings and drew quite a crowd when I was down at the State House today for some meetings.

In preparation for my trip abroad, I have set up some applications that you might find useful. The first was “IM+”:http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/im/id296246130?mt=8 ($9.99; link opens iTunes) which is an integrated instant messaging application. It has some awesome features, including an integrated web browser and will handle just about all of the instant messaging accounts. It has one bug that is pretty annoying, though–it will not work with Apple’s Jabber server and legacy SSL. I am hoping they fix that soon, but I have a work around with “BeeJive”:http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/beejiveim-with-push/id291720439?mt=8 ($9.99; link opens iTunes).

Setting up VPN to get into the Small Dog internal network was very simple and is quite stable. I used another application called “Desktop Connect”:http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/desktop-connect/id364907570?mt=8 ($11.99; link opens iTunes) to activate VNC so I can log into my main computer which I will leave at the office. This means I can grab a file or look at my keychain.

Mail is faster than the mail client on the Mac for some things like filing mail, however, the lack of a junk filter and support for rules makes maintenance more difficult. The unified mail client that is coming in the fall with iPhone OS 4.0 will also be useful.

There is so much I love about the iPad that I do not have time to talk about it all, but I will be updating this adventure in computing from China and when I return. I believe that having the iPad on the 18-hour flight will make it shorter and I am confident that for email, web and of course, the China train schedule application I downloaded, it is going to be a perfect traveling tool.

Here are some thoughts from some of our Twitter followers and Facebook friends about iPad.

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“FaceBook”:http://facebook.com/smalldogelectronics?ref=ts

*Travis H.* First impression of iPad… is to wait. No Flash support in Safari, No external ports, and a non-wide screen display… [It’s] not clear who the target audience is? But my photography does look incredible on it…

*George B.* Yes–very impressive product! My wife has been using it for hours.

*Nancy A.* I love mine! Arrived about noon on Saturday. Synced a couple movies, TV shows, music and photos. Bought a book (to see how that works). Apps bought and loaded. Twenty minutes later I was snug as a bug in a rug with a mug of hot tea and a copy of Sense and Sensibility (free book!) on my lap. WONDERFUL!

I’m not looking for high-techiness. Mostly just wanted a good ereader. I’ve used the iBook program AND the Kindle for iPad. I love iBook more–turning the page is an art form in itself! I’ve found all the books I teach in Western Lit. I had heard about back-lighting issues and such, but playing with the adjustments (Accessibility has a button to turn the black/white screen) lessened any residual glow and I read myself to sleep last night without bugging my darling husband.

I bought a VGA adapter so I can do Keynote presentations in the classroom. I can’t wait to go on vacation without lugging all the books I like to read (usually bring about six books–one to finish, one to start, and a few in case I realize the books I brought suck… ha ha ha). I’ve had no issues with Wi-Fi or recharging. Apps from my iPhone work fine–even Bejeweled2 (just hit the 2x button). As you can tell, I am HAPPY!

*Debby C.* I love Weatherbug, Star Walk (beautiful night sky/constellations, IMDB… loaded ePub and PDF books (ReaddleDocs reader), downloaded Jane Austen also! Safari is a bit buggy with some sites where it works on Mac OS X. Otherwise, email, maps, Twitterific, makes it one hot device! Small book stand purchased for $12 at Staples holds it very nicely upright on the desk, as well as purchased a $20 netbook case. Loving it!

*Michael B.* I’m LOVING my iPad. It arrived on Saturday, and I’ve added close to four pages of apps (mostly free; however, I did purchase Pages). I teach English and would love to have a true word processing app that is more in line with what I’m used to using. Pages is okay, but it needs some additional functionality to make it appropriate for teachers. I see the Blackboard has an app. Unfortunately, my school uses D2L. An app there would be perfect!

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“Twitter”:http://twitter.com/hellosmalldog

*@MikeLuoma* Would like to point out you can get books by #vt authors thru iBooks for the iPad… like mine. 😉 #BTV

*@DrKoob* No problem. I am lusting after an iPad but have to wait for 3G. Reading everything I can find on it. That’s my experience.

*@liseski* My iPad experience in 140 characters or less[sic]? Easy. Not in Canada yet. 🙁

*@Madmotion* How about a “photo!”:http://blog.tizra.com/2010/04/best-freaking-web-browsing-machine-ever.html

*@HeidiAmes* 15yo dragged me to @hellosmalldog to see iPad. Oh boy. Tried to retain my usual nonchalant attitude, but secretly, I WANTED ONE.

_Dear Friends,_

I got my iPad on Saturday at the launch and Small Dog Electronics sold out of our initial stock at our S. Burlington store within 26 minutes of store opening. We have since replenished stock and currently have inventory in both of our retail locations. I’ve been taking the time to get used to my new friend and have decided to travel to China on Sunday with only my iPad. I will not be taking a computer with me. It feels a little bit like taking a brand new motorcycle on a cross country trip.

I have been getting samples of cases for the iPad from our suppliers and we have chosen a design for a neoprene sleeve as well as some very nice leather cases. I have been testing one of the samples and we have made some refinements that I will discuss with the factory when I visit next week. I hope to have these new Hammerhead products very soon.

I grabbed one of the Apple Bluetooth keyboards to take with me on the trip, and downloaded some interesting applications and some books from the iBook store and also from Amazon’s Kindle store. I have also bought Pages and Numbers for the iPad so I can work on documents and of course, downloaded MLB 2010 so I can keep track of the Cubbies. Check out more of my initial reactions below.

Hapy and I have a series of bets for things like hand washing the others car or plane tix and game tickets depending upon how the Cubs and the Giants do. Betting money with Hapy is sort of meaningless since we are partners at Small Dog; it is sort of like taking money out of one pocket and putting into another. Today, I had to wear a Lakers Jersey because the Lakers had a better record than the Celtics, for example. (But then again, I do have the picture of Hapy wearing Celtics garb after the championship a couple of years ago.)

I really want to write a full iPad review for this week’s Kibbles & Bytes. But I have to be honest–my thoughts are biased in favor of “I love it! It’s amazing! This is both a new kind of computing and the future of computing!”

I’ve yet to see someone who isn’t impressed with iPad when they start using it–even the dyed-in-the-wool iPad doubters and Apple haters. It’s a simple and very, very well-built device. It feels solid in the hand, like it will last a long time.

And I will emphatically say that iPad isn’t just a “big iPod touch,” because now iPod touch seems more like “just a small iPad.” And it’s excellent to be able to use certain touch-based apps on a larger screen.

I admit that iPad seems to be made just for me, as I have long desired an affordable handheld digital reader that can access the Internet at any time. I’m a reading junkie. There is a lot of web-based content and content wrapped in PDFs that I’d like to read, but simply don’t enjoy reading on my computer. I’m in front of a traditional computer enough. iPad puts that content into my hands. For me, it’s far more comfortable to read a handheld device with traditional font sizes than text from a computer. So far, iPad helps me focus more on the content I’m reading– with better information retention–than reading on a regular Mac.

But iPad obviously offers much more than an easy and enjoyable way to read digital material. It’s a blob of digital clay. As many have said, make of it what you will.

Finally, one of the most interesting things about iPad is how it raises existential questions about technology in a certain group of reviewers. iPad leads people down a path of questioning from “Who is this device for? and “How can I use it?” to “Do I really need or want more technology in my life? If so, why?”

Here are some new iPad reviews that are thought-provoking and cover all the bases:

*TidBITS:* “Why the iPad Is a Blank Slate, and Why That’s Important.”:http://db.tidbits.com/article/11152

*Daringfireball.net:* “The iPad.”:http://daringfireball.net/2010/04/the_ipad

*Arstechnica.com:* “Full Review.”:http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2010/04/ipad-review.ars

*New York Times:* “The iPad in the Eyes of the Digerati.”:http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/the-ipad-in-the-eyes-of-the-digerati/