In case you weren’t aware, today was the day that Steve Jobs was to announce Apple’s latest amazing, game-changing device. It was the worse-kept secret in the tech industry that Apple was going to release some sort of tablet computer that would put Apple in that “sweet spot” between mobile devices and notebook computers that is currently being served by low-powered, low-priced Netbooks. The new device was rumoured to do pretty much everything, like read e-books, do video-conferencing, surf the web, turn water to wine, solve world hunger, and make people love Obama again. Of course, no device could ever live up to expectations like those, so when Steve-o descended from above with tablet in hand, and revealed that Apple had gone the “lower cost” way with the new iPad, tech nerds everywhere let out a collective “meh.”

Now, I could go either way here. Really, if you consider what you’re getting for the price point (anywhere from $499 for a 16GB WiFi only model to the top of the line 64GB with 3G version for $829), this is an impressive machine. Of course, Apple are their own worst enemy here as they’ve just set expectations so high for their toys in the past. At the end of the day, folks were expecting more than simply an overgrown iPod Touch (which is really what this device is) with a couple of extra bells and whistles thrown in.

But you don’t come to GamerPops for our thoughts on high tech gadgetry. You come here for gaming news, analysis, and opinions. So let’s focus on what the iPad means to us as a gaming device.

Did I mention that it’s basically an overgrown iPod Touch? All your current iPod Touch or iPhone games will work on this thing, running in either a small-screen mode (that’s the size of a Touch) or doubling the size and fitting the screen with upconverted “goodness”. So it’s got backwards compatibility going for it. (Sony, you paying attention here?) And of course, the new SDK will allow developers to make new iPad-specific games that will fit the whole screen, which should be nice, because the screen is a good-sized one at 9.7 inches. Plus, it’s got a resolution of 1024×768. Yes, that means you could theoretically do high-def gaming on this bad boy if developers have the chops to make such a thing. It also boasts Apple’s new A4 processor (from the P.A. Semi acquisition) which all first impressions say is screaming fast for such a device. This should provide the horsepower to power those high-def games. Should. Time will tell on this front.

Of course, given the nature of the iPad and its touchscreen, you’re still going to have to rely on the accelerometer and/or on-screen buttons to play a lot of games. This is one of my biggest issues with the iPhone/Touch as you just can’t get precision control with these methods. Sure, games like Canabalt are money, but anything of substance I’m afraid will be an exercise in frustration. This device is big enough, now, that maybe somebody could make a control pad accessory to plug into that 30-pin dock connector. Apple have already highlighted a dock accessory that lets you use a keyboard. This could go a long way towards making the iPad an outstanding (if perhaps a bit borderline) mobile gaming experience.

We’ll know more, obviously, as more info trickles out, and people start getting these in the next two to three months. My initial impressions are that you’ll likely get to play some pretty looking games on the iPad, but you’ll need to deal with the control mechanisms to do so. For now, the device gets a “meh” from a gaming perspective. As a whole, once you leave Steve Jobs’ famous Reality Distortion Field, I think the device will do what it does, and do it well at a decent price point. Of course it could have been more, but that’s what V2 is for, right?