I think a lot of people are having difficulty placing this product and it's uses in their line-up properly. I have been delaying getting a mac-book because I wanted to see how the iPad would work for the limited duties I wanted the lap-top for.
I can really see myself using it around the house and for travel purposes, and love the built-in eBook reader, even though I already own a Kindle. Anyway looks good for me, but in the meantime I will enjoy the comedic responses of some of those who don't think its going to sell well... like this one ...
Some people were comparing it to the Kindle and the 3G ties to AT&T:
The iPad is NOT locked to AT&T...
Apple has simply negotiated a pre-pay deal with AT&T (no contract) where for $14.99/month you get 250MB data and for $29.99/month you get unlimited data plus with either option you get free use of AT&T's WIFI hotspots throughout the US...
The iPad is UNLOCKED so you should be able to use it with most any 3G network that offers a 3G Micro SIMM.
The entry level iPad is around the same price as the 9.7in Kindle and does waay more... There's absolutely no contest...
It has a powerful processor... It's a great gaming platform... It's a great video/movie player... It's great for browsing the web... It has an amazing display... It's a great music player (iPod) It's a great ebook reader - access books directly from the iBook store... It has a phenomenal and intuitive User Interface... It has access to nearly 140,000 existing Apps in the Apps store, many of which are free... Over 75 million iPhone users essentially already know how to use the iPad...
It runs the a new version of Apple's iWork Productivity Suite consisting of:
Pages advanced word processor (reads/writes Word docs) - for just $9.99 Numbers advanced spreadsheet app (reads/writes Excel spreadsheets) - for just $9.99 Keynote advanced presentation app (reads/writes Powerpoint files) - for just $9.99
It has an optional full size physical keyboard with dock and also works with Apple's wireless keyboard etc.
You can import pictures directly from your camera's SD card (via an adapter)...
The features are far too many to list...
Making Calls Since it runs most iPhone/iPad Touch Apps, I think it highly likely that you will be able to make cheap calls from the iPad using one of the many free Apps available from the Apps store such as Truphone and Skype...
I however would have liked to have seen a built-in front facing video camera (for use with Skype or IM for example), and a version with a smaller display (perhaps around 6 inches - that will fit in a Jacket pocket). I expect these will follow at a later date.
To sum up, I expect Apple will sell gzillions of these devices because it rocks!!!
