Apple's iPad holds appeal for some, leaves others wanting more

Lucas Paraskeva traveled to New York from Nicosia, Cyprus, to be one of the first consumers to get his hands on an iPad, the tablet-style computer from Apple Inc. that goes on sale tomorrow.

"It will be the gadget of the year," Paraskeva, 29, a computer programmer, said outside the Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York, where employees were setting up barriers to control the throngs expected to line up for the $499 device.

Paraskeva and his girlfriend Maria Agroti will be among the 200,000 to 300,000 consumers projected by Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Gene Munster to buy an iPad this weekend. With the iPad, Apple bets it can succeed where rivals such as Microsoft Corp. failed: building a following for a device that's bigger than a mobile phone, yet has fewer features than a laptop.

Analysts at iSuppli Corp. say Cupertino, California-based Apple may sell 7.1 million iPads globally this year, driven by "early adopters" and users drawn by its "touch-screen-based interface."

Users can surf the Web, peruse digital books, watch video and play games on the iPad. It doesn't have a built-in camera or support Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash software, used to watch much of the video on the Web. It also lacks features that let users carry out multiple tasks at once.

"The iPad's attractive design, compelling applications and multitouch capability, key components of Apple Inc.'s past successes, will help to offset the initial omission of Adobe Flash from the device," El Segundo, California-based iSuppli said today in a statement.

'Going to Wait'

Jason Herbert, a restaurant owner from Rochester, New York, is eager to buy an iPad. "It will be really cool," Herbert, 39, said outside the Fifth Avenue store. His friend, Dan Bresnan, has yet to be won over. "The first version doesn't have things that I might want, like the ability to multitask," said Bresnan, 40, a car salesman in Rochester. "I'm going to wait."

Reviewers who tested the iPad praised its ability to deliver digital books and video quickly and said it measures up well against other devices, including Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle e-book reader. Bloomberg columnist Rich Jaroslovsky said it may change the way people relate to computers, requiring users to learn a "new language" that Apple has made "both elegant and very easy to master." USA Today's Edward Baig called the iPad "fun, simple, stunning to look at and blazingly fast."

Apple is trying to remake the tablet -- a thin, handheld computer that's essentially a big screen without a physical keyboard. Also known as slate computers, tablets have been available since the 1990s, without ever catching on. They currently account for less than 1 percent of the personal- computer market, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

Apps

The iPad's success will depend partly on the attractiveness of applications that run on it. As consumers weighed whether to brave crowds at stores or awaited home delivery of iPads ordered ahead of time, television networks, game makers, and newspaper publishers unveiled iPad friendly versions of their products.

CBS Corp., owner of the most-watched U.S. TV network, will offer episodes of shows such as "Survivor" and "CSI." Walt Disney Co. will release iPad applications for ABC TV shows and ESPN games. Netflix Inc., the movie-rental company, said today that members will be able to instantly watch programming streamed to the iPad. The Wall Street Journal and Discovery Communications' MythBusters also announced versions of their programs tailored for the new device.

Apple declined to comment, said Natalie Kerris, a spokeswoman for the company.

Apple, which has more than doubled in the past year, rose 97 cents to close at a record $235.97 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. U.S. markets are closed today for Good Friday.