I think the iPad will be great for those that pick it up, knowing what they're getting. The growth will be what we need to watch. While the iPhone isn't the best device ever, it is a phone and is very portable, it's understandable that it has become a major smartphone, but they also weren't trying to convert non-cellphone users to it, as about everyone has a mobile phone.

Considering the niche of the iPad, it will be interesting to see if the general public flock to it, or if it primarily attracts Mac fans and converts potential netbook customers. Seeing that my wife's laptop use has dropped dramatically since she got a full-featured smart phone, I'm not sure the iPad is going to be anywhere near as popular as the iPhone.

It is awkward and a little bit too heavy to hold it propped up for prolonged periods of time, and the thinness and metal/glass does make it "slippery", though I can carry it underarm without it slipping too much. I think the right case might make it handle a little better. I agree that an E-ink reader like the Kindle is much more optimized for straight reading. The screen does glare and it functions about as well outside as most laptop LCD screens (i.e. not well at all). I can usually tune out the glare, but its not as easy as tuning out the glare on my large glossy screened LCD TV, I think because it's much closer to the face.

The size also makes it awkward to play games that involves a lot of the motion sensor, like Rolando, where you sometimes have to turn the whole thing 180 degrees and beyond. I haven't tried the driving games. Touch screen controls are better now that you arent taking half the screen real estate, but smaller hands are going to have trouble, as you have the 3/4 inch bezel around the screen.

I admit that when people ask "Is it just a larger iPod touch?", I say yes, and it is -- other than the new processor, all the other components and memory are the same -- but that's selling it short of the aspect of this device that I think developers are only beginning to tap into. Its the combination of the immediacy and directness of the touch screen and the larger screen size, which make applications combining these two elements much more (forgive the phrase) compelling.

The New York Times Editors Choice application is pretty minimal. Its a selection of the stories presented in a newspaper like layout, in 4 columns with the ipad in landscape, and an occasional picture thrown in-line. The only do the first paragraph or two of the story, so you tap on it to get the full story in the same layout. It felt more like reading the actual paper than going to the website.

I also downloaded the Zillow real estate application, which presents a google map with houses for sale according to your search criteria occupying the majority of the screen, with a side bar that can alternatively show a listing of all the houses in the search, or specifics about the house you tap on. You can tap on the picture up at the top of the sidebar and it goes into a slideshow of the pictures available for that house. You can bookmark favorites, go to the realtor website, look at price trends, recent comparable sales, pan and zoom around the map, all very intuitively with your finger. Of course, you can do all these things with a laptop on their website, but you have to use a mouse or a trackpad to navigate.

So I think the word I'm looking for is "disintermediation". I maybe just fully drunk on the Apple Kool-Aid, but I think they're on to something.

I have used a first generation iPhone, but have not used the most recent version 3 software. Is there any provision on the iPad for privacy? For instance, can I lock the e-mail application so when my child is using it, they can't access my email?

Or is it still all or nothing? I could lock the iPhone as a whole, but not individual applications?

Yeah, ditto. Didn't know about the google docs thing. Thats just weird honestly.

Only objection id make is about the keyboard, as I've written about 5000 paid words on it since Saturday. If you like big full travel keyboards in general you'll really hate it. If you like low travel chicklet keyboards like the apple ones, you'll adjust very fast. I'm as fast on it now as I am on my laptop.

Editing, however, without a real mouse, is a chore and a half.

I bought it to go on airplanes, on the couch and in bed, to read comics, play games, watch video and surf. I'm very pleased with it for all those things.

I've got 2000 words on it going up for gamespy shortly.

There's a 16th problem: you can't fix any of the first fifteen yourself.

Sure you can!

It's Awkward -- train. Training always decreases awkwardness

It's heavy -- lift weights. Then 1.5 lbs won't feel too heavy.

It's slippery -- attach sticky pad material all over it.

The screen has too much glare -- apply an anti-glare pad, or don't take it out in the sun

Forget reading in the sun -- well, see the previous one.

Fingerprints are annoying -- sand off your finger prints

It does not multitask -- buy two

The browser is limited -- learn how to root it, and write your own? Otherwise, I got nothing....

The virtual keyboard stinks -- buy one or use a bluetooth one

There's no USB port -- umm... nothing

iPhone-only apps look horrible -- don't use iPhone apps

The price is just too high -- wait until the price comes down, or knock someone who has one over the head and run!

It doesn't replace anything -- I don't have a smart phone, DS/PSP, or netbook. If I buy this, would I need any of those?

Nice try on the chronic irony, except that link actual goes to a fabulous HTML5 page complete with a dedicated player pop-over on the bottom, letting me add any NPR stories from the site to a playlist in addition to just hitting the "play now" button. It's only in PC/Mac browsers that it defaults to the simple player button from flash.

For me, the iPad looks like a device for consumers. Personally, I'd prefer to stick to something I can create on. That's a very broad statement, I know, since you can certainly consume on a laptop, and you can create, to a degree, on the iPad, as rabbit's shown by writing articles on it. However, that does seems to be the main divide between iPad-style tablet devices and the rest of the computing world -- the iPad is placed primarily as a device that you can use to consume content, whether it's music, movies, books, games, or the web.

That's not really a complaint about the device itself -- it's not fair to criticise it for not doing things it was never meant to do. It does mean, though, that there's no way it could ever replace a laptop for me. It also makes me wonder what might happen to a generation of kids given iPads instead of real computers, but I'm probably jumping the gun there.

Curse those fabulous web nerds at NPR! *shakes fist*

The content of the story still stands.

My guess would be complexity, especially when dealing with Windows-based systems. I've had my Zune player set up for wireless sync pretty much since the feature was implemented, and it still doesn't work reliably between the various desktop firewall rules and wireless security. But who knows, Apple has their own USB driver to work with their newer iPhone-based hardware, maybe they'll figure this one out in the future.

I've decided that if someone (come on Evernote!) releases a note taking app that allows me to record searchable, hand written notes on the iPad, then I will buy one. If HP releases their Slate (and it does not suck) before this occurs, I will very likely purchase that instead. That functionality is really important to me.

If they get a region-free version of the BBC iPlayer for the iPad, I think I'll be sold.

Okay, I might actually have a reason to buy an iPad now.

$499.99 for a remote control is expensive but damn. That is perfect for my HTPC.

Yeah, not sure the big deal -- it's just VNC, nice that its a normal VGA size though. My server goes full screen on it, which is way easier than trying with my phone.

I'm not sure writing on the screen will ever be good enough to replace pen on paper... at least not anytime soon. What I've done is write stuff on paper, take a photo of it with my iPhone in Evernote and then not had to worry about preserving the paper copy.