This is going to be a different kind of post for AlphaMaven. We’re actually telling you not to buy the iPad ($499). Don’t be fooled by it’s larger shiny screen, this is just a glorified iPod Touch. Yes Apple did announce their own snappy Apple A4 processor, but before you whip out your credit card (in 59 days), think about what this really offers. The Pluses: It’s compact for a tablet, it has a 1024×768 resolution, and it’s fast. The Negatives: It really doesn’t bring anything new to the table, it lacks flash support for web browsing, and it (like the iPhone) can’t multitask. If you’re wondering what the big deal about multitasking is then consider this.. You wan’t to have your favorite streaming Internet radio station playing (Slacker) and your favorite instant messaging app running while you’re browsing casually. The iPad simply doesn’t allow you to do this.

The Verdict: This seems like something that was rushed, and for Apple that’s not usual. Our Thoughts are to wait for the iPhone 4.0 to be announced before putting out the cash for an iPad. Why? Apple just released their own powerful processor and you can be certain that it’s going to be destined for the iPhone. iPhone OS 4.0 will also probably include multitasking and will probably have a resolution bump. When this happens you will have an iPad that’s the size of an iPhone. Since iPhones have been released during the past three summers, you can expect iPhone 4.0 to be announced in the May/June timeframe.