The biggest buzz this week in tech news has been, of course, the introduction of Apple’s iPad.  Let’s get the obvious joke out of the way - no, this is not a digital feminine product.  It’s Apple’s tablet, set to be released to the masses this Spring.

For anyone who’s unclear as to exactly what a tablet is… Picture a laptop.  Now, get rid of the keyboard so you only have the screen.  That’s a tablet.  It’s a 10 inch touch-screen device that’s not exactly a computer, but rather a media “applicance” if you will.  It’s a device designed to be a hybrid of a laptop computer and a smart phone - sort of meeting in between.

There’s been a lot of talk about Apple’s iPad, and its received very mixed reviews.  Essentially, it’s a really big iPhone, just without the phone part.  It’s very pretty, with a polished black finish to the front, and a macbook-ish design to the back.  And it does have an e-book reader function to it.  I’ve talked about e-book readers in the past - and am a huge fan of them, so I do see this as a definite plus.

But critics are pointing out some major flaws in the device.  First, it can’t multi-task.  Since it can only run one program at a time, theoretically you won’t be able to listen to music while browsing the internet - and will have to fully shut down any program in order to start another.  A lot of people say that’s very primitive technology for this day and age.  And secondly, is Apple’s famous “walled garden” set-up.  Apple controls the types of applications that can be used on the device, which means you are bound to what the company decides you can use.

It seems like the kind of product that you might have sitting on your coffee table so you can browse the internet while watching TV and not have to deal with a full-fledged laptop.  The thing is, I’m not entirely sure how well tablets will be received in general, not just iPads.  I mean think about it.  Almost everyone needs a phone.  And almost everyone needs a computer.  Once you have both of those two things, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of people who will ALSO need something in the middle.

But I’ll wait until they get launched this Spring, and will stand to be corrected if need be.

And hey - did you hear about Apple’s plans to launch a new tablet with an even bigger screen than the iPad?  It’ll be called the Maxi-Pad.