Thank you for posting this, DB!

I have been waiting curiously for this gizmo to be released. I have 0 interest in another cell phone, be it an iPhone or one of the competitors who have improved upon the idea. Apple is releasing a data-only plan, unlimited for $30/month. That sort of thing might be ideal for people on-the-go a lot more than I am. I also am luke-warm about the poorly regarded netbooks or any clam-shell notebook / laptop, after my misadventures with my MacBook. (My open MacBook did survive having its case knocked askew after falling off the end table and/or the arm of the couch at least twice, but did not survive having coffee poured over the keyboard.) I do not really need another full computer since I have a desktop, but it was nice being able to comfortably surf the web, etc (especially with file sharing with my desktop) in the company of my family in the living room.

At first glance, and in my opinion, the form factor for the iPad is perfect for this need, and what the MacBook Air might have been. Some reviewers suggest the iPad makes a dandy e-book reader, being just about the same size as an open paperback book and with a better screen and interface than gadgets currently on the market. That doesn't particularly interest me, but it will be interesting to see if it helps e-books catch on that much more. I will wait and see about the durability of the screen, and for the price to drop in, say, 4 months. () I will also wait to see what is spawned by competitors. But something like the iPad could well fill the niche I have for it in my lifestyle.

What a load of crap that thing is...

no multitasking ( my droid does )
no camera ( my droid does )
the touch keyboard blows
no HD output
and no flash ( can't even play games on it )

Basically it's a 4x size stripped down iPhone

Message to Apple:

Please change the name of your iPad to something that sounds less.... well, add the word Max to the front of it and you'll see the problem.

Looks like many think the same thing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35109625/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

Very good reply. Just think of all the money you made off this site.
You could own a few of these.

Love you PS people. Your fun to watch.

Nice comment Glenn.......... ChopperDome??? Now I know I'm ready.

Damnit Tofu! I was going to claim that. I hate it when people steal my ideas before I think of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0K8QPhs

don't forget the no usb/sata/firewire.

For those who keep on saying that it's a large novelty iPhone, are incorrect. It's a large novelty iTouch, it has no phone functions!!!!

It's supposedly designed for reading pdfs, e-books, etc, but what's the point? Your not getting a full fledged computer (Mac OSX) out of it, and apps you run on it would be either in iPhone screen size or enlarged size.

Oh and all the other stuff it lacks that others have mentioned.

I feel sorry for Apple fanboys. They get ripped of their money more than most.

It's a huge list of despair and disappointments

Yep.

Well there are some Apple fanboys out there that know a bad deal when being offered one, and wait for the next gen model to come out or avoid buying it altogether, but your basically right.