Shaun Hautly at the iPad Launch

The iPad has arrived.

Before I begin, the iPad is this: An Apple device announced in January. It's basically an oversized iPod Touch on Steroids. Almost a 10" screen, 1.5 lbs, and 1/2 an inch thick. It plays videos, music, browses photos and the web, all in an intimate touch-centric way. There is also a model appearing in "late April" which will also have a 3G radio to provide internet when WIFI cannot be found.

It's the 3G version that I'll be getting, so on today's big launch, I'm not going to buy one. However, that won't stop me from waiting in line for 2 hours just to play with one. It went like this:

I arrived at about 8:45 for the 9am launch. The line was down the mall for almost 500 feet. Two lines, actually. One for those who reserved one online and were picking it up and paying, and another for those who did NOT reserve, but still wanted one. I was in the latter. As we waited, some having been there for hours already, Smart water was offered to us for free, and mall restaurants were offering to deliver food to us in line while we waited. The wait seemed to fly by, however. Before I knew it, there was cheering, and ALL the employees (well over 40 of them) came running down the line, the leader was holding an iPad, and the rest were giving high-fives. The energy was high.

The employees regrouped in front of the store, said a few words that we couldn't hear from our spot in line, and then counted down the seconds to 9 O'clock. The gate flew up and moments later, the first customer entered the store amidst cheers and applause.

During our 2 and a half hour wait, the entire line of reservations left happy, and we made our way in at a much slower pace. The wait wasn't awful though, because employees were coming around the line with iPads, demonstrating them, and allowing us to touch them, use them, play games, type, pinch, zoom, swipe, tap, read, watch, write, and drool. While I have been anticipating the iPad since before it was announced, this blew me away. I'd watched EVERY video demonstrating the interface and read every review on the product before launch. However, they were right. Nothing does justice the experience of holding this device in your hand and having it react INSTANTLY to your gestures.

The staff was so friendly and just as excited as the rest of us. It was so worth the wait to hold one, and I'm looking forward to waiting again when the 3G version becomes available.

As far as my experience with one, everything blew me away. I spent most of my time trying things in pages as I'm always creating documents and proposals. Adding pictures was like scrap booking. I was able to move them around with a finger, rotate them with two, and resize them by pinching and zooming. I had complete control, a feeling that I've never had on a desktop or laptop before. Once in the store, I also took the time to type with all my fingers. I really was like a real keyboard. Only smarter. It corrected extra letters that my fingers hit, it added apostrophes to the words that needed them, and it felt natural. My advice on typing would be the same as it is on the iPhone: Go quickly and confidently and be pleasantly surprised at what comes out. Just because you hit the wrong letter doesn't mean you need to go back.

So I can't wait for "Late April" and I'm looking forward to writing my submissions from the new tablet computer that's probably going to change the world.