Weekly high-tech hot topics in the blogs: All things Apple iPad; rumors; launch; conclusions

During the week of January 29 the technology blogs were so full of Apple iPad news they had almost no energy left to cover anything else. The week started off with thousands of blog posts about Apple iPad rumors and the inclusions they hoped Apple would make. The middle of the week focused on the January 27 launch - which concluded with a resounding "meh" from bloggers. By the end of the week, however, bloggers had time to have a second look at the device and to reposition their comments.

Apple iPad rumors
Bloggers were expecting big things from Apple before the release of its iPad - which is not surprising when Steve Jobs has been reportedly mulling over the device for more than 10 years. Some of the more creative rumors (many of which were sparked by patents Apple had applied for in the recent months) got consumer expectations soaring. Bloggers speculated that the tablet would two built in cameras, one forward facing camera for live video chat and a second high-res camera for taking photos; a solar panel for charging the device; face recognition; advanced touch-sensitive controls on the side and back of the device; and 3D graphic-based user interface.

Live coverage of Steve Job's keynote
The D day arrived on January 27 and the tech blogs were once again full of articles about Steve Job's new tablet. iPad blog posts and updates were fast and furious, especially on the major tech blogs. Most of which were posting live, minute-by-minute coverage directly from the event.

Every single detail of the tablet is examined
A more thorough examination of the tablet's features left some bloggers feeling flat. They came to the realization that Apple's "Jesus tablet", while wonderful, was far from the idyllic islate they had been dreaming of. Articles such as Gizmodo's "Apple iPad launch day roundup: everything you need to know" and Mashable's "Apple iPad: A Comprehensive Guide provided readers with all the information they needed to know about the features, pros and cons of the iPad.

The iPad hype: from iWantit to iPhad
The immediate after-launch hype was not long lived. Bloggers quickly changed their tone from the resounding cheers uttered at the event after hearing the base price of $499 to disappointed rants about the features the iPad was missing. Headlines evolved from "Apple iPad Just Tried To Assassinate the Computer" and "Hello iPad, Goodbye PC" to "8 Things That Suck About the iPad", "Could No Camera Be an iPad Killer?" and "Ten Things Missing From the iPad."

A second look at the iPad and how it fits into the mobile device market market
Towards the end of the week bloggers started to put their disappointment aside and realised the potential market for the device. "The iPad & Why you are probably NOT the target audience" and "Get real, geeks - The iPad is the Apple for Mum, not you", wrote bloggers who began to see Apple's "bigger picture". As iPhone Facebook app designer Joe Hewitt wrote in his blog, "all Apple needed to do to revolutionize computing was simply to make an iPhone with a large screen. Anyone who feels underwhelmed by that doesn't understand how much of the iPhone OS's potential is still untapped."