First came the iPod, which forever changed the way the world listens to music. Then the iPhone came and revolutionized communication, setting a new standard for mobile devices. Apple has transformed technology with its revolutionary products by giving a new perspective to our interactions with them.

Now, Apple has released its newest program: the iPad. Apple has introduced a fresh, new way to interact with technology. I got the opportunity to test-drive the device when my family bought one on the day of its release, April 3.

If you ask me, the user interface of the iPad is simply incredible. Its 7.8 by 5.8 inch, LCD multi-touch display makes it the perfect device for watching movies, playing games, reading books and surfing the Web. The iPad?s ultra-responsive touch screen offers a variety of creative uses as well.

While reading books, pages are turned via touch as if they were actual pages; folding pages and flipping through your book are just two of the many unique functions made possible because of the product?s fantastic touch-screen display.

The Wi-Fi capabilities didn?t exceed my expectations, but they didn?t fall short of them either. The device certainly offers a fast and reliable connection for its size. The dependability of the iPad?s Wi-Fi connection is very important to me, since Wi-Fi is this model?s only means of connecting to the Internet. Wi-Fi models are the only products available as of now, with 3G models arriving on April 30.

iPad is also designed to support word processing. Apple?s iWork collection has been made available through the App Store exclusively for the iPad. I found the Pages and Keynote applications to work wonderfully. They?re sharply constructed, and easy to use.

I found Pages to work so well that I actually typed this article on the iPad using the application.

Keynote, like Microsoft PowerPoint, is a great tool for school projects, business presentations and classroom lessons. With such sharp, clean and defined presentations, you can?t go wrong with the iPad. And with the iPad?s VGA output line, you can easily hook your device up to a projector or screen for simple and quick presentations.

Apple also provides a Web site called iWork.com, which serves as a place to save documents or presentations should one ever need to retrieve them from another device, like a computer.

The iPad also marks Apple?s breakthrough in the e-reader market. One of Apple?s most recent additions to its App Store, iBooks, makes the iPad a slick device with which to store and read books. The iBook store offers many of today?s top-selling books, as well as a library of classics.

Apple has best-sellers priced at a low $10, while offering 30,000 books as free downloads. I was even able to find books required for English class in the store for free. Senior English literature like Shakespeare?s “Much Ado About Nothing” and Joseph Conrad?s Heart of Darkness were both available for free in the iBook store, making the iPad a valuable resource even for educational purposes.

While the iPad has many new features, it also comes with the classic must-have applications. It has an iPod built in for easy access to music. The iPad also has Google maps built in. The App Store, iTunes, Calendar and many more apps also come pre-installed.

The iPad starts at a price of $499, making it a tempting purchase for many technology consumers. It is offered in three sizes: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB in memory. Bluetooth comes standard with iPads, providing for accessories such as wireless keyboards connectable to the iPad. The battery that fuels the iPad has an approximate life of 12 hours per charge, making it a perfect device to take on flights, to work and even to class.

To all of the critics labeling the iPad as a glorified iPod touch, I would suggest a second look. This is a huge step in a bigger direction for technology, and we?re going to start seeing some crazy products coming from Apple. I was definitely impressed with the iPad, and I look forward to what Apple does next.

For more information, check out Apple’s Web site.