I’m writing this post from a new, 16gb wifi-enabled iPad. I was late to the iPad party. First, it took me awhile to decide whether I wanted an iPad. Once I made that decision, it became very difficult to actually purchase one. Both Apple Stores here in Austin have been sold out for weeks and have implemented a waiting list to distribute what little stock they do receive each week.

I received an email from Apple today telling me that the iPad i reserved two weeks ago was in stock. I had 24 hours to pick it up before it would be released. I imagine this is the typical purchasing experience of most people who aren’t able to get one off the shelf.

The iPad is beautiful to use. It’s very fast, and the display looks terrific. I wish the resolution matched that of the iPhone 4, but I’m certain that it will in future iterations. What’s also lacking is a front facing and rear-side camera for FaceTime.

Typing on the iPad is somewhat effortless. I’m writing this within the WordPress for iPad app. I wouldn’t want to write more than two pages or so of text, but for quick posts there’s a lot of value.

Many of my iPhone apps needed to be upgraded in order to work on the iPad in full resolution. Some popular apps, including Facebook, don’t have an iPad version yet, which means users will have to use a small version, or zoom in to a more pixelated experience.

I’m looking forward to using Netflix for iPad, which let’s me stream movies from my instant queue. I haven’t installed Pages, as Evernote and Simplenote seem to meet my writing needs.