In photos, as in life, sometimes being out of focus is o.k.

We stopped by the Apple store in Santa Monica last weekend so that I could play with the iPad.  It’s like a giant iPhone or iPod Touch.  Naturally, helsachow.com came to mind when I was trying to think of a URL to type on the screen.  How meta!

Scott was content to be my hand model in this photo as he’d already had his “test drive” on someone’s iPad at work.  Although I still prefer to read books the old-fashioned way, I have a healthy addiction to the New York Times online and the iPad has the potential to make traditional print media like magazines and newspapers come alive.  I like the iPad’s large touch screen keyboard as I lack the magic touch to type quickly on Scott’s iPod Touch.  Once upon a time, I played the piano so I like being able to press down on keys as I type text; a touch screen serves primarily to enhance my interaction with images.  Which is why Apple’s decision to launch iPad without Adobe Flash capabilities is disappointing:  iPad 1.0 will help iTunes pad its revenue streams (pun intended), but it won’t support my hulu.com or youtube.com viewing habits.  I can picture myself using an iPad to shop online or browse photos while sitting on the couch or lying in bed, but seeing as I can already do this with my laptop, I’d rather spend my $499 USD (iPad’s current selling price) on staples such as printed cotton sundresses and Birkenstocks (you know, really useful things!).

UPDATE:  We’ve succumbed to the iPad’s charms – we’ve named ours “Buddy”.