The iPad has officially been available in the U.S. for over a week now, making it’s grand debut April 3 to the general public. The conversation on Twitter has changed from one of anticipation and ridicule to one of amazement and disdain. What has the iPad replaced and what will replace it? Twitter users report their initial observations and thoughts.

1. 
   mollywood (Undisclosed location) Ok, returned the iPad. Too heavy to replace Kindle, too limited to replace netbook, too representative of closed-system evil to live with. 12 Apr 2010 from Seesmic
2. 
   Akira67 (France) World’s first iPad marriage proposal http://u.nu/2rt98 (via @GuyKawasaki) 12 Apr 2010 from Twitterrific
3. 
   Funzafunza (Undisclosed location) Who is working on an iPad-Killer? HP, Dell, Nokia & according to Eric Schmidt. Google too: http://j.mp/crUPKS (via @nickbilton) 12 Apr 2010 from Tweetie

 

A few satisfied customers almost feel guilty that they like their new gadget.

1. 
   jbruesewitz (Iowa) Despite the terrible time I’ve had in recent months, I think the last week has been my best in a while: the new iPad and driving the G8. 10 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
2. 
   chest (San Diego, CA) @spotnyk I know, it’s terrible. I’m a weak, pathetic man. But damn, I haven’t been able to put my #iPad down for the past 24 hrs :/ #sellout 11 Apr 2010 from Echofon in reply to spotnyk

Some love parts of it, but not enough to make up for what they find lacking.

1. 
   rynmrtn (Virginia) Brushes on iPad has an incredible UI, but sucks at writing text. ArtStudio has a terrible UI but has a nice text writing brush… Can’t win! 10 Apr 2010 from Twitterrific
2. 
   katkizer (Tennessee) I played with an iPad for a few seconds today. Great for web-surfing and watching vids, but terrible e-reader b/c of glare & backlighting 10 Apr 2010 from web

The rest summed up the flaws they experienced in 140 characters or less.

1. 
   BestMobileCtrct (Cheltenham, UK) Early iPad Problems: not as Bad as We Thought: With Apple’s horrible track record when it comes to coming up with … http://bit.ly/ajUJIh 08 Apr 2010 from twitterfeed
2. 
   blakehounshell (Washington) All these iPad apps are really terrible for social media — really not set up to share cool things with your friends. 10 Apr 2010 from Twitterrific
3. 
   kerrycoolface (Arlington, VA) @timgarlitz Cool, “bit” instead of bot! Thanks iPod Touch. If the iPad dies it’ll be because of the terrible keyboard/corrective text. 11 Apr 2010 from web

Ever wish there was a way to organize your chaotic Twitter stream into a series of columns, one with pictures, one with replies, one with retweets, one with generic chatter, and even one with potential story ideas?

Yes, there’s Tweetdeck for those familiar with Twitter, but now there’s a new option out there, designed with the journalist in mind: JournoTwit.

JournoTwit organizes your Twitter feed by columns for an easier read.

Andrew Spode Miller, a UK tech journalist and Web developer, says he designed JournoTwit “out of necessity.”

“Twitter was taking up way too much of my time, but I knew it was an invaluable resource,” Miller said. “I was a big fan of TweetDeck, but they just weren’t implementing the features I was after.”

JournoTwit makes Twitter “more digestable,” he says. It is entirely Web-based so there are no downloads required.  Your settings are stored, so you can move from computer to computer without losing the setup. And it supports use of multiple accounts, as many journalists operate both personal and professional accounts.

“The biggest feature is the way that JournoTwit divides your Twitter feed up,” Miller said. “Frankly, I think it’s ludicrous that we are still monitoring a single feed of data, where there are clear classifications of tweets available.”

Anytime someone you follow posts a picture, it displays as a separate feed. When someone sends an @ reply to someone else, it goes under “Chatter.” Anytime someone posts a link that isn’t a picture, it goes to the “Potential News” column. As Miller says, “When someone posts a link to something – chances are, it’s to a news story or to something interesting going on that you should know about.”

The best use of the potential news column is following accounts with automated feeds, Miller says.  These accounts are news sources that simply spit out a headline with a link.  Now they can be separated from your main feed and not get in the way.

Miller (@spode) says he has big plans for JournoTwit.  He is working with Dan Monsieurle (@mled) on further development and hopes to implement additional features. He said of the next version, “It’s looking to be quite something.”

So what are you waiting for? Give JournoTwit a try for yourself.

Let us know what you think of the client by sending an @ reply to @TwitJourn or leaving a comment below.