But for today: can the iPad replace a netbook or a laptop? For some of you hardcore users, probably not. For those who use netbooks as a lightweight way to browse the Web, chat a bit, and do some light work: yes, it can. Does the iPad make a good weekending/vacationing computer? Sure. The way the iPad is designed, you are less likely to get sucked into doing work or accidentally wasting away hours of your life online than you would on a "normal" computer, but it's mostly capable enough so that you can do some work when necessary. Is the iPad easy and foolproof enough for your technologically challenged family member? Yes, if that person has at least $500 to burn. Does it make a good e-book reader? Depends on your definition of "good." Readers that use e-ink (such as the Kindle) may still be better in some situations, but for gadget consolidation's sake, the iPad as an e-reader is decent enough, even for those of us with sensitive eyes.
Five hundred dollars (or more) is a lot of money to spend on a device that some people still can't figure out how to fit into their lives. So at this point, it's hard to say whether anyone should get an iPad, but for those of us on staff, even the most skeptical of us don't regret it.
The best way for us to sum up our collective and unanimous conclusion on the iPad, is to say that it's the first device to substantially deliver on the promise made by the iPhone and, in some respects, the Newton. Both of these earlier Apple products gave us glimpses at what a real, usable, purpose-built tablet computer might one day look like, and the iPad at long last gives us the complete picture. So in a sense, the iPad is both the end of a long journey and the start of a new one. We can't wait to see where it takes us next.
