... It overheated and burned through the shielding and wire. Luckily there was no fire!!

So pretty. And it came fully charged, too! They packed the whole thing up pretty good. I was pretty happy that it was not only shipped about a week early, but FedEx got it to me a day early from their estimates.

(download)

Click here to download:

ipad2-unboxing-nhAlzrFlaoninvrnssHz.zip (6.05 MB)

Steve, Mr. Jobs if you're nasty, and company will be holding a preview event for the forthcoming iPhone OS 4.0 this Thursday at 10AM Pacific.

They're teasing us with the tagline “Get a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS” in the associated graphics, and I can't wait to see what Apple is going to reveal. Stay tuned for my commentary on Twitter (@halfbrown) since, well, no one is sending me to Apple's Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino any time soon. :)

What are your predictions?

I've been listening to the live stream from the fine folks at http://live.twit.tv/, and I've gotta say the iPad looks and sounds amazing! The iPad is like an iPod Touch on steroids. It plays games, you can read books on it (big iBooks app announcement, too, which goes along w/ my Kindle killer predictions), runs the updated iWork, browse the web... this is a real game changer. With the available keyboard deck and iPad case, this is a great midpoint between a phone and a laptop. I was thinking about getting a Mac Mini this spring, but I'm seriously thinking about getting the iPad now.

Apple.com page for the iPad

Some details gathered online from various sources:

• On-screen QWERTY keyboard.
• 0.5 inch thin
• 1.5 pound weight
• 9.7 inch IPS display (Multi-Touch)
• Accelerometer, compass, speaker, mid, dock connector
• Runs most, if not all, apps that run on the iPhone
• 10 hours of battery life, with over a month of standby
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• WiFi 802.11n
• 16-64GB flash storage
• 1Ghz Apple A4 chip
• Syncs via USB like the iPhone and IPod.

Data plans through AT&T start at $14.99 for 250MB (yuck) or unlimited for $29.99. This includes free use of AT&T WiFi hotspots, but the best part? No contracts! You can cancel at any time. An international version of the iPad should be available June or July.

I didn't see a camera with it, but still... that's not a showstopper for me.

Pricing:
WiFi models: 16GB = $499, 32GB = $599, 64GB = $699
3G models:16GB = $629, 32GB = $729, 64GB = $829

iPad models should be starting within the next 60 days.

(Image courtesy of http://www.gdgt.com/)

Apple also continues with it's "green" efforts with the following:

• Arsenic-free display glass
• BFR-free
• Mercury-free LCD display
• PVC-free
• Recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure

I think it's safe to say I want one. Stat!