Apple iPad Drops On Saturday.

Apple's new and highly anticipated iPad is on schedule to drop on April 5th; just under a week from today. Ironically, however, the sales associates have yet to see it (and yet they are supposed to sell it) and it has been sold out since last Friday when the Demand and Supply curves crossed (http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/03/27/apple-has-run-out-of-ipads/) for opening day sales. If you're looking to walk into an Apple Store this weekend without a reserved one, your best bet at getting one will more than likely come after 3pm.

Now this is huge for college students like ourselves. The iPad, similarly to Amazon's Kindle, is a reading device that can also be used for a lot of other cool stuff...i.e. browsing the net, annotations, pictures, games, notes, time management, TEXTBOOK READING, video watching, and youtubing.

The fact that the iPad can be used for textbooks makes it a huge development for several reasons. Firstly, carrying around 20 pound textbooks is no longer a necessity, you can carry around 5 or 50, 20 pound textbooks in one 1.5 pound device. Secondly, digital textbooks are cheaper! A simple comparison - I paid $180.00 for my Accounting textbook, the same textbook is available as a digital copy for $80, a more than 50% discount - the problem I saw in a digital copy is that I would be resigned to having it on my laptop through a third party. HOWEVER, on the iPad, one will be able to read it right on the device, flip pages, and annotate the book (no erasing required). Definitely worth a look.

The iPad comes in a Wi-Fi and 3G or just a Wi-Fi format, and in 16, 32, or 64 GB capacities (all Solid State, meaning no moving parts, so it won't break anymore than your iPhone will if you shake it). It also comes with an optional keyboard dock which allows for charging and typing (the normal keyboard is a digital touchscreen).