So I’m really digging the new iPad. But this post isn’t about how much I love it or how much better it is than its competitors. It’s about the things I’m struggling with. This, ladies and gents, is the dark side of the iPad.

1. It still annoys me that the screen gets all smudgy. It’s true that you only notice it when the iPad is sleeping, but it still bugs me. And Apple didn’t include a cleaning cloth in the box with it. I might have to invest in one. Or become less fussy about it.

2. I’m still searching for the perfect way to keep up on all my blog RSS feeds. I’ve made the switch to Google Reader on my laptop so that I could utilize the better RSS apps on the iPad. (Almost all of them are front-ends for Google Reader.) But I am still not 100% happy with any of them. I’ve tried Reeder and it’s ok. I’ve tried Flipboard and it’s nice, but still requires me to go to it rather than it notifying me that new content is there. Couldn’t they do little badges on the icon or something? Still, I think I’ll survive it.

3. I got hit with an unexpected iTunes DRM restriction yesterday. What I tried to do was play an iTunes-purchased movie on a TV through the VGA adapter: No go. “Display not authorized” was the message I got. Weird thing is, it works perfectly when streaming through my Apple TV as opposed to using the VGA adapter. What’s surprising about this restriction is that it’s the exact kind of thing that never happens. Apple’s DRM ecosphere is pretty invisible for the most part. Not in this case. I may write Steve about it.

4. My efforts do do more and more of my personal computing on it is stymied by the software keyboard. It’s a miracle of engineering, but I can tell people on the internet that they’re wrong at a rate of 80 words a minute on a hard keyboard. I doubt I’ll ever be that efficient on a smaller, touch-screen one. So I’m seriously considering getting a bluetooth keyboard to go with Mr. iPad. We’ll see.