Apple released the iPad this Saturday, and so far the device has sold over 450,000 units, 300,000 of which were sold on launch day.  I made the trek to the Apple store, which had two lines, one for iPad pre-orders, and the other for non-preorder buyers.  The pre-order line was empty when I arrived at the Palo Alto store at about 11:30am, and there were about 20 people or so in the non-preorder line.

Most people were in the store playing with the iPad.  The iPad demo area was packed, and it took a few minutes of waiting just to get to a demo unit.

The build quality of the iPad is impressive.  It’s a very solid device and the aluminum back and glass screen feel very sturdy.

The iPad’s 9.7” screen looks great, although the glossy finish will be awful in the sun.  HD video was smooth, and colors were rich.  HD YouTube videos looked good as well.

There were only a few apps on the iPad, and many were just iPhone apps enlarged for the iPad’s screen.  Since these apps are essentially just enlarged, text and images were very pixelated.  That was a big disappointment, because it will likely mean you need to buy new ‘HD’ versions of apps, unless you want to stick with low res iPhone versions.

Apps that were made for the iPad, like Flight Control, did look pretty good.  The large screen gives you a lot of real estate for gaming, web browsing, and reading email, which is a big improvement over the iPhone.  The iPad’s keyboard in horizontal mode is also pretty easy to type on.  You do miss the tactile feedback of real keys, but the iPad’s virtual keyboard is a decent enough alternative to type out emails.

With music however, the extra space isn’t really used well.  That’s not a big gripe, but I would have liked to see the iPad’s big screen used for liner notes or something.

eBooks look good on the iPad, and the device has a cool page turning effect that makes eBooks look like real books.  Color is a big plus that differentiates the iPad from the Kindle, for example.  And while many novels are just black in white, there are a ton of books that will benefit from the iPad’s high res color screen.

The speed of the iPad was impressive, especially when compared to the iPhone.  Websites loaded quickly, and zooming and scrolling was very responsive.

At the end of the day though, I just couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger on an iPad – and believe me, I was looking for any excuse to do so.  Like many people, I can’t really see how the iPad will fit into my daily life, so although the device is certainly cool, it’s not worth the $500+.

I’d suggest a wait-and-see approach at this point, for a few reasons.  First of all, the iPad won’t really replace a laptop or an iPhone, so you don’t need to buy it now.  You can wait until the price drops, or wait for Apple to release refurb units at a $100 discount.

Also, the accessories currently available for the iPad are underwhelming.  Apple had a few overpriced cases in stock, all of which felt pretty cheap.  If you buy now, you’ll need to get a case to protect the iPad, but most likely you’ll want to upgrade to a better case in the near future.

And, today Apple announced that the iPad will be upgraded to the iPhone OS 4.0 in the fall.  That’s just another reason to wait before purchasing the device.

Yesterday, on the eve of the 2010 Masters tournament, Nike released its first new Tiger Woods commercial since the whole Tiger spectacle broke.  The commercial shows Tiger looking into the camera, with a dull kind of morose look on his face.  Tiger doesn’t say anything – instead all you hear is the voice of Tiger’s late father, Earl Woods.

Earl Woods’ quote is perfect for the commercial.  It promotes understanding and learning, rather than hatred, guilt or reciprocity.  It also puts the other criticism that Tiger has received in context – the commercial shows that Woods disappointed his family more than anyone, making criticism from the media or fans relatively insignificant.

It’s a pretty ballsy commercial, and I have to say it works very well for me.  Although Earl Woods’ statements are obviously taken out of context, it’s chilling to see Tiger’s face as Earl asks, “I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are. Did you learn anything?”

The colonel is a genius.  Forget bread, why not just use fried chicken?  And throw some cheese and bacon in there for good measure.  It only has 540 calories and 32 grams of fat, although the 1380 mg of sodium is a bit much.  See you at KFC on the 12th.