You wanted it, craved it, dreamt about it, and after the years of rumors, the unabashed hype, the gasping for bated breath, last week Apple finally unveiled his latest piece of techno idolatry – the unfortunately tagged “iPad”. Along with the rest of the universe, travelers and travel bloggers have been waiting for the newest piece of Jobsian hardware to make their lives on the road a little easier. While the iPad is certainly one sexy piece of hardware that will undoubtedly change the way people view their media, travelers have reason to be disappointed for what it doesn’t quite do for their particular type of mobile lifestyle.

If this was something you’ve been hankering for, you’ve probably read your share of articles last week to find out what it can do (if not, here’s a great catch-all article). I won’t waste your time with specs. But I’ll say right away the sad and revealing truth: as a long distance traveler, the iPad is NOT what you’ve been waiting for — at least not yet. Sorry folks.

I’ll tell you why.

Travelers typically have a few reasons they like to carry electronic equipment with them on the road, and at first glance the size and portability of the iPad will makes even the most non-tech savvy wanderer lick their chops. It looks mighty tasty.

But after matching its assets with your needs, here are the reasons why this isn’t the perfect gadget panacea:

Storage: The iPad is a great media center, no doubt about it. But why they didn’t put enough hard drive space to handle everything you have is inconceivable. The most expensive version for example has 64gb of storage space. Personally, I have that much music alone. Any typical netbook computer has up to three times that much storage. If you wanted to make the “Pad” your catch-all on the road you’re in for problems. Additionally, there’s no USB, no SD card slot, no VGA and no HDMI. Without pulling punches, the iPad is only what the iPad is, nothing more.

Battery: This may be the Pad’s key redeeming factor. And in comparison to other gadgets, 10 hours sounds impressive, but for the long distance traveler 10 hours (which of course means “10 hours”, in other words, not 10 hours) is still 4 hours shorter than the flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. Plus you’ll have to have it plugged in and charging every night (with an additional accessory). Still, it does have the average netbook beat, which is usually between 6 or 8 hours.

Tate Modern by r.nagy33

Internet: The iPad comes with wi-fi and Bluetooth capability at graduated price levels. But this doesn’t mean much if you can’t get online. You’ll have to wait till June to get the 3G service available from international providers with their GSM SIMs. And you’ll need to pay for a service plan being who knows how available. If it ends up being a perfect world and you’re be able to access and download the extra books, emails and English newspapers you’re dying for, then you’re doing fine. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Camera: Without a camera any augmented reality app is useless (stick to the map and compass) and video chatting is impossible, which I must admit would’ve been super-cool on such a portable screen.

Delicate: If you’ve ever taken the bus between Bangkok and Siem Reap you can relate to the rough and tumble world of long distance traveling. The iPad has not yet been proven to withstand the jolts of the average day in the Moroccan desert, a Patagonian rift valley or a restaurant in India. Of course, many travelers will be delighted with something thinner than a stack of nickels and lighter than a loaf of bread (okay, rye bread) but traveling may require something a little more substantial.

Keyboard: Three words: carpal tunnel syndrome. If you’re going to be sending emails, updating your blog or live journaling, a virtual keyboard is not ideal. Simply stated the iPad is meant to receive and display text, not create it. To its credit, there’s a physical keyboard accessory you can buy for $69 which would solve the typing conundrum, but do you really want to lug that around?

Syncing: Without a port, there’s no way to connect your camera directly to the device. This means you have to upload your camera’s photos to a laptop then back to the iPad. Or else first to a flash drive, then to the Internet, then to the Pad. Call me crazy, but this just seems silly. 

UPDATE: There is an accessory that will plug into the bottom of the Pad to allow you to connect a USB and a memory card. Looks like they’re $30 each.

Portrait of a Gentleman Techie, by Mike Licht

Price: Reviewers seem to think the price tags starting at $500 (plus tax) are palatable, but anyone saving up for a big trip will likely be hesitant to drop this kind of extra money for the starter version (the 3G-enabled model is over $700) when comparable non-Apple devices are less than half that. And with the almost-required peripherals, it won’t take long before you have a serious dent in your savings.

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Okay, I must admit it’s hard to list all these cons without throwing in the pros for a little fairness and balance. Here are some upsides to the Pad:

The Google Maps application will be fantastic to locate anything anywhere, and from first appearances looks FAST.

Access to a quadrillion apps is a near necessity for travelers. A lot has been said about the usefulness of Apple’s app store to the traveling public.

The slick navigation just makes your life seem better.

The battery life is a boon. There’s a LOT of flights in the world under 10 hours.

In the end, if you were waiting for something to be of service for your around the world trip, it’s probably better that you either wait for the 3^rd generation iPad, which should avail itself to the things lacking in the first two versions, or else live in the moment and look to the vast selection of netbooks currently out there on the market. Sure you won’t be the most modern guy in town, but try to explain modern to the Vietnamese bike-taxi driver on the way to your hotel.