Conclusions about the iPad in the first week of real world use.
It is so fun to use. Some of the productivity apps, like Pages and Calendar seem a bit gimmicky, and, at times, difficult to use. Some of the features, however, make it easier to use than the desktop application, according to my sister. (The keyboard takes a lot of getting used to though.) There is no doubt that I can probably get more work done on a real computer (or a netbook), but the iPad is infinitely more fun to fiddle around with. That's not to say it can't be done on an iPad; short of uploading and downloading files to and from the web, and short of flash support, the iPad is an extremely capable device. In terms of portable entertainment, with respect to music, photos, and video, and even browsing the general web, the iPad blows the competition out of the water.
Bottom line? iPad might not be amazing at many things, like typing for one, but the creativity put into the design of its apps and the all-in-one-ness of the iPad makes it worth it just to play around with; I'll put up with it's shortcomings because it's just so fun. I can't wait to see what other creative and interesting apps that are coming my way (after spending a lot of dollars).
I wrote this on my iPad.
