Have you seen the phones with the gigantic oversized number pad designed to help the elderly read and place calls? In the age of cell phones perhaps they are fewer and far between but I remember my grandmother having one as she grew along in years and had trouble placing calls. I was always amazed by them as a child, I found them comical and almost cartoonish, and for that reason alone as a young boy I was intrigued. The first time I saw the iPad I couldn’t help but think back to that old oversized phone dial.

I confess I’m no expert on the iPad. I’ve never used one, and self admittedly am one of those people who shrugged at Apple’s latest invention without giving it much thought. Honestly, my first reaction was, “It looks like a jumbo-sized iPod Touch.”

And to some extent I suppose I’m correct. Apple’s marketing campaign for the iPad touts it as “the best way to experience the web, email, photos, and video. Hands down.” If you take those core features and add in the capability of music, which the iPad effectively handles as well, you really get a lot of the same features found in the popular iPod Touch on a much larger scale. Apple even uses the same operating platform system for both products, albeit a mildly different version.

However, the iPad has it’s distinctions from it’s pint sized counterpart. Apple also proclaims on the iPad website that you’ll find thousands of apps in the Apple app store specifically designed for the iPad, with more coming every day. Perhaps of the biggest differences between the iPod and iPad can be found in the iPad App Development.

One place the iPod Touch can’t compete with its new big brother is in the application arena. The size and screen area of the iPad make it ideal for handling new applications the iPod would not be effective handling. For example, the iPad borrows from the success of Amazon’s kindle and brings magazine viewing to a whole new arena. It’s really a neat feature which allows readers to obtain and read digital copies of their favorite magazines including Popular Science and many more.

Additionally, iPad Apps Development takes gaming to a whole new level. Thanks to an enlarged viewing area the iPad becomes the perfect device for playing all of your favorite iPod gaming apps and adding exciting new games which wouldn’t play out well on a limited smaller screen. A promising new feature involves using the iPad itself as a steering wheel for racing games, with the onscreen play adjusting to the players motions through the iPad. Very cool indeed.

Although there are a lot of similarities, and the new iPad takes on more than ever before in a format any iPod fan is already used to. Apple has gone above and beyond in distinguishing the iPad and ensuring that iPad Development gives users something distinctive that they will not find from their iPhone or iPod Touch. While it might look like the super sized edition iPod, it seems the iPad has a lot of individuality to offer packed into all that space.