Usually I just ignore the countless marketing e-mails I get in my inbox, but one this morning caught my attention. It was from Sony about pre-ordering the Dash – a Personal Internet Viewer to be released April 29, 2010.

From the Sony website, The Dash could potentially be a pretty decent Internet consumption device with apps from You Tube and Netflix. There will also be over 1,000 free apps that will include such apps as alarm clock and radio player. The Dash features a 7 inch LCD touch screen and WIFI.

Will the Dash be competition for the iPad? Absolutely not, or at least this first generation Dash will not be any real threat to the iPad. The Dash has no expandable memory and no battery. From the website, it seems you can access some of Sony’s content like movie trailers and wallpaper – no mention about e-books. It’s definitely not as encompassing as the iPad but for someone looking to enjoy the Internet without using the computer, the Dash could be a good choice.

So, I won’t be pre-ordering mine just yet. I guess I will still save my money for an iPad.