Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in trademark black turtle-neck sweater, said, "iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before."

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Creating a new category in the fast-moving electronics industry is no mean feat. Let’s not forget that despite its numerous successes, even Apple has not always been able to do that. There were portable music players before the iPod, and smartphones before the iPhone. There weren’t many square computers before its G4 Cube, but then that product bombed anyway.

Is the iPad really a brand new category of device?

I fail to see that it is. As we’ve established, tablet computers have been around for many years. What makes the iPad drastically different? It runs a different operating system (most others run Windows or Linux) and because it’s from Apple, integrates well with the likes of Apple’s iTunes and its online iBookstore, and can run all the apps than run on the iPhone. That’s about the long and short of it.

Apple’s says the iPad is a "magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price". But who really needs it? iPhone users already have access to the thousands of apps in the Apple App Store (not to mention an existing subscription to a telecoms operator). Anyone with a laptop, notebook or netbook has large-screen portable computing nailed, with the advantage of a folding keyboard that protects the screen from scratches and knocks and is more familiar and faster than the iPad’s on-screen touch keyboard.

Much has been made of the argument that it will revolutionise publishing because you can download thousands of books, or read newspapers on it in glorious full colour. Sure, for a few hours. While Apple claims "up to 10 hours" of battery life you’re unlikely to see that in real-world situations, especially once you have a number of battery-hungry apps running from the App Store and are using Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity in anger.

Compare battery life to the e-reader competition: the Kindle from Amazon claims the battery will last 7 days from a single charge, while Sony’s eReader measures battery life as up to 7,500 continuous page turns. So it’s not a direct e-reader competitor, if all you want to do is read digital books on the move.

I’m sorry, but I still don’t quite get it. I clearly don’t believe in magic. As I’ve also said before, people will buy this thing. That’s the cult of Mac.

Anyway for my pick of the top 10 iPad disappointments read the extended entry here.

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