There’s been a lot of debate since the iPad’s release over whether or not it has brought anything new to the table. To a further extent, the argument is about utility: Will there be an audience (other than the salivating geek masses)?

When we look at hardware, the answer is clear: Yes, it’s a big ol’ iPod touch. The physical device has a large glass screen, minimal connections, and minimal buttons. It doesn’t have a camera, a 4g card, thumbprint security detection, or a dishwasher. Yes, there are new components like Apple’s custom 1GHz processor and IPS screen—but let’s face it: to the average consumer, it just looks like the iPod touch grew up.

Once you hit that power button, though, and start looking at apps, you begin to feel the difference. No longer restricted by a 480px x 320px resolution, applications begin to approximate their desktop counterparts in a way we’ve never seen. Instead of focusing on adding a camera or dishwasher, Apple put all of its effort into software, by redefining the UI iPod, Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and every other default app. They then went a step further and ported all of the iWork apps, including Pages, Keynote, and Numbers to function on the iPad. They did this to set a bar, a standard. To show that it does things that the iPod touch will never be able to do. Think of the apps you use on the desktop—most of these could/will function on the iPad. Apps like Photoshop, OmniGraffle, Coda/Espresso. Even existing mobile/desktop apps, like Tweetie, will become immensely more powerful and usable.

So is it a big iPod touch? Yes and no. Is it useful and will it find a consumer base? We’ll see. When discussing the iPad with my roommate, he commented:

Yes, it looks great and I want one, but will most people? If I have an iPod touch or an iPhone and I have a laptop, what’s the point?

I don’t think it’s meant for most people who have a laptop and an iPod touch. It’s for the student, heading off to college, that needs a device to write papers, email, and use the web. Now, for under $900, this student can have a sleek device, portable in every way, that accomplishes what they need. Or, on the professional side, let’s say you have a financial analyst that works on a desktop. If he wants to browse the web and check emails at his local coffeeshop, and doesn’t want a laptop, which do you think he’ll choose, the iPod touch or the iPad? My money’s on the iPad. Heck, with the iPad, he could even open a spreadsheet, update it, and email it out—all within the simplest and most pleasant user experience on the market. This is where the revolution happens, and this is why the iPad changes a game: Some people don’t need a whole laptop. Some people want more than an iPod. Steve Jobs demonstrated Apple’s goal very clearly, and I for one, think they succeeded.