[tzs]

The iPad feels it was developed just for me as a tech savvy person.

I have online access to a large number of books (Safari Library subscription) and a large number of journal articles and conference proceedings (ACM Digital Library subscription). I currently only use these resources for short references. I rarely sit down and read something all the way through, because I just don't like reading sitting at my computer.

When my iPad arrives, there will shortly after be a big boost in my productivity, as I will be able to comfortably read the above materials, and much more, on my couch or in bed. (I said "comfortably", which rules out laptops and netbooks).

If all I ever use it for is accessing Safari Library, the ACM Digital Library, and technical documentation on the web, it will be well worth the cost.

But I expect it to end up useful for more as application developers come up to speed. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Omni Group comes up, with for instance. With Omni Outliner and Omni Focus on it, the iPad could become the organizational center of my life.

My prediction is that the app market for the iPad is going to be reminiscent of the app market for the iPhone--full of creative apps that do amazing things that most of us would not have come anywhere close to predicting.

[kalid]

Exactly. I got a kindle not for its intrinsic merits, but because of the behavior change. $200 is a very cheap way for me to read more books. Anecdotally, I'm reading about 3x as many books; I've cut down on my random surfing time and instead reach for more substantive stuff.

That's worth a lot more than $200 to me, and if the iPad encourages me to read even better stuff, all the better.

[glhaynes]

(I have no ebook reader besides my laptop and iPhone.)

It'll be interesting to see whether similar iPad users get a similar boost (Anecdotal-3x™), since [good] web/Twitter/Facebook/email are each a Home button and a tap away on it, unlike Kindle.

I sure hope so, as one of my main hopes for the iPad is that I'll read more "Real Books" once I have one, but my compulsion to check what's happened in the last 5 minutes makes me think twice.

Hey, if I get Anecdotal-2x™, I'll be pretty damn happy and more productive.

[bricestacey]

I don't think the iPad will increase reading anywhere near as much as the Kindle simply because of the screen. EInk is awesome. Even the iPhone hurts my eyes in dim light, imagine 4 times the brightness.

[glhaynes]

I don't really ever have trouble reading a (good) LCD, and specifically would prefer reading on an iPad rather than a Kindle because the iPad is backlit and I read a lot in the dark before bed. I know many disagree, though.

I never turn the iPhone's brightness above 60%; I usually turn it all the way down in the dark and would very much like it to be able to go even lower. What a funny change from a few years back when we were always excited about upcoming LCDs being brighter than their predecessors and spent much of the time with our screens at 100% and still a little too dim.