BradGroux.com - Blogger, Geek, Know It All, Smartass.

Anyone who knows me probably knows that I'm not a fan of Apple. As an example of my distaste for everything Cupertino one can simply read some of the the posts I’ve made on this very blog over the past two years. Those Apple thumping posts include Corporate America Doesn’t Need Mac, iTunes “Plus” Is a Big Fat Scam, Is Apple the Technology World’s Anti-Christ? and iDissapointed: 12 Reasons the iPad Sucks.

So why is someone with such a hatred for Apple about to pick up his shiny new 3G iPad from the store? Well, that is more a story about a perfect storm of geek events than taking a bite from the forbidden fruit. Let there be no mistake, while I hate Apple as a company, they still put out some revolutionary devices from time to time… and sometimes I simply want those devices. Indeed, “It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

I’ve decided on the iPad as my new gadget of choice for a combination of reasons, most of which were completely out of Apple’s hands. First of all, I was a huge fan of the Microsoft Courier project, and I was also very intrigued by the HP Slate tablet PC. Sadly, both of these projects were recently scrapped. Microsoft said the Courier was for “research purposes only,” while HP canned the Windows 7 running Slate shortly after buying Palm. WebOS tablet in HPs future? I hate WebOS.

With my two non-iPad tablet choices down the drain I was stuck with my netbook for the time being. I’ve owned two netbooks for a little over a year and they just leave a lot to be desired with me. I simply want them to do more than what they are designed for. Netbooks aren’t full-fledged laptops, and they are limited by both memory, speed and size. Using a netbook every day for a few hours will drive some people insane, I am one of those people.

For all of its flaws, the iPad is still an amazing device that has a baffling battery life and snappy interface. Most of its warts can be ripped away with a simple Jailbreak, which is something I fully intend to do as soon as I take my iPad out of the box. Even with it’s shortcomings (which I go over here) the iPad is the only tablet device worth a damn for at least the next six months or so. Hopefully there will be some pretty Android and Windows-based devices hitting the market soon.

Anyone who knows me knows that my attention span with gadgets peaks at about six months… so you’re on borrowed time Mr. iPad. But for now, "I'm your huckleberry."