Apple iPad is a Shiny New Gadget One Can't Keep Ffingers Off

Before the iPod, consumers were not crying out to discard albums, ditch mixtapes for playlists, or add a new lump of metal to their backpacks.

Apple has now sold almost 250 million iPods: more than enough to prove its ability to create a market, and even a need. So perhaps tech fans and analysts are too hard on Apple's iPad when they compare it with netbooks, notebooks and even the iPhone, reports Couriermail.com.

The iPad will replace none of these. It's designed to create a new type of gadget; a device people didn't know they needed. Straight out of the box, the iPad is underwhelming. It's a rectangular, shiny black slate that begs you to plug it into a real computer.

The iPad's 9.7-inch touch screen gives it an advantage over e-book rivals and smaller competitors. The screen is incredibly bright, thanks to LED backlighting, and viewable from extreme angles, because of in-plane switching technology, making it perfect for web surfing or showing photos.

The screen doesn't fare as well in direct sunlight as the Amazon Kindle, and fingerprint smudges do appear, though they're not apparent when using the gadget.